"What?" he asked and glanced to her, then back at the screen.
"Logan…" she paused, sighed deeply, twisting her fingers, and continued, "Logan, I'm pregnant." The fingers stopped typing and he didn't look away from the screen. A thousand images flashed into his mind, everything from a seductive lover to a vicious rape, all images that were better of gone.
"Whose is it?" he asked numbly, his tongue feeling incredibly thick and heavy inside his mouth.
"Logan…" she protested, "it's doesn't matter. I just have to find a way to get rid of the baby-"
"No, who's the father?" There was a long pause. A very long pause and slowly Logan began to turn around.
"I am," Zack finally said. This caused Logan to literally whip around in his chair so fast it seemed as though his head would fly right off his neck.
"You?"
"Look, it's not what you think," Max said, rising to defend Zack. "Lydecker combined our reproductive cells to form this child and then he put it inside me. We didn't have any say at all."
"You're rather important to Lydecker, then, aren't you?" Logan asked her. She nodded blankly. "Well…I guess it's better that you get out the country while you still can," he told them and reached for the freshly printed paper.
"What about you?" she asked.
"I'll be fine."
"Logan, I-"
"Max," he protested, "you can't stay here anymore. It's not just your life anymore. It's also your child's."
"But I don't want a child!" she cried. And, furiously, she burst out of the room and dashed out of Logan's apartment.
"Nice job," Zack bit. Logan rolled his eyes and went back to his computer work. She would come back, she always did.
Zack followed Max without much trouble. She was hard to miss and was beginning to leave a slight scent about her, due to the hormones starting up for the baby. This worried him, because she could possibly be traceable. He would have to talk to her about that. Lydecker would be looking for any way to get to her that he could.
Zack climbed up a flight of ladders, up to the Space Needle, where she sat, looking out over the city. "I'm sorry," she apologized without turning around upon hearing his shoes ring on the metal beneath.
"No, it's not a big deal."
"Yeah, actually it is," she replied. "I just don't know what to do anymore. I can't kill this child and I can't let it live." She rested her hand on her stomach. Zack sat down by her and glanced across the vast city of twinkling lights. She turned to look at him. "We escaped-didn't we?" she said with a wry smile.
"Yes, yes we did."
"And we'll get the others out-won't we?"
"Yes, we'll get the others out and destroy Lydecker-"
"-once and for all," she finished for him. He grinned.
"But not today."
She shook her head, "No not today. Tomorrow perhaps."
"They'll be free soon."
Max to herself:
I'm coming for you guys, don't think I've forgotten already. How could I? If I haven't forgotten in eleven years, I don't think an eternity without you will erase you any easier. You're etched into my heart, my soul, my very being. Just keep brave. I'm coming.
