Disclaimer: I am in no way affiliated with Dark Angel, no money was made here.
***
November 20th, 2019
5:20 PM
30 Mi. North of Tehuantepec
A single blast fired and Lydecker fell to the ground. She stared at him, shocked, until she turned around to face the tiny bald child holding a handgun behind her. His face was cautious but Max thought she saw a smile dance in his eyes, and in the tiny pair on every other child in the room. She smiled widely at him and looked around. Going into full soldier mode, she motioned for them to follow her out the door. She led the way, and the child with the gun, whom she thought to be the leader of the group, brought up the rear, as they all watched out for guards. The children helped her, knowing the precise locations of each guard post in the building, and they had no trouble at all. Slipping through the shadows of the night, they glided through the woods and made their way to the open road. In no time they were at the car. Max went to the driver's side door and looked in the open window to find Logan with his head in his hands. She put her gloved hand on his shoulder, which startled him.
"I heard the gunshot… I thought you were dead…" she leaned in the window and hugged him tightly for a moment before regaining her composure.
"I'm fine. Mission went to plan." Logan looked behind her at the group of five kids. "Almost."
"I see that the operation's been reinitiated," Logan said, wondering what in the hell they were going to do with these kids.
"I couldn't just leave them in there. I figured you'd be able to find foster families or something."
"I'll do my best." Max turned back to the kids, kneeling down in front of them.
"You're going to have to trust me. I know who you are, and we'll keep you safe if you come with us." Four of them started towards the car, which surprised Max and Logan both. But the fifth, the one who'd shot Lydecker, stayed behind. Max stood up and reached out to him. He paused a few seconds, and looked back at Manticore, which was now flooded with light and shouts from guards. He turned back towards Max and took her hand. Together they ran to the car, piled in, and sped away. When they got to the hotel about an hour later, they all got out of the car. Max wasn't quite sure what to do with all these kids, and from the look on his face, neither was Logan.
"Why don't you all just come inside, we'll figure something out," Max said. The boy shook his head.
"We make our own way from here," he said, defiantly, but not without respect. Max looked at them for a minute. Logan just watched, being less than an authority in this area. The kid reminded her of Zack.
"Ok." The kids turned around and started to walk. "But you have to promise me something." They turned around again to face her. "You'll always stick together. And look out for each other." The kids looked around at each other, then back at Max. The boy gave her a single nod, and signaled his team towards the woods. As the silhouettes faded away into the darkened wood, Logan placed his arm around Max's shoulder. She looked up into the sky and saw the stars glistening more brilliantly than before. The sun started to peek just over the horizon, and after watching it rise together, they walked inside.
6:00 AM
At the hotel
Logan was greeted with a smack across his head when he finally stumbled into his hotel room that morning.
"Where in holy freakin' hell have you been? Original Cindy's been worried sick, and she don't mess easily. You betta not've messed up my girl or I'm gonna have to beat on yo skinny ass." Logan was too tired and laid down on the bed. Max walked in a few seconds later. She was smiling and looked almost as tired as Logan.
"Hey," she said, happily, to Original Cindy.
"Hey? HEY? You and your boy haul our asses down to Mexico for a mysterious but immediate action-pending vacation and dump us off in a ratty hotel. You left at one o'clock in the afternoon yesterday. It is now six o'clock in the morning. You don't even tell me where you're going, and all you have to say is HEY?"
"Mm hm." Max didn't lose her contented smile and laid down on the bed with Logan, deposited her arm around his waist, and fell asleep almost instantly. Original Cindy stared in awe, threw her hands up in the air, and stomped off into her room, slamming the door.
November 21st, 2019
1:00 PM
After Max and Logan woke up, they started packing, and told everyone else to do the same. Sketchy complained about not being able to go to the beach yet, and Max, being in a good mood, decided that it'd be a fun way to end their little sabbatical. So they all headed to the beach for one last day in the sun before returning to rainy Seattle.
After Sketchy was turned down by numerous women and Kendra had gotten officially sunburned, they decided it was time to leave. Max and Logan had tried to keep away from each other, but their efforts were dashed, and Original Cindy was almost gagging. They all got in the car, went back to the hotel, packed, and headed for the airport. When they had boarded their plane, Original Cindy sensibly took a seat ten rows behind Max and Logan. Kendra joined her, and Sketchy and Herbal sat across the aisle from them. After an uneventful flight, they arrived at the Seattle airport and they all headed over to Logan's for something to eat.
Max, Original Cindy, and Kendra were in the living room, talking, while Logan was cooking.
"So what is it really with you two?" Kendra asked Max, who smiled vacantly.
"I love him," she said, quietly. Original Cindy sighed.
"Well, you know I'm happy for y'all," Original Cindy said. She smiled at Max. "But If he eva tries takin my girl away, I'm gonna have to lay the smack down on him." Max laughed.
"Agreed. He may be great, but I'd never leave my girls behind." Logan took this time to make his presence known.
"Dinner is served," he said, motioning towards the dining room. Original Cindy and Kendra leapt up and went in that direction. Max stayed on the couch and watched as Logan came into the room and sat down beside her.
"You deserve an award for this," she said to him.
"The things you just said mean more than anything else could." She smiled and closed her eyes as he kissed her forehead. "Let's go eat." She nodded and they got off the couch. As the candlelight, good friends, and the feeling that she was truly safe for the first time in her life surrounded them, she relaxed.