After Ruth finished her phone conversation, she ducked off into the bathroom, washed her hands, and returned to the table. Ruth and Eva kept up a steady stream of casual, familiar conversation. Every once in a while, Max would put in a comment, but for the most part, she felt very much like an intruder. This was a normal life, chatting over lunch, and she was unaccustomed. Not to mention, she knew where she was. Although Gillette was miles away, it was if she could feel Manticore in the air. It was if Ruth had brought some of it along with her.
The biting chirp of Eva's cell phone broke the conversation.
"Hello? Oh, hey….Mmm…. Uh-huh…. Yep….No. No way!….Are you sure? When? How soon? Okay. Umm…I think so… 'Kay. See you then. Bye." Eva turned back to Ruth and Max. "That was Don." Max visible recoiled. A slight smile played across Ruth's lips. "I've got to head out." Eva glanced at the remains of the lunch. She looked at Max. "Shall we?" Max nodded. "It was great to see you, Ruth. I'm going to be back pretty soon. Oh, and remind me when I get back, I wanted to borrow that book from you."
"Okay. I'll talk to you when you get back." She looked at Max. "Nice to meet you, too."
Max nodded slightly and smiled.
Eva laid a few bills on the table and dropped a clattering handful of change on top of them, then motioned to Max, and they turned and left.
Max turned toward Eva as they walked back up the street to the hotel.
"So, what's the dealio?"
"They just got a major lead on Tinga. I've got to get back to Manticore a-sap, then they're going to send me back out. Oh, God. I'm going to have to leave you…I'm so sorry…"
"No, it's okay."
"Well, you've got the train tickets. You can just head back to Seattle tomorrow."
"Then what?"
"I don't know. We'll just have to wait and see."
The walked back up to the hotel. Eva gathered her things and called a cab.
"Max, we are going to see each other again. We'll figure this all out."
"I hope so."
Eva picked up her suitcases and left the room. Max flopped back on the bed and stared at the ceiling. It was an old building, and cracks crisscrossed the plaster. Max thought about Ruth. She thought about Logan. Suddenly, there was a knock at the door.
"Eva? Did you forget something? Way to go…" she yelled out, as she rose up and crossed to the door. She opened it. And found herself staring down the barrel of a gun.
+++
It only took Max a moment to register: Manticore. There were about five of them, in black fatigues and armed to the gills. No Lydecker in sight.
"SH!T!" she yelled. She felt adrenaline surge through her body, as her fight-flight instinct kicked in. Surprisingly, she found herself choosing flight. She ran for the open window on the other side of the room. As she ran, her brain ticked off thoughts at rapid speed. why are you running? they'll just shoot you in the back…is this eva? is this ruth? is it you? logan? where are you running to? how are you possibly going to get through that window in time….stupid, stupid, stupid…
She reached the window and began to scramble through it. She heard the soldiers behind her, then felt someone grab at her ankles and wrench her down to the ground. She prepared to flip up to her feet, to fight back, but she felt a jolt of electricity surge through her body, then blacked out.
