Logan must've heard Zack's remark, for he said nothing more about the experience back at Manticore. Purposefully changing the subject, Logan began to talk about how well his brother's marriage was coming along. It was a senseless, mindless babble, but he didn't want to change the subject to something that would hurt Max.
Kicking Zack out of the car and making him walk seemed like a rather good idea to Logan. People make mistakes, even if they are genetically engineered humans at that. Learn to handle it, Zack.
As they entered the city, Max had never been so happy to see it. Despite the dirt, the filth, the wretched muck of it all, she was glad. She would've kissed Kendra's Mr. Multiples, if she could've just stayed in the city, with the promise of never going back to Manticore. "Seattle never looked so good," she remarked to Logan.
He laughed, which caused her to laugh as well. Suddenly, the hospital whizzed by Max's window as they passed it. "Uh…Logan…the hospital's back there," she said.
"I know."
"Then why'd you pass it? That's where we need to go."
"Somehow, taking two genetically engineered killing machines into the hospital and having them examine both of you just wouldn't be a good idea," he replied with a slight smile. "We're going back to my place."
"Your place? What's there?"
"Bling. He's had some experience as a doctor. I mean, for him to be a physical therapist, he does have medical experience. I figured he could help without squealing to the whole city."
"Oh," Max replied and suddenly felt foolish that she hadn't thought of that.
They drove for a little bit more before Logan turned the car into the drive reserved for those living in the complex. Bling was waiting and helped Logan out of the car and into his wheelchair.
Max exited the car without any problem, while Zack, on the other hand, was in a great deal of pain. He would never admit to it and walked into the building without any limping.
Bling watched him enter the building from behind. "His leg doesn't look good," he remarked.
"No, it doesn't, but you try to examine it," Max replied. Bling laughed.
"Yes, that is going to be a problem."
Max, Logan, and Bling all took the elevator up to Logan's penthouse, whereas Zack took the stairs, refusing to be with them. But, by the time the threesome arrived at the door, Zack was already there, leaning casually against the wall. Logan took out the key from his pocket and unlocked the door so they could all enter.
Bling walked over to the table where he helped Logan with his legs. There was a medical bag and a pair of rubber gloves next to it. "I heard that you two went through a pretty bad fire," Bling said to Max and Zack. Max nodded. "Well, who wants to go first?" he asked with a typical doctor's smile.
"I will," Max replied with a slight shrug. Showing him the areas that were hurt, Bling observed those areas and treated them as necessary.
"You're lucky that you're not hurt that badly," Bling told her.
"That's good," Max replied. She turned to Zack who was standing, looking out the window. "Your turn."
He looked as her cautiously. "I'm fine."
"No, you're not. Your leg-" she began.
"My leg is fine."
Bling walked up to Zack. "Your leg isn't fine. I'm surprised you can even walk on something that badly damaged."
Logan found himself holding back a slight chuckle as he watched Bling and Zack. For the first time, it appeared, there was someone besides Zack holding the authority. Bling had a good couple inches over Zack and was so much more muscular. Perhaps Zack could've struggled against Bling, but it wouldn't have been easy-especially with his leg.
Zack glanced back at Max and then to Bling. "I'm fine. I don't need your help."
"You're going to get my help whether you want it or not." Seeing that his choices were limited, Zack reluctantly went with Bling.
Logan and Max waited in the living room area. "Sorry," Logan apologized.
"For what?"
"For not coming to save you sooner."
"God, Logan, it's not like you could've known."
"Still…" he began. Then, changing the subject, "Are you hungry?"
"Starving."
So, Logan and Max then headed into the kitchen area to determine what to eat. There were some leftovers in the refrigerator that Max willingly heated up. As they had just sat down to begin eating, Bling entered, pulling off a pair of blood-stained rubber gloves.
"How is he?" Max asked, rising to her feet. "I know he'll never tell any of us the truth."
"It doesn't look good. I mean, he'll survive, but he will probably have a permanent limp. At first, he wouldn't let me see, but finally I convinced him. It looks as though his whole left side is damaged to a degree. Left wrist broken, bone in his leg slightly fractured…and that leg….ouch."
"What?"
"It's severely burned. I put some ointment on it and gauze. Hopefully, that'll help. I'm not a real great doctor, but I think what I did will help."
"Will he get better? You said he'll probably have a limp, but how bad?"
"I don't think he'll be doing any extreme running, jumping...stuff like that." Bling grimaced. "The leg was pretty badly damaged. We're lucky it didn't require amputation."
Max looked up past Bling to see Zack. He was staring right at her, with a mixture of both anger and sadness painted on his face as he heard the news, realizing the extent of his injuries.
