"Hello? Anybody home?" It was nearing sunset as Max stalked
around the rusty old ventilation units and air ducts on the tarnished
roof of a dilapidated twelve-story building. She double-checked the
address. Yep, this is where Logan's contact was supposed to be.
Same address he said on the phone. Ugh, the phone. She didn't even
want to think about the phone. She just wanted to grab whatever it
was she was here to grab, drop it off at Logan's and blaze. Maybe she
could find the gang at Crash or something. That is, if she ever finds
the contact.
"Don't be alarmed," came a quiet voice from a shadow. Max whipped
her head around to face a man in a trench coat about fifteen feet away
from her. "I suppose you're the contact for Eyes Only?" he spoke
calmly, but there was a hint of anxiety from his voice. "Yeah, nice to
meet you." Max half-smiled and approached the man cautiously.
"You'll be wanting this, then," he continued, and extended his hand to
reveal a neatly packaged CD of some kind. "It's what I promised.
Eyes Only should know where to go from here."
She took the disc and read the label. "Project: Tetarix," she read
silently. "Figures." She looked back up at the man. "Thanks, I'll be
sure he gets it." The man nodded and crept back to the shadows, and
the next second he was gone. "Weirdo," she said to herself, turning
back the way she came. "Nice body though, even for a short guy."
She stopped dead in her tracks and stared forward like a deer caught
in the headlights. "What the hell is wrong with me?!" she asked
herself. "First Logan, now this guy," she thought. "The only time I
ever… No…" She began walking faster, as if trying to escape her
predicament. "It can't be, can it? Has it been fourth months
already…? No…" She broke into a sprint. "I gotta get back home,"
she whispered anxiously. "No, then what would Logan think? I can't
just ditch him like that. Not when I don't even have a reason to be
mad," She stopped running and leaned against a large piece of
machinery to collect her thoughts.
"Damn it! Why do I always have to get into heat when I have
something important to do?" She took a deep breath to calm her
nerves. "Okay, I'm not obsessed… yet… so I should have time to drop
off the disk and lock myself in a closet back at the apartment before
this thing hits full swing. I'll just bounce into Logan's, hand him the
disk, and bounce out." She painted a mental picture of the shortest
route there and then to home. She glanced at her watch. It was
7:30, and almost completely dark out. She remembered him saying
he had an appointment with Bling tonight until eight. "Seven-thirty.
Good. Logan should be too busy with his workout to notice me
anyway." She tried to rationalize how everything would work out fine.
Then she pictured Logan in one of his tight black muscle shirts and a
bead of sweat ran down her brow. She had slumped all the way to a
sitting position against the machinery by now. "Snap out of it, Max!"
she addressed herself out loud. Springing to her feet, she jumped off
the roof and landed on the fire escape of a lower building, continuing
her sprint toward Sector Nine. She had to beat this thing, or she knew
she would be in deep trouble.
around the rusty old ventilation units and air ducts on the tarnished
roof of a dilapidated twelve-story building. She double-checked the
address. Yep, this is where Logan's contact was supposed to be.
Same address he said on the phone. Ugh, the phone. She didn't even
want to think about the phone. She just wanted to grab whatever it
was she was here to grab, drop it off at Logan's and blaze. Maybe she
could find the gang at Crash or something. That is, if she ever finds
the contact.
"Don't be alarmed," came a quiet voice from a shadow. Max whipped
her head around to face a man in a trench coat about fifteen feet away
from her. "I suppose you're the contact for Eyes Only?" he spoke
calmly, but there was a hint of anxiety from his voice. "Yeah, nice to
meet you." Max half-smiled and approached the man cautiously.
"You'll be wanting this, then," he continued, and extended his hand to
reveal a neatly packaged CD of some kind. "It's what I promised.
Eyes Only should know where to go from here."
She took the disc and read the label. "Project: Tetarix," she read
silently. "Figures." She looked back up at the man. "Thanks, I'll be
sure he gets it." The man nodded and crept back to the shadows, and
the next second he was gone. "Weirdo," she said to herself, turning
back the way she came. "Nice body though, even for a short guy."
She stopped dead in her tracks and stared forward like a deer caught
in the headlights. "What the hell is wrong with me?!" she asked
herself. "First Logan, now this guy," she thought. "The only time I
ever… No…" She began walking faster, as if trying to escape her
predicament. "It can't be, can it? Has it been fourth months
already…? No…" She broke into a sprint. "I gotta get back home,"
she whispered anxiously. "No, then what would Logan think? I can't
just ditch him like that. Not when I don't even have a reason to be
mad," She stopped running and leaned against a large piece of
machinery to collect her thoughts.
"Damn it! Why do I always have to get into heat when I have
something important to do?" She took a deep breath to calm her
nerves. "Okay, I'm not obsessed… yet… so I should have time to drop
off the disk and lock myself in a closet back at the apartment before
this thing hits full swing. I'll just bounce into Logan's, hand him the
disk, and bounce out." She painted a mental picture of the shortest
route there and then to home. She glanced at her watch. It was
7:30, and almost completely dark out. She remembered him saying
he had an appointment with Bling tonight until eight. "Seven-thirty.
Good. Logan should be too busy with his workout to notice me
anyway." She tried to rationalize how everything would work out fine.
Then she pictured Logan in one of his tight black muscle shirts and a
bead of sweat ran down her brow. She had slumped all the way to a
sitting position against the machinery by now. "Snap out of it, Max!"
she addressed herself out loud. Springing to her feet, she jumped off
the roof and landed on the fire escape of a lower building, continuing
her sprint toward Sector Nine. She had to beat this thing, or she knew
she would be in deep trouble.
