Disclaimer: I don't own em'
Title: Mourning
Rating: PG
Spoilers: All episodes
Summary: Logan, Bling and Charlie deal with the death of Max and Tinga.
Chapter 3: Charlie
Logan and Bling spent the next few hours preparing to travel to Canada.
Bling retrieved several thousand dollars from the safe, money that had been earmarked for the cervochip, and left the apartment. While Bling was gone Logan prepared their identification. It took him few hours to track down the sector passes they would need and to prepare Canadian passports and driver's licenses. When the Id's were complete he packed a couple of duffel bags with a few clothes and toiletries and left them beside the door. He looked at his wheelchair sitting in the training room. He paused for a moment then retrieved it and placed it by the door. It was still a part of his life. He picked up one duffel bag and hung it on the back of the chair then he walked over to the phone, picked it up and dialed.
"Mrs. Mareno. This is Logan from downstairs. I just wanted you to know that Bling and I are going camping for a couple of weeks. We want to take advantage of this good weather while it lasts." Logan paused for a moment. "Thanks Mrs. Mareno, we'll have a good time." Their destination was now established.
With his preparations complete Logan walked over to the computer to check on communications from the others. He had been home three days but he had not heard anything new. He then tried hacking into Manticore but most of their system was down. Logan turned off his computer in frustration. Visiting Charlie was so irrational. He was going to be out of touch for a long time yet he felt compelled to go.
Bling returned a short while later, tossed a set of keys at Logan, grabbed the wheelchair and walked back out the door. Logan followed towing the other duffel bag. They took the elevator to the main lobby then headed out onto the street.
"Hey, great car Bling!" Logan tossed the keys back at Bling and climbed into the passenger side of the twenty-year old jeep. They had decided that they didn't want Logan's Aztec connected in any way to Charlie.
"I picked it up this week. Thought we'd head out of town for a while and celebrate your new found mobility." Bling opened the hatch of the jeep and tossed the wheelchair and duffel bags in with the gasoline and the rest of the "camping" gear he had picked up for the trip.
"Ready?" Bling climbed in behind the wheel and looked at Logan.
"Yeah." Logan replied as they headed for the first sector checkpoint.
Logan and Bling crossed the Canadian border then headed east along the Trans-Canada Highway. It was potholed and rough in many places, another casualty of the pulse, but was much safer to travel than the interstates. They purchased extra gas and supplies at the first service station they found not knowing what would be available further down the road. They made good time since neither of them was inclined to stop for long and there were no longer any traffic officers or posted speed limits to consider.
Bling had driven most of the first day and Logan had driven through the night winding his way up and down the rocky mountains while Bling had caught some rest. When Bling awoke they were well into the province of Alberta. They stopped at the first small town to replenish their supplies then Bling took over the wheel. Logan hadn't slept in over twenty-four hours but despite his obvious exhaustion he just stared at the mile markers along the highway, not willing to sleep or talk.
"Why don't you close your eyes for a few minutes?" Bling looked at Logan in concern.
"Not tired." Logan kept staring at the mile markers.
"Logan, you need to catch some sleep or you won't be able to drive the next leg. You'll probably drive us off the road." Bling tried the logical approach.
'Not tired."
"Logan, I'm really concerned about you. Please try and get some rest." He was pleading now.
"Hmm"
"Logan please...." Bling stopped short. Logan didn't even hear him. In frustration he stopped the car and turned off the engine.
"What are you doing?" Logan turned to him in shock. "Start the car."
"This vehicle isn't going anywhere until you close your eyes." Bling stared at Logan with determination.
"Look Bling, I'm not tired." Logan stared back just as intensely. "I'm fine. Just start the car."
Bling returned his gaze and waited. An hour later they were still sitting there.
"Fine." Logan gave Bling an exasperated glare then reclined the seat and closed his eyes. A moment later he opened his eyes and glared at Bling again.
"Keep them closed!" Bling started the engine. This time Logan conceded and kept his eyes closed. Although Logan wasn't willing to relax his exhausted body complied and a few minutes later Bling was relieved to hear Logan's breathing deepen as he fell asleep.
As Bling drove he would often look over at Logan's sleeping form needing to reassure himself that Logan was still okay. Logan appeared to function on a superficial level but his eyes betrayed his hidden turmoil. The grief he was holding inside him was destroying him but he wasn't able to express it. Bling recognized this pattern. In the year he had known him, Logan had never been good at expressing his emotions. He would push through the days burying his anger and frustration in his work. During those few times that Logan had allowed his feelings out Bling had been shocked at the depth of his despair. Sometimes Bling felt it was a miracle that Logan had made it so far. If it weren't for Max and his journal writing he would probably have lost him long ago. Now Max was gone and Logan hadn't written a thing since her death. Bling had offered a listening ear, but while Logan seemed appreciative of his presence he wasn't able to talk to him. This visit to Charlie was Bling's last hope. He was willing to do anything to get his friend through this and if it took driving across the continent he would do it. If Logan could talk to Charlie and find some solace with him Bling was willing to die to get him there.
Logan awoke several hours later surprising himself that he was able to sleep so long. They stopped to stretch a few minutes and pulled out some food from the back of the jeep then Bling went back to driving and Logan returned to staring at the road. The endless miles of abandoned farmland they passed reflected the barrenness of his soul. Max was dead.
Logan was grateful to be able to drive again that night. There was no way he could sleep so he took the wheel and counted the miles. The driving and the counting were something he could focus on. They were heading east driving into the horizon. In a few hours the sun would rise in front of him. He pushed the jeep to the limits of its ability wanting to reach it as soon as possible, needing to see its light. When then sun finally came up he woke up Bling and they stopped for a few minutes to rest and eat. Then Bling took the wheel and Logan allowed himself to sleep for a few hours. Their routine was established as they settled in for the thousands of miles yet to cover. Five days survived and an eternity to go.
Charlie and Case had been in Hamilton Ontario Canada for two weeks. They had easily slipped into Hamilton life. Charlie found an apartment the day they arrived and forwarded his location via the secure channel Logan had given him. Then he never contacted Logan again.
The documentation Logan had provided was first class. Charlie and Case were Joshua and Jordan Kelly now. He had found work as a longshoreman at the Port of Hamilton, which was one of the remaining functioning East Coast ports. There was still work there for anyone who didn't mind hard labor and long hours so the port saw a constant influx of people looking for a day's or a week's or a year's worth of work.
It was the perfect job for him. He poured out his hate, his anger and his loss into his work as he tackled the physical challenge of the job. At the end of the day his body was tired, his hate was spent and all that was left was the love that he shared with his son. Charlie spent most of his time outside of work with Case, playing with him, talking with him and just being together. They spent even more time with each other than they had in Portland wanting to enjoy every precious moment together. They would often talk about Tinga and how much they loved and missed and every night before bed they would tell each other Mommy's story about the princess, the castle and the evil king. But it the daytime Case seemed like any other happy little boy. He had instinctively adopted their new names and never slipped up. He seemed unfazed by his new life adapting easily to his new city, new school and new friends. His resilience was amazing to Charlie.
Life in Hamilton was different from Portland. There was less grime and graffiti in the streets but it was the attitude of the people that most stood out to Charlie. Despite the economic hardship that they faced they had a determination to succeed. He saw it in the faces on the street and in the faces of his crew at work. They were strong hard men familiar with the harshness of life. They were used to fighting battles and had the scars to prove it. They continued to fight every day. They fought the containers which they manhandled on and off ships. They fought the foremen that controlled their work and at the end of the day they fought each other. They respected the ability to fight, to win and to lose. They were survivors.
Charlie was half the size of some of these men yet they respected him and treated him as their equal. They recognized the strength in his eyes, the strength that he had discovered when he lost Tinga the first time and reinforced when he had to let her go again. Tinga was willing to do anything to protect their son and so was Charlie. He too had become a survivor.
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A week later Bling and Logan pulled into Hamilton and drove directly to the address Charlie had given them. The building was old but clean and well cared for.
"Yes?" An older woman answered their knock on the door.
"Hi. My name's John and this is Peter. We're friends of Joshua's from out of town." Logan could hear Case playing in the background.
"I'm Mary, Joshua's neighbor." The woman smiled warmly. "I usually stay with Jordan until Joshua gets home." She rolled her eyes at the racket going on behind her.
"You can find him at the waterfront. Pier 10. Shift ends at six." She looked over her shoulder to make sure everything was okay then looked back at Logan. "Sorry, I have to keep my eye on him so he doesn't tear the place down."
"No problem." Logan smiled at Mary. "Thanks for the directions. We'll look for him there." The woman's trusting nature shocked Logan. Despite his own preoccupations with security it was a refreshing change from Seattle where everyone was suspicious and protective of their privacy.
Logan and Bling headed back to the car and drove to the waterfront. They found Pier 10 easily and pulled over with the other vehicles that seemed to be arriving for the end of the shift. Logan climbed out of the car, leaned on the driver's door and settled in to wait for Charlie.
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It had been a long day. The port had moved twenty thousand tons of goods that day, about two thirds of what moved through in the pre-pulse years, but still enough to push several crews hard. Charlie pushed his hardhat further over his head and lifted up the collar of his mac jacket against the wind that constantly blew along the waterfront. He looked at the crews working around him pushing to empty one final container onto waiting trucks. An assortment of old vehicles were pulling over at the end of the dock. Wives, brothers, girlfriends, were arriving to pick up the men at the end of the shift. There was no public transportation this far along the waterfront and even with the work available in this town no one could afford to park a car all day. There were half a dozen unfamiliar vehicles today, belonging to new workers who like Charlie had found their way into town. A tall blond man climbed out of an old black jeep and leaned against the door. He didn't look like a dockworker. He was probably there to pick up a girlfriend who worked in one of the small coffee shops that lined the docks. He was early though, the girls usually worked another hour, feeding and serving coffee to the men that swarmed off the docks. Another neophyte. He'd figure it out soon enough. Charlie was one himself but the rhythm of the waterfront had quickly established itself in his mind. As the whistle blew to signal the end of shift he trudged back up the dock with the rest of his crew. They worked their way past the waiting cars heading for their rides. Charlie glanced at the man leaning on the jeep who met his gaze with an inquiring look. It was then that he noticed the man's eyes.
Charlie recognized the look in those eyes. He saw it every day in the men that worked around him and he saw it in the mirror every morning. It was the look of wars fought and won and lost, the look of almost unbearable losses and of the battle to survive. The eyes were piercing blue and intelligent. Charlie knew only one man with eyes like that, Logan Cale. But this man's eyes were different, the depth of the loss revealed in them was a thousand times what he remembered seeing in Logan's eyes. It sent a chill down his spine and stopped him in his tracks.
"Later." He punched the fists of his crew, their usual goodbye. He turned around and walked back to the black jeep.
"Logan?" Charlie placed his hand tentatively on the man's shoulder. His voice was cautious, unsure.
"Joshua?" He used Charlie's new name. It was Logan.
Charlie reached out to shake Logan's hand then in a moment of spontaneous emotion he pulled Logan into a rough embrace. They had spent only twenty-four hours together but their circumstances had brought him closer to this man than anyone else in his life besides Tinga and Case. Logan returned the embrace with a desperation for human contact that shocked Charlie. But after a brief moment Logan pulled himself away suppressing the emotion that had begun to pour out of him.
"I almost didn't recognize you." Charlie indicated his surprise at seeing Logan standing up. "What happened to the chair?"
"It's in the back, I still use it sometimes." Logan pointed to the back of the jeep then explained the workings of the exoskeleton to Charlie.
"You must be so happy man, to be back on your feet again."
"Yeah. It's a miracle." Logan's words said one thing, but his voice and his eyes revealed an underlying tragedy that even overwhelmed the miracle of being able to walk again.
"Call me John." Logan abruptly changed the subject. "I'd like to introduce you to Peter." Bling got out of the car and shook Charlie's hand. Charlie remembered Bling from Logan's apartment.
"How've you been keepin' man?" Bling asked.
"Survivin'." It was an accurate one-word description of Charlie's life.
"What brings you guys here?" Charlie already knew the answer. It was written all over Logan's face and buried in his eyes. He dreaded hearing the words yet he had to acknowledge them.
"Let's walk." Logan headed down the waterfront. They were silent for a long time as Logan put his thoughts together.
"Max and I got together." Logan's voice was distant as if the event was an eternity ago. "You were right, every second together was worth it."
"That's great man. She's a wonderful woman." At the word's Logan stopped and turned to face Charlie. Tears were pouring down his cheeks.
"Charlie...." For once Logan forgot about any security precautions. "Max is dead and so is Tinga. I'm so sorry." The loss and the ache, which Logan had suppressed for so long, poured out of him in huge sobs. He reached out to Charlie desperate to share his grief with someone who understood.
"I know, I know..." Charlie wrapped his arms around Logan as the tears began to flow from the depths of his soul as well. They held each other in a desperate embrace. They stood for a long time on the now empty docks; the wind whipping at them as they struggled to support each other against the tragedy that threatened to crush them both.
To be continued...
Title: Mourning
Rating: PG
Spoilers: All episodes
Summary: Logan, Bling and Charlie deal with the death of Max and Tinga.
Chapter 3: Charlie
Logan and Bling spent the next few hours preparing to travel to Canada.
Bling retrieved several thousand dollars from the safe, money that had been earmarked for the cervochip, and left the apartment. While Bling was gone Logan prepared their identification. It took him few hours to track down the sector passes they would need and to prepare Canadian passports and driver's licenses. When the Id's were complete he packed a couple of duffel bags with a few clothes and toiletries and left them beside the door. He looked at his wheelchair sitting in the training room. He paused for a moment then retrieved it and placed it by the door. It was still a part of his life. He picked up one duffel bag and hung it on the back of the chair then he walked over to the phone, picked it up and dialed.
"Mrs. Mareno. This is Logan from downstairs. I just wanted you to know that Bling and I are going camping for a couple of weeks. We want to take advantage of this good weather while it lasts." Logan paused for a moment. "Thanks Mrs. Mareno, we'll have a good time." Their destination was now established.
With his preparations complete Logan walked over to the computer to check on communications from the others. He had been home three days but he had not heard anything new. He then tried hacking into Manticore but most of their system was down. Logan turned off his computer in frustration. Visiting Charlie was so irrational. He was going to be out of touch for a long time yet he felt compelled to go.
Bling returned a short while later, tossed a set of keys at Logan, grabbed the wheelchair and walked back out the door. Logan followed towing the other duffel bag. They took the elevator to the main lobby then headed out onto the street.
"Hey, great car Bling!" Logan tossed the keys back at Bling and climbed into the passenger side of the twenty-year old jeep. They had decided that they didn't want Logan's Aztec connected in any way to Charlie.
"I picked it up this week. Thought we'd head out of town for a while and celebrate your new found mobility." Bling opened the hatch of the jeep and tossed the wheelchair and duffel bags in with the gasoline and the rest of the "camping" gear he had picked up for the trip.
"Ready?" Bling climbed in behind the wheel and looked at Logan.
"Yeah." Logan replied as they headed for the first sector checkpoint.
Logan and Bling crossed the Canadian border then headed east along the Trans-Canada Highway. It was potholed and rough in many places, another casualty of the pulse, but was much safer to travel than the interstates. They purchased extra gas and supplies at the first service station they found not knowing what would be available further down the road. They made good time since neither of them was inclined to stop for long and there were no longer any traffic officers or posted speed limits to consider.
Bling had driven most of the first day and Logan had driven through the night winding his way up and down the rocky mountains while Bling had caught some rest. When Bling awoke they were well into the province of Alberta. They stopped at the first small town to replenish their supplies then Bling took over the wheel. Logan hadn't slept in over twenty-four hours but despite his obvious exhaustion he just stared at the mile markers along the highway, not willing to sleep or talk.
"Why don't you close your eyes for a few minutes?" Bling looked at Logan in concern.
"Not tired." Logan kept staring at the mile markers.
"Logan, you need to catch some sleep or you won't be able to drive the next leg. You'll probably drive us off the road." Bling tried the logical approach.
'Not tired."
"Logan, I'm really concerned about you. Please try and get some rest." He was pleading now.
"Hmm"
"Logan please...." Bling stopped short. Logan didn't even hear him. In frustration he stopped the car and turned off the engine.
"What are you doing?" Logan turned to him in shock. "Start the car."
"This vehicle isn't going anywhere until you close your eyes." Bling stared at Logan with determination.
"Look Bling, I'm not tired." Logan stared back just as intensely. "I'm fine. Just start the car."
Bling returned his gaze and waited. An hour later they were still sitting there.
"Fine." Logan gave Bling an exasperated glare then reclined the seat and closed his eyes. A moment later he opened his eyes and glared at Bling again.
"Keep them closed!" Bling started the engine. This time Logan conceded and kept his eyes closed. Although Logan wasn't willing to relax his exhausted body complied and a few minutes later Bling was relieved to hear Logan's breathing deepen as he fell asleep.
As Bling drove he would often look over at Logan's sleeping form needing to reassure himself that Logan was still okay. Logan appeared to function on a superficial level but his eyes betrayed his hidden turmoil. The grief he was holding inside him was destroying him but he wasn't able to express it. Bling recognized this pattern. In the year he had known him, Logan had never been good at expressing his emotions. He would push through the days burying his anger and frustration in his work. During those few times that Logan had allowed his feelings out Bling had been shocked at the depth of his despair. Sometimes Bling felt it was a miracle that Logan had made it so far. If it weren't for Max and his journal writing he would probably have lost him long ago. Now Max was gone and Logan hadn't written a thing since her death. Bling had offered a listening ear, but while Logan seemed appreciative of his presence he wasn't able to talk to him. This visit to Charlie was Bling's last hope. He was willing to do anything to get his friend through this and if it took driving across the continent he would do it. If Logan could talk to Charlie and find some solace with him Bling was willing to die to get him there.
Logan awoke several hours later surprising himself that he was able to sleep so long. They stopped to stretch a few minutes and pulled out some food from the back of the jeep then Bling went back to driving and Logan returned to staring at the road. The endless miles of abandoned farmland they passed reflected the barrenness of his soul. Max was dead.
Logan was grateful to be able to drive again that night. There was no way he could sleep so he took the wheel and counted the miles. The driving and the counting were something he could focus on. They were heading east driving into the horizon. In a few hours the sun would rise in front of him. He pushed the jeep to the limits of its ability wanting to reach it as soon as possible, needing to see its light. When then sun finally came up he woke up Bling and they stopped for a few minutes to rest and eat. Then Bling took the wheel and Logan allowed himself to sleep for a few hours. Their routine was established as they settled in for the thousands of miles yet to cover. Five days survived and an eternity to go.
Charlie and Case had been in Hamilton Ontario Canada for two weeks. They had easily slipped into Hamilton life. Charlie found an apartment the day they arrived and forwarded his location via the secure channel Logan had given him. Then he never contacted Logan again.
The documentation Logan had provided was first class. Charlie and Case were Joshua and Jordan Kelly now. He had found work as a longshoreman at the Port of Hamilton, which was one of the remaining functioning East Coast ports. There was still work there for anyone who didn't mind hard labor and long hours so the port saw a constant influx of people looking for a day's or a week's or a year's worth of work.
It was the perfect job for him. He poured out his hate, his anger and his loss into his work as he tackled the physical challenge of the job. At the end of the day his body was tired, his hate was spent and all that was left was the love that he shared with his son. Charlie spent most of his time outside of work with Case, playing with him, talking with him and just being together. They spent even more time with each other than they had in Portland wanting to enjoy every precious moment together. They would often talk about Tinga and how much they loved and missed and every night before bed they would tell each other Mommy's story about the princess, the castle and the evil king. But it the daytime Case seemed like any other happy little boy. He had instinctively adopted their new names and never slipped up. He seemed unfazed by his new life adapting easily to his new city, new school and new friends. His resilience was amazing to Charlie.
Life in Hamilton was different from Portland. There was less grime and graffiti in the streets but it was the attitude of the people that most stood out to Charlie. Despite the economic hardship that they faced they had a determination to succeed. He saw it in the faces on the street and in the faces of his crew at work. They were strong hard men familiar with the harshness of life. They were used to fighting battles and had the scars to prove it. They continued to fight every day. They fought the containers which they manhandled on and off ships. They fought the foremen that controlled their work and at the end of the day they fought each other. They respected the ability to fight, to win and to lose. They were survivors.
Charlie was half the size of some of these men yet they respected him and treated him as their equal. They recognized the strength in his eyes, the strength that he had discovered when he lost Tinga the first time and reinforced when he had to let her go again. Tinga was willing to do anything to protect their son and so was Charlie. He too had become a survivor.
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A week later Bling and Logan pulled into Hamilton and drove directly to the address Charlie had given them. The building was old but clean and well cared for.
"Yes?" An older woman answered their knock on the door.
"Hi. My name's John and this is Peter. We're friends of Joshua's from out of town." Logan could hear Case playing in the background.
"I'm Mary, Joshua's neighbor." The woman smiled warmly. "I usually stay with Jordan until Joshua gets home." She rolled her eyes at the racket going on behind her.
"You can find him at the waterfront. Pier 10. Shift ends at six." She looked over her shoulder to make sure everything was okay then looked back at Logan. "Sorry, I have to keep my eye on him so he doesn't tear the place down."
"No problem." Logan smiled at Mary. "Thanks for the directions. We'll look for him there." The woman's trusting nature shocked Logan. Despite his own preoccupations with security it was a refreshing change from Seattle where everyone was suspicious and protective of their privacy.
Logan and Bling headed back to the car and drove to the waterfront. They found Pier 10 easily and pulled over with the other vehicles that seemed to be arriving for the end of the shift. Logan climbed out of the car, leaned on the driver's door and settled in to wait for Charlie.
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It had been a long day. The port had moved twenty thousand tons of goods that day, about two thirds of what moved through in the pre-pulse years, but still enough to push several crews hard. Charlie pushed his hardhat further over his head and lifted up the collar of his mac jacket against the wind that constantly blew along the waterfront. He looked at the crews working around him pushing to empty one final container onto waiting trucks. An assortment of old vehicles were pulling over at the end of the dock. Wives, brothers, girlfriends, were arriving to pick up the men at the end of the shift. There was no public transportation this far along the waterfront and even with the work available in this town no one could afford to park a car all day. There were half a dozen unfamiliar vehicles today, belonging to new workers who like Charlie had found their way into town. A tall blond man climbed out of an old black jeep and leaned against the door. He didn't look like a dockworker. He was probably there to pick up a girlfriend who worked in one of the small coffee shops that lined the docks. He was early though, the girls usually worked another hour, feeding and serving coffee to the men that swarmed off the docks. Another neophyte. He'd figure it out soon enough. Charlie was one himself but the rhythm of the waterfront had quickly established itself in his mind. As the whistle blew to signal the end of shift he trudged back up the dock with the rest of his crew. They worked their way past the waiting cars heading for their rides. Charlie glanced at the man leaning on the jeep who met his gaze with an inquiring look. It was then that he noticed the man's eyes.
Charlie recognized the look in those eyes. He saw it every day in the men that worked around him and he saw it in the mirror every morning. It was the look of wars fought and won and lost, the look of almost unbearable losses and of the battle to survive. The eyes were piercing blue and intelligent. Charlie knew only one man with eyes like that, Logan Cale. But this man's eyes were different, the depth of the loss revealed in them was a thousand times what he remembered seeing in Logan's eyes. It sent a chill down his spine and stopped him in his tracks.
"Later." He punched the fists of his crew, their usual goodbye. He turned around and walked back to the black jeep.
"Logan?" Charlie placed his hand tentatively on the man's shoulder. His voice was cautious, unsure.
"Joshua?" He used Charlie's new name. It was Logan.
Charlie reached out to shake Logan's hand then in a moment of spontaneous emotion he pulled Logan into a rough embrace. They had spent only twenty-four hours together but their circumstances had brought him closer to this man than anyone else in his life besides Tinga and Case. Logan returned the embrace with a desperation for human contact that shocked Charlie. But after a brief moment Logan pulled himself away suppressing the emotion that had begun to pour out of him.
"I almost didn't recognize you." Charlie indicated his surprise at seeing Logan standing up. "What happened to the chair?"
"It's in the back, I still use it sometimes." Logan pointed to the back of the jeep then explained the workings of the exoskeleton to Charlie.
"You must be so happy man, to be back on your feet again."
"Yeah. It's a miracle." Logan's words said one thing, but his voice and his eyes revealed an underlying tragedy that even overwhelmed the miracle of being able to walk again.
"Call me John." Logan abruptly changed the subject. "I'd like to introduce you to Peter." Bling got out of the car and shook Charlie's hand. Charlie remembered Bling from Logan's apartment.
"How've you been keepin' man?" Bling asked.
"Survivin'." It was an accurate one-word description of Charlie's life.
"What brings you guys here?" Charlie already knew the answer. It was written all over Logan's face and buried in his eyes. He dreaded hearing the words yet he had to acknowledge them.
"Let's walk." Logan headed down the waterfront. They were silent for a long time as Logan put his thoughts together.
"Max and I got together." Logan's voice was distant as if the event was an eternity ago. "You were right, every second together was worth it."
"That's great man. She's a wonderful woman." At the word's Logan stopped and turned to face Charlie. Tears were pouring down his cheeks.
"Charlie...." For once Logan forgot about any security precautions. "Max is dead and so is Tinga. I'm so sorry." The loss and the ache, which Logan had suppressed for so long, poured out of him in huge sobs. He reached out to Charlie desperate to share his grief with someone who understood.
"I know, I know..." Charlie wrapped his arms around Logan as the tears began to flow from the depths of his soul as well. They held each other in a desperate embrace. They stood for a long time on the now empty docks; the wind whipping at them as they struggled to support each other against the tragedy that threatened to crush them both.
To be continued...
