Max and Zack went to the café nearest where the two cops had been attacked. After a twenty from Zack, and then a show of cleavage from Max when he still hesitated, the owner's memory improved considerably.
"Yeah," he said, looking at the picture of her Logan had printed out from one of the security videos he had around the apartment. "I seen her in here a couple hours ago. Nice little thing. Paid cash. No lip. Even said thank you."
"Do you keep logs of the sites your patrons visit?" Max asked. They had missed her by two hours. She knew the city far better than Alicia could. Maybe they still had a chance to find her.
"Nope," he replied. "You get total privacy here," he said proudly.
They left, and looked around trying to think of where she might be. What had she been trained to do? Blend into the crowd. Keep moving. She'd probably contacted her people. Alicia had told Zack that she would get reinforcements if needed, but it would expose her to the traitor. If the traitor knew, then the Reds would get to her first.
Go back to training. The best thing to do would be to get off of the streets. The waterfront wasn't too far off. There were several abandoned and condemned warehouses left after the Pulse killed most of the shipping industry. There weren't many squatters there. The cops kept them run off because the warehouses were still occasionally used for illegal shippers who paid the cops.
Alicia wouldn't know why they were empty, but they would seem like a good place to hide. She could wait until reinforcements had the time to get to the rendezvous point, and then meet them, thus minimizing her exposure to the Reds. It was a sound plan tactically, something that Zack knew he would do. He and Max decided to go with it. They had all had the same basic training, and Max knew Zack was probably onto something.
They headed towards the warehouses. Both of them were too concerned with finding Alicia before she could get with her people. Max was worried that she would expose Logan. She knew she would probably have to kill Alicia, but she wasn't about to tell Zack that. Her mind was set on how to do it without Zack stopping her. Zack just wanted to make sure Alicia wasn't caught by the Reds. Neither of them even noticed the two men break from the crowd and start following them into the waterfront.
Alicia sat with her back to the wall eating a fairly decent sandwich. She didn't ask the vendor what the meat was in it, but it had a good flavor, and she'd eaten far worse. A seagull flew in the window opening and screamed at her, staring at her sandwich balefully.
"Who asked for your opinion?" Alicia snapped. The bird screamed a reply. She kicked at it, and it jumped back a few feet.
She'd been sitting in the warehouse for an hour trying to think of her next move. Hepburn was in Seattle. He was going to try and get her to come to him. The others went to the ground, she thought smugly. That's why he's after me and not them. The Reds want a female the most, and the sixers protected Shawna. I'm the only one exposed right now.
Should she call Lydecker? She wanted to, but there was a horrible doubt in her. What if he was working with Hepburn? The chances of that were minimal she knew, but still. The only ones she could trust were the sixers. No, Lydecker might bring some of the sixers with him, and that would just increase exposure. She would prevent Manticore technology from falling into enemy hands by any means necessary, but she didn't know if the others could do that.
So, she was on her own for this one. What was the mission? Secure Hepburn and bring him back to the base for interrogation, trial, and execution for treason. How to do that? Find him first. Figure out how to get to him. Disable him. Secure transportation back to the base. Hold him until Dad could get there. How was she going to accomplish her goal?
She could get some resources. Cole could get her in touch with the right people here, and she could get the things she needed. Could she get into a secure place by herself? Easily. She'd done it a thousand times. Hepburn would be easy to deal with physically. One blow, and he'd be out like a light. After she got him out of the city, she could have Cole meet her someplace, and transport them back to the base. With some chemical interrogation, he'd confess to everything.
It was a plan at least. She closed her eyes and started to think on how to find Hepburn. It was a big city. She could really use some help, but the only people she knew she wasn't about to go back to. She didn't know how to get to Zack without seeing the rest of them. Maybe it was better not to see Zack at all. It had only been hours, but she already missed him. Anymore time with him and … there was a tug at her hand, breaking her deliberations.
The seagull had waited patiently, eyeing her half-eaten sandwich. She had stopped kicking at it and making noise. He jumped and flew at her, grabbing the bread right from her hand. His beak closed on it and he headed out the window with his stolen dinner.
Alicia jumped up and grabbed at the bird. She almost went out the window, and got a handful of feathers for her trouble. She caught the sill and almost laughed. She was a cat who had just gotten ripped off by a bird. The irony was too much. She glanced down and saw Max going into the warehouse.
The laughter died in her throat. So, Max was angry that she'd tossed her little boyfriend into the wall? She should have snapped Logan's scrawny neck when she had the chance. That would have made the world a better place in about two seconds. It was tempting to go after Max, but that would be pointless and time wasting. Don't push me girl, she thought fiercely. I made a promise to Zack, not you or your boy toy.
There was no sound from downstairs. Girl was trying to be quiet and sneak up on her. Except Alicia had more years of training in escape and evasion than Max ever did. She grabbed her bag and slid out the window, climbing up onto the roof. She went over it quietly, moving fast, but with stealth. She jumped to the next roof, and stayed low. She crossed the building and climbed down the other side.
Max wasn't in sight. Alicia got moving again fast. She had some distance to clear before Max got out of that building again. Alicia knew she needed some time to think, and then she'd get back to Cole. Maybe they would stake out the cafes. It was a risk she'd have to take. She could deal with Zack. Max, well, she'd probably show Max a few tricks with that knife that she was sure Max hadn't learned at Manticore while she was there.
Alicia never noticed the black van that pulled up in front of the warehouse she had just left. Or the second one.