Chapter Twenty-Four - Vendetta Manifested
Logan awoke with a jerk later that morning, alone in bed. He never remembered going to sleep, only remembered Max pushing him into bed and laying down next to saying something about not being responsible for his lack of sleep. But now he was alone. He walked out into the living room to find Max tapping away at her computer, now lounging around in flannel pants and a tank top. She was obviously absorbed in whatever she was doing, perched at the edge of her chair, fingers flying, papers scattered all around her. "Well isn't this just a change of position. I vaguely remember someone telling me once that I worked to hard. Ah, the tables have turned." Logan said as he walked up to Max and placed his hands on her shoulder, leaning down to kiss her cheek. When he saw what was on the screen, he stopped. "Max, what is that?" He asked staring at the complex looking blueprints on the screen.
"Blueprints to the Delaney compound."
"Max, what for?" Logan said, feeling his heart sink.
"Simple, I've decided that getting Delaney shut down isn't enough to get him arrested. I am going to personally kill him."
Logan gripped Max's shoulders and turned her. He saw the murder in her eyes and knew instantly that she was deadly serious.
"What? No way Max, I am not letting you go through with any insane plan to get Delaney."
"It isn't as if I haven't killed people before, first off for Eyes-Only, second off for my own personal benefit." She said matter-of-factly as she turned and began typing again. Logan walked around and slammed the top of laptop down, narrowly missing Max's fingers. "What the hell are you doing?"
"Max no, you can not go after Delaney."
"And why the hell not? Maybe you've forgotten, I have been running Eyes-Only for five years Logan, even longer than you did. I know what I am doing."
"Your not doing a hack here. Your using this go after him on a personal vendetta. And I don't even understand why."
"Why? He took five years away from me, five years away from you. I think the question is, why are you pissed at me for doing this?"
"Because if they find out I am back, they wont hesitate to kill you. It wasn't threat, it was a promise. They will kill you and I just got you back." Logan said pulling Max out of her chair. "You have to understand, this man is insane. He will kill you in a second, and I am not going to stand back and watch you walk into a suicide mission."
Max stepped back so she stood a distance away from Logan. "I am going to have at least 7 X-5's with me backing me up, I'm not going to be alone in the least, and you can't try and protect me! I can take care of myself!"
"So I am supposed to just stand back and let you get yourself killed?"
"You are supposed to stand back and let me do my job! And who says I am going to get killed? I just told you I am taking every safety precaution possible."
Logan covered his face with his hands, frustrated.
"I can't lose you, Max."
"Logan, I could just as easily get hit by a car walking across the street. You are not protecting me in any way by fighting me on this. I'm telling you I am going to be careful."
"Does that mean you should put yourself in extra danger? What if they link it to you? What if you get in there, you kill him, and you manage to get out alive? If they link it to you, you'll have the whole Delaney family crime syndicate with a price on your head!"
"Logan you can not stop me from doing this. You don't even have the right to try." Max said sinking back into her chair and reopening the laptop.
"Damn it Max! I love you!" Logan shouted.
Max's fingers fumbled on the keys. Without turning, she spoke. "You've never said that before."
Logan felt like punching a wall. Or Zack, that had been pretty good at the time. "How could I not?" He whispered. "Why, do you have a problem with that too?" He snapped.
"No," Max snapped back. Rising out of her chair to stare Logan down. "But it works out pretty nice that I love you too!" She shouted unceremoniously.
They both paused when they realized what they had said to each other. Logan stepped towards her, reaching a hand up to touch her face. "Hands off." Max snapped, swatting his hand away. "Sorry." He muttered. "I just figured I'd be touching you when I told you I loved you. Since I've managed to screw that up, I thought I'd try that again."
Max moved into Logan's arms. "Please don't fight me on this Logan. I am going to do it with out without your support."
"I know." Logan said, rocking them both back and forth, "I love you, Max." He whispered into her hair. "I can't lose you."
"I love you too. And you wont."
But neither of them knew the magnitude of Max's decision to go after Rodney Delaney.