Chapter 3: Bent
Logan's Pent House
Seattle, WA
Logan wheeled himself over to the door, wondering who could be knocking. The others had left only hours ago and shouldn't have been back so soon.
Unless something had gone wrong...
To say he was surprised to see Original Cindy standing in the hall when he opened the door was an understatement, "What're you doing here?"
"Nice welcome," she said tartly.
"Uh... sorry... Please, come in."
Cindy strode past him into the foyer of the apartment, clearly nervous by the way she shifted her weight from one foot to the other.
"Is there something I can help you with?" Logan pushed himself over towards her. It would have been easier with the exoskeleton, but he had decided to be conservative. He still didn't have complete faith in the machine to not cut out on him in an emergency, and he didn't want to press his luck if he didn't have to.
"Nah... I just wanted to... make sure you're all right..." Cindy glanced around, taking in the surroundings, "Nice place..." she commented.
"Thanks... and you don't need to worry about me..."
"'Kay... I just... felt an obligation to check up on you... Since you and my boo were so tight..." Cindy turned and slowly started towards the door, "I can't believe she's really gone... I'm gonna miss her..."
"Me too..." Logan said softly, "She didn't deserve this..." and then, almost inaudibly, "I should've done more..."
Cindy rounded on him suddenly, eyes flashing with fury, "Now you listen here, Mr. Weain'tlikethatwe'reonlyfriends! I know my boo had some serious feelings your y'all and she'd've walked through hell and back to save your sorry hide, but what happened was NOT your fault! And you'd see that if you weren't so stuck on feeling sorry for yourself. If you even THINK about doin' somethin' stupid and gettin' yourself hurt, I'm gonna put some serious hurtin' on your skinny white ass! Your job is to get these people who killed her and make them pay. For you, for me, and for everybody who cared about Max! Do I make myself ab-so-lute-ly clear?!"
"I... uh... yeah..." Logan stared, obviously taken aback.
"Good! 'Cause Original Cindy does NOT like to repeat herself!" she spun on her heel and stalked to the door.
"Cindy!" Logan called as she put her hand on the knob.
"Yeah," she said cautiously, looking over her shoulder at him.
"Thanks... I needed that." he smiled softly.
"Anytime," she hitched a shoulder, "If you need someone to chew you outta your mood again, you just call, aiight?"
"Aiight," Logan favored her with a lopsided grin.
She nodded purposefully and turned the knob, "Original Cindy's gotta go now before she does somethin' stupid like havin' a break down, so I'll see ya around."
"Take care of yourself, Cindy."
She paused before closing the door behind her, "You too, Logan... You too."
* * *
Warehouse
Seattle, WA
Lydecker lounged in the passenger's seat of the humvee Max had stolen two days before. Neither Krit nor Syl had been willing to let him drive, which didn't surprise him. He glanced at his watch for the fifth time in as many minutes, wanting to get the deal under way. //Where the hell is Taylor?//
A powder blue sedan pulled up near the entrance of the warehouse, and a tall man nervously got out of the driver's side. He glanced around before scurrying through the tall doors, "Deck...?" he called softly, "You here?"
"The man is never on time," Lydecker muttered as he got out of the car, "Over here, Taylor. You have what I asked for?"
"Yeah, yeah..." Taylor wet his lips anxiously, "Are... are you sure about this? Do you have any idea how much trouble..."
Lydecker cut him off with a gesture, "We don't have time for small talk, Taylor. The longer we stand here, the better our chances are of getting caught."
"Right, right..." fishing two cd cases from his jacket pocket, Taylor handed them to him, "But... Maybe you shouldn't do this... They're mad enough at you as it is. Do you really want to cause more trouble? I mean, you BUILT Manticore..."
"Don't remind me," Lydecker murmured as he inspected the disks, "There's no choice left. Renfro's signed my death warrant, and I don't intend to just roll over and let her stick the knife in. If you're smart, Taylor, you'll get the hell out while you can. She'll be on the warpath now, and anyone who's connected to me will likely get burned."
Taylor nodded, "Okay... Okay, I can do that... I don't think I can help you anymore, Deck, but... be careful... Working for you was a lot better than dealing with... her..."
Lydecker tucked the cd's into his coat, "I don't doubt it. Now get out of here before anyone else shows up, all right?"
"Yes, sir!" Taylor turned and hurried back to his car. He paused for only a moment before getting in, casting one last glance at his former boss, "Take care of yourself..."
With a curt nod, Lydecker watched the other man leave. He headed back to the humvee and clambered back inside the tall vehicle. Lydecker didn't even spare a glance at Krit who was in the driver's seat, "Let's go. We've got work to do."
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A/N: The wheels are starting to turn. What's going to happen next? Read the next chapter!
