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Escape and Evade (3/?)
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"Huh uh, Max. No way." Zack shook his head emphatically. "They're not going."
"Then I'm not going." Max stood her ground defiantly. "They go, or I don't. Take your pick."
"My job is to get you out of Seattle. Nothing more, nothing less. Those two aren't my problem."
"Does it ever get dark in that tunnel you live in? Zack, these are innocent people we're talking about. You might be able to stand on the sidelines and watch them be murdered in cold blood, but I can't. It's my fault that the Reds are after Logan and Cindy and I'm not about to leave them hanging high and dry. If you can't comprehend that, then get the hell out of here. I'm tired of arguing with you."
Tense silence filled the room as Zack contemplated the ultimatum.
"Fine," was the clipped reply. "They can come, but if they slow us down, they're gone."
Logan chose that moment to step into the kitchen and make his presence known. "Don't we unwitting cargo get a say in this master plan?"
He spoke jokingly, pretending to make light of the situation, but Max knew better. She could see the worry and concern in his eyes when he looked at her, and she looked back at him and smiled the smallest of smiles, needing to let him know she understood. Then his gaze flickered to Zack and anxiety was replaced by fierce possessiveness. Zack was on Logan's turf, invading his territory, and Logan didn't like it one bit.
Max was about to speak when Zack cut her off at the pass.
"I'll be back tomorrow night," he said, glaring daggers at Logan. "Be ready to go, or I'm going without you." Then he turned from the room and was gone.
Max breathed a sigh of relief. She hadn't been totally sure Zack would relent to her demands, but now that he had, and she was able to get Logan and Cindy to safety, a huge weight had been lifted from her shoulders.
"Max, I can't go." Logan's soft declaration cut through the stillness of the apartment, slicing through Max like a knife. She could feel a sarcastic retort tickling the back of her throat, but she kept it in for once, opting for a more straightforward approach.
"Why the hell not?"
"You know why. I have obligations. I can't just jet off to Canada or Mexico whenever I feel like it. Eyes Only, the Informant Net..."
Max interjected, "Yeah, yeah, I know. 'Fight the power, protect the downtrodden, blah blah, woof woof.' Well, you know what? Forget the damn downtrodden. If I don't get your ass out of this city, the Reds are going to kill you, and I'm not going to have your death on my conscience because you wanted to stay behind and play snitch."
"Are you finished?"
Max shrugged indifferently. She expected Logan to launch into a tirade, but he only averted his eyes and walked out of the kitchen. A few minutes later, she heard his hands resume their typing and she knew that, for the moment, he had won. Deciding to try again in the morning, Max walked out of the apartment, hoping the Reds would leave them alone for just one more night.
It was nearly three o'clock when Max finally made it home. Even before she opened the front door, she could smell the worry emanating from inside. Cindy was waiting up for her, and she pounced the second Max stepped across the threshold.
"Where the hell have you been, boo? You'd better be tellin' Original Cindy right here and now, cuz you ain't gettin' no sleep 'till the story's out and the crowd is satisfied."
Max sighed and collapsed on the worn couch. "You sure you want to hear this?" At her friend's affirmative and emphatic nod, Max launched into the story.
"Damn," was Cindy's only response to the situation.
Max, feeling as though the weight of the world rested on her slim shoulders, moved to the window to gaze outside. The residents of the city were asleep, leaving the dirty streets abandoned, lonely.
"So where we s'posed to go once we jet outta here?" Cindy's voice was soft, a contrast to her normally boisterous tone. Max could sense that her friend was frightened.
"I don't know. Zack didn't say," she said as Cindy came up beside her. With a sigh, Max wrapped a loving arm around her friend's shoulders, trying to comfort her. "I really am sorry Cindy."
"It's aiight, boo. Not like there be much here to make a girl stay. Besides, it ain't gonna be forever." Cindy smiled with the resilience that lived deep inside of her.
Max's eyes flickered over the broken landscape once again, and she exhaled softly. Guilt and worry weighed her down, sapping her strength. Would Logan relent? Or would she be forced to leave him behind, knowing that his death was inevitable? The stars in the heavens offered her no answers as she gazed up at them with mixed feelings of wonder and fear. And even though Max had never been a religious person, she closed her eyes and offered up a small prayer to whoever would listen, fervently pleading for assurance that everything was going to turn out okay.
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For some reason, my chapters just keep on shrinking! Grr....I promise a longer one next time (and more action too!).