An hour past dawn
the sergeant watched as a PFC in the motor pool checked out a civilian-looking
SUV to a young woman. She showed him
some credentials that the sergeant couldn't see, and the young man nearly
snapped to attention. She was in an
expensive looking civilian suit, so he couldn't tell what was so important
about her.
The PFC had her sign
some forms, and handed her a set of keys. The sergeant finished his coffee and wandered over to where the PFC was
finishing with her.
"Good morning,
ma'am," he said. If she were twenty,
he'd eat his boots. Pretty little
thing, but her eyes were very old and tired. She had the look that he'd seen on men coming back from battle. He had never seen her around here before,
that was sure.
"Good morning," she
replied, and picked up the keys. She
went to the proper vehicle without another word and drove off into the early
morning.
"You giving out
military vehicles to civilians now son?" the sergeant asked the PFC.
"She had A-1
clearance, sir" the PFC replied, still awed.
A-1 clearance was
reserved for extremely high-level security clearance. You might never know if an A-1 was military or civilian, but when
one showed up, you paid proper respect. In truth, even the President didn't have A-1 clearance. The sergeant watched as she drove away. Normally it was known if an A-1 was going to
be on base. He wondered who would give
A-1 to a kid like her.
Alicia drove fast
towards the city. She had made her
plans. None of which included seeing
Zack. It would be best if she didn't
see him ever again. So what if the
thought of spending the rest of her life without him made her want to cry all
over again. It would pass in time. She had to tidy up the lose ends, then she
would go back to the base, and fly home, and make plans for later.
First stop was to
Logan's. She hoped Max would be there
so she could thank her in person. They
had gone on a major limb for her. She went
up to Logan's penthouse, and paused. It
would be easier to go through the broken window, but she had borrowed one of
Shawna's favorite suits, and knew the penalty for messing it up. Glamorous entry would have to be saved for
another day.
Logan woke with a
start. He thought someone had said his
name. He sat up and put on his
glasses. Everything went from blurred
to distinct. Alicia was standing at the
foot of his bed. He blinked a couple of
times thinking he was dreaming. There
was no way she could be here so soon after everything.
"Sorry to wake you,"
she said. "I don't have much time left
here though."
He was going to ask
how she got in, but he already knew the answer. He had always liked his privacy, but now he was actually getting
used to his place being a free for all for any Manticore strays wandering about. He was probably going to have to get a new
lock for his door, and have the security system re-activated. "You look better than the last time I saw
you," Logan greeted.
She smiled
softly. "I suppose I do. I feel better at least. I just wanted to tell you and Max thank you
for doing what she did. I know she
wasn't hyped on the idea of saving my sorry butt, but I appreciate what you all
did."
"Thank you for going
after Max." Logan was actually sincere. He never thought an X-6 would be willing to go so far for another
person.
"I can't really say
it was my pleasure," she said, "but I'm glad things ended up good."
She turned to
leave. "Alicia," he called
suddenly. She turned back to him. "You've read their files, right?" She nodded. "Do you know who their mothers are?"
Alicia mentally
flipped through the file on Max. "If I
ever call you and tell you something involves Manticore, Eye's Only won't do a
broadcast on it?"
He had to grin. Maybe quid pro quo was genetically bred into
them. "Deal," he said firmly.
"There aren't any
names mentioned in the report, but the gestational for Max's designation number
was taken to Brentwood Institute for the Criminally Insane in South Carolina
after Max was born," she said. "There
isn't anything else in Max's file at least. The full records are harder to get, even for us. If by chance I stumble across something, I
know your number."
"Thank you."
She shrugged. "It's worth it to keep Eye's Only off of our
back." She stood there quietly thinking
about what he'd agreed to. "You love
her that much to hurt Eye's Only so she can have something she wants. Does she know how lucky she is?"
"I'm the lucky one,"
he replied. Logan debated for a moment,
and then decided to tell her anyways. "Zack went to Hightop Suites Hotel. My uncle's got a room on permanent reserve there, and Zack decided to
crash there." He let out a little
laugh. "For some reason he doesn't like
staying here."
Alicia nodded and
left quickly before he could see the tears in her eyes. Why did he have to tell her? She had a feeling Cole had let Zack know she
was OK, so there was no reason for her to see him or talk to him. Everything else will pass she reminded
herself as she went back to the car. You have other things that you have to do.
**********
Sketchy was fixing
his bike at Jam Pony when he saw the blonde girl walk in. The place had been closed for two days after
those guys had come in and messed up the place. Sketchy's bike had gotten banged up during the fight. Normal nearly gave birth to a kitten when
they had been sorting out the soaked mess of packages. He had sworn he'd fire Max the next time he
saw her for having her cousin bring in those maniacs.
Sketchy thought
about making a play on the girl, but then recognition entered his dim
mind. She was Max's cousin. Better dressed now, she looked, well, rich
or professional or something. The kind
that would expect him to carry her packages on his hands and knees. He could live with that.
He was going over to
her when she walked directly up to Normal. He got a good look at her and nearly dropped his clipboard. "Out!" he ordered, pointing frantically to
emphasize. "This is private property
and I should have you arrested and if you dare to show up again, you or your
cousin…"his tirade ended abruptly when she pulled a set of credentials out of
her jacket and showed him. Sketchy
couldn't see what they were, but Normal almost fainted.
"May we talk for a
moment?" she asked. It was more of an
order. "In private," she
clarified. Normal took her into the
storage closet. It was the only
reasonably private place around. Sketchy
tried to listen, but they were talking too quietly. In a few minutes they emerged. She was calm and cool as ever. Normal was sweating. She thanked
him and left.
When Max came into
work a couple of hours later, Normal immediately took her aside. He didn't even yell at her for being
late. She was sure she was getting
canned. "Listen, Max," he stuttered,
not sounding like Normal at all, "your cousin explained everything, and I just
wanted to let you know I don't blame you for anything."
"She said what?" Max
asked. Alicia had been there? She would never have told Normal the truth,
would she?
"It was a CIA thing,
I understand there's things going on there, but all is well," he said then took
his post back at the desk.
"Hey Boo, what be
the haps?" Original Cindy yelled.
"I think Alicia was
here," Max replied quietly. "I don't
know what she told Normal, but he's making the nicety nice now."
Cindy grinned. There was a way to use this. She just had to think of it.