Max had trouble keeping her mind on work the next day. She had dropped two packages that Normal tossed to her and almost been run over by Sketchy because her mind was somewhere else...again.

"Look boo, I know you don't wanna talk about this but there is definitely something wrong upstairs. Come on and tell Original Cindy what it is."

Max looked at her friends and smiled. "Really, I'm okay. Just a lot on my mind."

"A lot on your mind? Homegirl, you got the whole planet on your mind today. You better start thinkin' straight...girl could get hurt in this city if she's not lookin' where she's goin'."

"I'll be fine...just need some air."

OC stared after her friend, knowing that something was wrong. With Max, it could be anything from boytoy trouble to the black helicopters. Who knew?

Max left Jam Pony and rounded the corner, just missing some trash cans, "Original Cindy's right. I'd better get all this rubbish out of my head before I get somebody hurt." She started walking again, this time more alert. All she needed was to walk straight into Lydecker's hands just because her mind was other places.

She caught a glimpse of a person from out of the corner of her eye. Figuring that OC had followed her, she turned to tell her everything was okay but stopped before her mouth could utter the first word. It wasn't OC. It was the little girl from the other day. Her long, straight, blondish brown hair was tucked behind her ears and fell over a pale blue dress that went down to her knees. Max tried to grasp the situation and not laugh at the same time. Below the dress, she had on a pair of faded jeans and her work boots. (Girl may have skills, but not much fashion sense.) Bending down to be on the same level, Max looked the girl in the eyes. "I got your card, thank you."

Her expression didn't change but her mouth opened to utter one word, "meow."

Max had to smile to herself. Not too many people could actually sound like a cat, but this girl had it perfect. "Yes, I know you are grateful that I saved your kitty. Aren't you going to talk to me?"

Still not saying anything, the girl walked over and stood right beside Max. Reaching up, she put her hand in Max's and gently pulled her across the street. Not quite sure what to do, Max followed. It wasn't every day that she was approached by a girl in a dress and jeans who wouldn't talk. The curiosity was just too much for this cat to resist...

*******

The girl led her to the building that she had disappeared in the day Max had met her. There were steps leading to the front door but instead of climbing them, she walked beside them and stood under the window. She looked at Max and cupped her hand to her ear. Max looked at the girl. (She brought me here to play peeping Tom?) Looking at the brick building, Max knew that there was no way to hear what was going on inside. Well, no way for a normal person too. Now, she was really curious. Was this girl playing her or did she really want her to listen to something?

Leaning her ear nearer to a window, Max concentrated. She could hear two voices inside, those of a man and a woman. The man's sounded vaguely familiar but she wasn't exactly sure. It wasn't Manticore familiar, it just seemed to be someone she had heard before.

"...we have to decide what we are going to do," the woman said.

Max could hear the man sigh. "I thought we already discussed this. Take her to work with you."

"You know I can't do that. A bar is no place for a seven year old."

"What do you suggest? If we don't go to work, we won't be able to pay that cop off and we will get tossed out of here and we can't afford to do that. There aren't a plethora of apartments in this city."

"I know, I know. I just wish there was another way."

The man's voice noticeably softened. "I know. In a perfect world, there would be someone we can trust but right now, we don't know anyone. It's not like the pre-pulse days when you could get a babysitter just about anywhere. I don't know about you but there isn't anyone I've met who I'd be willing to leave my daughter with."

"No, I suppose you are right. If only..."

Max looked at the girl as she heard the woman's voice trail off. "Are those your parents?"

Not surprisingly, she didn't get an answer except for the tug on her hand again. Max wondered if she should resist. She didn't feel threatened by the girl but she did make her wonder at herself. Why was she letting some kid pull her around like a doll? She had fought and killed grown men, soldiers and here she was, following some kid who wouldn't even speak to her. If nothing else, she wanted to meet these parents. Seattle was no longer the kind of place that children should be wandering around alone in. Especially ones who brought home strangers...