A/N: Woops... apparently I've been spelling Zack's name wrong... Thanks for the heads up True! I think I've got all the Zack's spelled right now, though. A big, huge thank you to all the people who have written reviews! You guys are so great! I hope I can keep you all entertained for at least a little while. :)
Disclaimer: Nope, I don't own Dark Angel or the characters (well, 'cept the ones not from the show, but you can borrow them if you like), and I'm not profiting from this either. Just having a lot of fun with 'em. :)
*********** ***************
Chapter 5: Truth and Dare
Logan's Penthouse
Seattle, WA
Logan winced as he rotated his shoulder in an attempt to work a kink out. There was an audible "pop" from the joint, but it felt slightly looser afterwards. He rubbed his tired eyes, displacing his glasses in doing so. For the last four hours he had been hacking his way past Manticore computer security searching for any information on Max. So far, there was nothing.
//No... I'm not going to give up. She HAS to be alive... I can't let myself believe that Renfro was just using her name as bait... There has to be something...//
"Any luck?" Lydecker dropped into the chair near Logan.
It was an odd thing to be sitting with the man who had tortured and hunted the woman he cared so much about, "Not yet."
Lydecker made a non-committal noise, "She might not really be alive. I wouldn't put it past Renfro to play us like that."
"Just the same, I'm going to keep looking," Logan's fingers flew easily across the familiar keyboard.
"I expected you to say that... If you can't find anything... when will you let it go?" Lydecker watched him curiously.
Logan's head snapped around to look angrily at Lydecker. He opened his mouth to speak, but the words died in his throat. When WOULD he let it go?
// When there's nothing left for me to do.// He would try until he completely ran out of options. It was the least he could do for her. Logan turned back to the screen rather than responding.
Running his fingers through his graying blond hair, Lydecker sighed, "I want to find her as much as you do... But this isn't going to be easy. Even if she is alive, they'll try to reprogram her. We may end up having to fight her too."
"No. Max will fight them," Logan said confidently.
"You have no idea, do you?" Lydecker shook his head with a wry smile, "She might try... Actually, I don't doubt that she will. Max's a strong girl, but no one's that strong. Manticore has a way of being... persuasive."
"Why are you telling me this? I thought you wanted to find her." Logan kept his eyes fixed on the screen. There was no way he was going to let Lydecker know just how much he feared Max being turned against them... against him.
"I do. But... You need to be prepared," Lydecker leaned towards Logan, "You have to realize that if you see her again, she might not be the person you remember."
Logan glanced at him and paused for a moment before resuming his search, "That's all the more reason for us to get her out... What's this...?"
Lydecker moved to be able to see the monitor, "It looks like a medical report... from the infirmary."
"Here," Lydecker tapped the screen, "It says she was transferred to the ICU..."
"She IS alive..." Logan let out the breath he hadn't realized he had been holding.
"There's more to this... There should be a formal report from the doctor in charge... Can you find it?"
A moment passed to the rattle of Logan's fingers on the keys, "It's in here... but I can't get to it," Logan said, frustration evident in his voice, "It's been put under clearance level five. I'd need passwords and numbers..."
"Damn..." Lydecker sat back in the chair. There had to be something special in that report if they had secured it. He REALLY wanted to see that file...
"Something wrong?" Krit walked into the room, followed closely by his blonde sister.
"Max IS alive!" Logan spun in his chair to face them, "I found a medical report." The two X5's exchanged looks of relief. At least they hadn't lost yet another sibling to Manticore. "There's something that's been taken out of the report, though," Logan warned, "It has to be significant for them to hide it like that..."
"Whatever it is will have to wait... We have to get Max and Zack out of that place," Syl said.
Lydecker stood, gathering an air of authority around him like a palpable thing, "First we need to rearm ourselves and see if we can't get any back-up. I'd hate to go into this thing with only two soldiers."
"I might be able to find Zane..." Krit said reluctantly. It went against every fiber of his being to reveal the location of his brother to Lydecker, but it might be the only way they could rescue Max and Zack.
"Might?" Lydecker crossed his arms, "We don't have much time to waste. How sure are you that you can get to him?"
Automatically drawing himself to attention, Krit responded, "Almost certain. I saw him not that long ago..." he stopped short of giving the location.
"Good. Do either of you know where Jondy is? Or Jace?" Lydecker was a bit disappointed when they both indicated the negative. //Well, one more is better than none...// "All right then. The two of you go get Zane and fill him in on the situation. I'd only send one of you, but if things get rough, we wouldn't be able to bail you out. We're going to need all three of you if Manticore decides to play hardball, and they always do."
Logan regarded the X5's, "I should be able to round up some equipment before you get back. We won't really be able to stay in contact... but use this number if you need to reach us." Logan handed a slip of paper to Krit who glanced at it. It wasn't necessary to keep the paper, of course, since he could easily remember it.
"You have your mission, soldiers," Lydecker clasped his hands behind his back and watched the two youngsters. Both nodded to him and headed for the door.
"Be careful," Logan called, disliking the impersonal way Lydecker had dismissed them.
"Don't worry about us. We'll be back in no time," Syl called with a smile just before closing the door behind her.
With a heavy sigh, Logan forced his body to relax. He tipped his head to the side and looked at Lydecker, "Looks like its just you and me for a while..." //Oh, God... Did I just say that? I MUST be tired...//
Seating himself again, Lydecker favored him with a half-smile, "Maybe you should get some sleep. You're starting to look a little green around the gills."
//Sleep? With HIM here? Not that I have much choice...// "Yeah... I suppose so..." Logan stood up and found his legs wobbling a little. He hadn't really thought he was that tired, but then again... "Well... Good night, anyway..."
As he moved towards the bedroom door, Logan heard Lydecker say with a sarcastic tone, "Pleasant dreams..."
************* ******************
Strong hands touched his face, gently running along the line of his jaw. Logan's eyes flew open and he couldn't help but stare at the sight in front of him.
"Max?! Max... My God..."
He pushed himself to a sitting position, "Max... Thank God... I was so worried... but how...?"
A finger pressed against his lips to stop his words. She smiled and kissed his face.
"Max..." he breathed, reaching for her. Her fingers slid up into his hair and she tipped his head back, looking him in the eyes.
//Something's wrong...// Her dark eyes glittered with menace. A sharp stab of fear lanced through his chest. "Max...?" he questioned, barely able to push her name past his lips.
Her generous lips twisted in a cruel smile, and with a sharp motion, she snapped his neck.
Logan gasped and sat up, his heart pounding. //What? A dream... just a dream...// He shuddered and rubbed at his eyes, wanting to drive away the images from the nightmare. //Not real...//
He plucked his glasses from the night stand and put them on. A glance at the clock informed him that it was already 9:50 AM. Logan sighed. //Overslept...//
After dressing and putting on the exoskeleton, Logan let himself out into the living room. Lydecker sat near the window where the mid-morning sun was streaming in. He glanced at Logan and raised the glass of orange juice that was in his hand, "Hope you don't mind..."
"Not at all," Logan shrugged. //Not at all? What's next? Make yourself at home?//
A knock came from the front door, and Logan happily headed out to answer it, thankful for the distraction. Lydecker seemed less pleased and rested his free hand on his gun as he stood.
Logan opened the door to find Original Cindy, "Hey... What's up? It's good to see you again... Actually, have something I need... What?" Cindy was staring at him, not responding to his words. Logan looked down at himself in confusion. Why was she staring...?
//You're standing, stupid.// his brain supplied. "Oh... I forgot... Uh... I can explain... Just come in, please." Logan waved her past him, and she complied. Her mouth opened to start asking questions when she saw Lydecker standing in doorway to the living room. She came to a full stop, "What the HELL is he doin' here?!"
"Uh... I can explain that too," Logan said quickly, "He's here to help actually."
"I've got another one for you," Logan said with a grin, "Max is alive!"
"WHAT?!" disbelief, shock, and joy went to war over which got to express itself on her face, "Talk fast, Logan," she demanded.
"We found medical records in Manticore's database. They found Max and revived her." Logan found her couldn't stop smiling. After having been the one to tell Cindy about her friends death, it felt good to give her the news that she was still among the living.
Lydecker shook his head and rolled his eyes, "I take it she knows, then." //How many others know? Damn... this is all I need...//
Cindy fixed him with an icy stare for a moment before turning back to Logan, "You SURE?"
Logan nodded vigorously.
"Damn... Okay, I gotta sit down now," Cindy made her way over to the couch where she promptly sat. She looked Logan up and down for a moment, "Oh, right. Almost forgot. How'd you get up and about, anyway?"
"Ah," Lifting his pant leg so she could see the exoskeleton, Logan shrugged nonchalantly, "A gift from an eccentric friend."
"That's one hell of a present," she muttered, deciding she could forgo the full story for the moment, "And him..." she jerked a thumb in Lydecker's direction, "He's here to help get Max back?"
"Pretty much."
The look on Cindy's face clearly stated her difficulty in believing Logan's words.
Lydecker heaved a sigh and sat back down near the window. It annoyed him when people spoke as if he wasn't even in the room, but there was little to do about it.
"You sure you can trust 'em...? Wait," Cindy held up a hand to halt Logan's response, "I know. You wouldn't let him in here if you didn't... Right..." she blew out a long breath in an attempt to steady her nerves, "This is a lot to drop on a girl all at once, ya know?"
Logan grinned, "Well, I thought it'd be better to tell you right away. Didn't want to give you an excuse to kick my ass later."
She eyed him as if she was seriously considering the action even now, "How long have you known about this, then?"
"Just last night. I would have called..."
"Whatever..." she waved her hands in the air and a childish smile appeared on her face, "I can't believe this... My girl's gonna be all right?"
Logan put a hand on her shoulder, "We're going to get her back."
"Ya know... I believe you," she shook her head, "Damn... I guess it's a good thing I couldn't figure out how to spring the bad news on everyone else. Now I just gotta find somethin' to tell Normal to get him off my back. I'm runnin' out of excuses for Max."
Lydecker watched their exchange with something akin to disgust. //Civilians...// There were reasons not to get them involved in military affairs. They tended to bog things down with their emotional out look and strange senses of ethics. Cale, at least, seemed to be useful, though...
"Don't worry about it," Logan told her, "We'll work something out..." He thought for a brief moment, "Tell Normal Max's in the hospital for her neurological disorder... It should sound serious enough to shut him up for a while," his blue eyes danced with amusement.
"Good, 'cause I'm gettin' seriously close to smackin' his ass."
"By the way... was there a reason you stopped by?"
"Oh yeah... Got a package for ya," Cindy dug through her bag and handed a small brown box to Logan. She was slightly embarrassed at having forgot, but hid it well.
"What's this?" he said as he studied the item in question.
"Beats me. You expectin' somethin'?"
"No..." he murmured as he opened it. He hurriedly displaced some packing styrofoam to get to the contents, "Hey... it's another battery pack."
"Huh?" Cindy blinked at him.
"For the exoskeleton," Logan said as he removed it from the box, "This must be from Sebastian. I was telling him that I was worried about not having a spare," he grinned again, "I'll have to thank him..."
"Uh... yeah, whatever," Cindy shrugged, "I hate to be anti-social or somethin', but if I don't get back to work, I'll be listenin' to 'bip, bip, bip' all damn day." She stood and cast a disdainful glance at Lydecker who was pointedly ignoring the conversation, "Make sure you watch your back, 'kay? I'm countin' on you to come through for my boo."
"Don't worry. I'll do everything I can," Logan walked her towards the door.
"I know you will," she turned to him before heading out, "Just bring her... AND you back, aiight?"
"Definitely."
"Good," she gave him a lopsided grin as she pulled the door closed behind her.
When Logan returned to the living room, Lydecker was waiting with an exasperated stare, "How many people know about Manticore?"
Logan paused, "Well... aside from Cindy... Sebastian... and Bling."
Resisting the urge to throttle Logan for his loose tongue, Lydecker stood, "You'd better hope you can trust these people... We can't afford to tack on anymore liability than we've all ready got," he started for the kitchen with his empty glass, but paused just as he passed the younger man, "I only hope you realize what danger your putting these people... and us in. If anyone finds out that they know something, your friends will become prime targets, Cale. And somehow I highly doubt that any of them have the training to withstand the kind of things they'll be put through."
Logan's jaw tightened as Lydecker brushed past him. On a rational level, he knew the man was right. It was more than possible that one of their enemies might use their friends as bait... or worse, torturing them to learn the secrets. That was why he never told anyone, even his informants, about the identity of Eyes Only. Just knowing the truth could put someone in danger. Part of him bristled at the thought of Lydecker's cold, military philosophies being the right way to live.
Returning from the kitchen, Lydecker retook his window seat, "We're going to need some weapons very soon... And a base of operations. Somehow I don't think your apartment will stand up to a full scale military assault," he said dryly.
"Well, my financial clout isn't what it was, but I think there are still a few strings I can pull to get us some hardware."
Lydecker crossed his arms over his chest, "Then maybe you'd care to get started on that?" his face was an expressionless mask, but his eyes betrayed a certain amount of impatience. The longer they waited, the better the chances of them being found by Renfro's operatives.
Logan glowered at him for a moment, but reluctantly agreed, "Yeah, right... I'll get right on it."
*********** *************
A/N: Eek! So what's next? Lydecker and Logan do some male bonding! No, not really... just kidding... Scary thought, huh? I'll try to post the next chapter soon. I'm wrestling with final reviews, but this is certainly more interesting. :)
