The first thing Max noticed when she regained consciousness was that she was blindfolded. Unable to see, she didn't know what had happened. But, being bumped and pushed along in a car was obvious. She was being transported.
Was Zack with her? For, he too had been gunned down. She tried to move to reach him, but was unable. Fervently, she tugged at the binds holding her and found them to be rather strong. Cursing under her breath, she realized that she was just going to have to wait until they arrived at wherever this person was taking them.
Some time later, the car stopped and a door was opened in front of her. The ties connecting her to the seat were removed and she tried to kick herself free. Unfortunately, she still had ropes on her wrists and ankles. And, being blindfolded, gagged, and drugged didn't help things any. A pair of strong arms picked her up and began to carry her. No matter how much she fought, the person still carried her. Still fighting, she was laid down upon a hard floor. She kicked and thrashed, trying to move away. "Whoa, whoa, whoa," a voice said. It sounded kind, but gargled because of the drugs Max had been given. She stopped moving.
Her ties were undone, her gag removed and finally her blindfold taken away. She found herself staring directly at wood floor. Raising herself in a crude push-up, she looked up to see the person who had taken her. Horrors upon horrors entered her mind right before she could see and wondering who had brought her here. A face entered her view.
Logan.
"Oh my God…" she trembled, close to tears from happiness.
"Welcome back," he said with a smile. Immediately, she rushed towards him, in his wheelchair. She slid across the floor on her knees and wrapped her arms around him. He was warm in Max's clutch and ran his fingers through her hair.
"Please tell me this isn't a dream," she said.
"It's not a dream…Look," he pointed in front of him. Max turned and saw Bling untying Zack. Zack was still unconscious.
"Hello Max," Bling said to her.
"Hello too," she replied, being polite and turned back to Logan. "How did you get us? Why-" she began, ready with a flurry of questions and there was a groan from behind her.
Zack rubbed at his eyes and immediately tensed upon sensing his freed bonds. He rose slowly, gripping the side of the couch, due to the drugs and then saw Max. A nasty bruise was forming by his left eyebrow where Max figured he probably hit the ground when he fell. His eyes were glazed with a haunted look about them.
"Zack!" she cried, "we're free!" He was shocked, it was obvious and glanced around the room, but seeing Max and Logan, meant safety. Mutely, Zack nodded towards her and walked out of the room.
"Well…" Logan began and wheeled himself over to his computer in the next room. He started to type feverishly and window popped up on the screen. "To answer your earlier question, I knew something was up when you didn't call or stop in," he explained to Max. "I headed over to Jam Pony because I couldn't reach you on your pager. So, after Original Cindy explained to me about the Eyes Only message that might have something to do with you, I checked it out. Sure enough, Lydecker had planted his own Eyes Only message and I knew that you had probably been captured."
"But how'd you find us?" Max asked.
"Ah, now that was something tricky. I figured that if Lydecker took you, he'd give you new clothes," he turned, eyeing her, "and so he did."
"Yeah, the latest fashion craze," Max replied sarcastically.
"Your pager was disposed of in back garbage receptacle. I found the signal for that because Lydecker wasn't smart enough to turn it off. After tracing the signal it was giving off, I found the building where you were being kept."
"Which was which?" Zack said, stepping in from behind Max. Logan paused upon noticing Zack, but answered the question anyhow.
"Amazingly, it was one of the original Manticore buildings. Apparently, there were a couple buildings built outside of the Wyoming base. So, I bought you both off of Lydecker. Not exactly easy though, had to argue with the guy a lot. But, money is his weakness and just enough made him give you two up," Logan replied and turned back to the computer.
"Why both?" Max asked.
"I just wanted to keep you safe, but I figured that Zack contained a lot of useful information that could help the other kids escape," Logan explained and paused as a piece of paper printed out. He continued typing. "I'm just glad that you're both okay. I mean, you look pretty good for being with Lydecker for about two days."
Max looked at Zack nervously. He shrugged absentmindedly. Then, he paused and mouthed the words, "It's up to you." Better tell him, Max figured. Logan continued to type, unaware. "Uh…Logan?" Max asked, "There is a problem."
