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Escape and Evade (2/?)
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"Logan?" Max called out as she put away her pocketknife and stepped into the apartment. "Logan, you home?"
"Back here," came the muffled reply from back of the penthouse.
"Yeah, that helps," grumbled Max as she headed toward Logan's office. Once there, she propped her self against the doorjamb and observed.
The pale glow of the computer monitor was the only illumination in the room, and Logan sat directly in front of it, following the blinking cursor with his eyes as his fingers flew furiously across the keyboard. Max watched for a few moments before clearing her throat to announce her presence.
"Hey there," Logan said, swiveling in the computer chair until he was facing her. He leaned back and crossed his arms as he grinned up at her.
"You're up late."
"So are you."
"Yeah, well, it's in the genes. Listen, you got a few minutes? There's something I want you to look at." Without waiting for his response, Max handed him the manila folder that Zack had passed to her just hours before.
Silence overtook the room as Logan buried himself in reading. Every few minutes he would raise an eyebrow or shake his head in response to the material in front of him, but otherwise he was still. Later, when he had finished with the last page, he closed the folder and let out a low whistle.
"Okay, let me make sure I have this right." He held up his hand and started ticking items off on his fingers. "The Red series has plans of your building. They have plans of my building. They have security codes for both buildings. They've been following you, and me, and Cindy for a few months now and in a few days they plan on capturing us all so they can get a hold of your DNA."
Max nodded.
"Okay, Max, I'll buy that this plan seems plausible. Hell, I'll even say that it seems probable. But are you sure about its accuracy?"
Max nodded again.
Logan looked at her strangely, like he was noticing her bad mood for the first time since she'd walked into the apartment. "Who gave you the folder, Max?"
"Zack." Her voice was quiet, laced with steel. Logan heard the sharp edge to her tone and decided he didn't want to pursue that line of questioning. He switched gears instead.
"Next question: what are you going to do about all this?"
Max shrugged half-heartedly and didn't answer. She was still trying to grapple with the fact that the Red Series had a price on her head. In all her nineteen years, she had never met such a terrifying enemy as the Reds, and the prospect of going up against them once more chilled her insides to ice. Instinctively, her fingers went to the back of her neck, to the raised scar just below the barcode. She could still remember the strength and power that had coursed through her when she'd let the implant drive itself under her skin. It was a power that had made her feel invincible, and she had no doubt that the Reds shared the same drunken addiction she had felt. She'd almost been sorry when she found out that Logan had had to kill the damn thing to save her life. Almost.
"Zack says I should leave." Her voice broke the silence abruptly.
Logan was silent for a while. Finally, he spoke up, speaking softly. "Maybe you should."
Max's only response was a barely perceptible nod. Her mood had quickly turned sour and she honestly didn't want to think about the possibility of leaving Seattle.
By mutual silent agreement, Logan and Max retreated to their respective corners, each instinctively knowing that the other needed time to think, to mentally prepare for the separation that seemed so inevitable. Before long, the only sound in the apartment was the clickety-clack of Logan's fingers traversing the keyboard.
Max stood at the window for what seemed like hours, barely taking notice when Logan went to the kitchen to fix a sandwich. It seemed her bad mood was contagious, because she had felt Logan's disposition slowly slipping into the black all night. His bouts of gloominess had become more and more frequent since the day she had almost caught him with the gun in his hand. Often, she had walked into the apartment to find him staring off into space like a doped-up mental patient. It was those days that scared Max the most. On those days, the charming, confident Logan Cale she knew was replaced by a sullen, despondent facsimile of his former self.
A knot of fear lodged itself in her throat and she coughed slightly to work it loose. Would Logan do something drastic if she were to leave Seattle? She had sensed his growing attachment to her, and was strangely comforted by it, but would that attachment cause him to do the unthinkable once Max had returned to a life of looking over her shoulder? The thought was just too much to bear. Logan returned to the room just then, interrupting her thoughts. He said nothing, but she could feel his gaze burning on her back. She didn't move.
It was a long while before Max noticed that silence had filled the room. Listening carefully, she discerned the soft, even sound of Logan's breathing. He had fallen asleep in the chair.
Just then, Max heard footsteps ascending the stairwell that opened up to Logan's floor. The hair on the back of her neck stood on end and she practically growled to herself. Whipping around, she stalked out of the room and to the door, throwing off tangible sparks of negative energy. She grasped the doorknob with one hand and yanked it open, glaring at the tall, blonde man who stood on the other side.
"What do you want?" Her voice barely contained her malice as she cocked an angry eyebrow and stared Zack down.
His eyes were filled with an animosity that matched her own as he gracefully elbowed his way into Logan's apartment.
"I told you I was coming back. Or did you forget already?"
He spoke in a normal voice, but Max glared at him and said forcefully, "Keep your voice down. You'll wake Logan."
"Oh, really?" he leered at her. Max fought every impulse inside of her that said to hell with family loyalty, go ahead and drop kick him out the window.
"Yes, really. Let me repeat myself: what do you want?"
Neither Max nor Zack had noticed Logan silently advance from the living room, wearing a black expression as he watched them argue. He knew what Zack wanted.
"Just an answer, Maxie. Are you coming or not?"
"Yes, I'm coming…" Logan's heart fell to the pit of his stomach. He couldn't handle this, he just couldn't. Noiselessly, he turned around and started for the bedroom, needing to be alone. He stopped just as he heard Max start to speak again.
"…but only on one condition. Logan and Cindy are coming, too."