AN: I know this update has been long due, and I apologize for the wait. A combination of computer troubles and a house move just kinda pushed everything else to the back burner for awhile. Along that line, I will no longer have the time I need to complete this story, so if any of you who are reading this are interested in taking over, e-mail me and we'll talk.
*******************
Escape and Evade (4/?)
*******************
Logan groaned and slung his arm over his face to protect his eyes as the bedroom light suddenly came on, yanking him out of a restless sleep.
"Damn it, Bling!" he yell, cranky from stress and too little sleep. "It's not even six o'clock!" He removed his arm from his face and sat up, expecting to see his trainer's bulky form hovering around the doorway. Instead, he saw a smaller frame standing near the door, one he recognized even without his glasses. His heart began to beat a little faster, even as he was telling himself that it wasn't possible, that it couldn't be her. He reached for his glasses and slid them on, expecting to turn back to the door and find her gone, a figment of his imagination. But when his vision cleared, she was still there, so lifelike that he had to hold back the tears.
"Mom," he whispered, afraid to speak any louder for fear that she would disappear.
The lady in the door smiled. She was tall, only a few inches shorter than her son, and she carried herself with the grace that came naturally only to those gifted with a wise mind and a kind, loving heart. She met Logan's disbelieving gaze with crystal blue eyes identical to his own.
"It's okay, Logan. I'm not going to bite you," she said, in the laughing, warm voice he thought he would never hear again.
"But what...how...?" His questions trailing off into nothingness and he just sat there, staring.
"I know, I know, it seems impossible and you're convinced that you're going insane." Leigh Cale laughed at the expression on her son's face. "You needn't look so terrified, Logan. You see, in actual fact, I'm not really here at all. You're dreaming."
Logan's face fell immediately and his mother chuckled.
"It's nice to know I've been missed, though."
Logan stood, crossed the room, and wrapped his arms around the dream version of his mother. "You have no idea how much I've missed you. How much I miss you."
"Oh, Logan," his mother sighed. "You've had to endure so much pain in your life, so much unhappiness." She stepped out of his embrace and cupped a perfectly manicured hand against his face. "But in spite of all that, you've grown to be exactly the kind of man I always knew you would be: kind, loving, passionate."
Logan smiled, and this time he couldn't stop the tears from building up and spilling over.
"As much as I would love to stay here with you, I don't have much time, and there's something important I must tell you." She perched on the edge of the bed and he followed suit. "I was sent to you for a reason, Logan, to warn you."
"To warn me?" His eyes widened in surprise.
"Yes, of what happen if you make the wrong choice today. A choice concerning your lady friend, this Max."
"You know about her?" Logan was incredulous. He was still trying to come to grips with the fact that it was his mother, really her, seated on the bed not two feet from him. Some part of him recognized he was dreaming, but all of him wished it was truly her, that she had come back.
"Yes. She's quite a girl, that Max. I've had my eye on her for some time. She wants you to leave, to go with her and this brother of hers. Logan, you must go with them." She held up a hand to silence him when he tried to protest. "No, just listen for a moment. I know you feel you have a duty to protect the people of this city, but at what cost to yourself? Surely you must see that these men mean to kill you, and they will. That's not the only reason you should flee, but Heaven knows it's reason enough."
"Why else then? Why should I leave my home, my life's work, the people who are counting on me?" He was angry now, not wanting to accept what she was saying.
"Don't you see? Look around you, Logan. Even if you were to survive and encounter with these men, these things will be all you'll have left. Your computers, your art, even your memories will not be able to provide you with a fraction of the happiness she will show you. Follow Max, Logan. She'll lead you to where you belong."
She was silent a moment as Logan absorbed her words. The she rose and embraced him. The smell of her, lilacs and jasmine, wafted around him and he breathed it in, memorizing everything about her all over again.
"Follow your heart, Logan. It will never steer you wrong."
There was a loud bang from the front of the apartment and suddenly she was gone and Logan was in bed again, fumbling on the nightstand for his glasses.
"Hey, man, you awake?" Bling asked, poking his head inside the door.
"I am now. What'd you do, bring a whole herd of jungle elephants over for breakfast?"
"Nah, I just knocked a weight off the rack. Sorry I woke you." He turned to leave, then turned back. "Do you have flowers sitting around here somewhere?"
"No, why?" Logan asked, even though he knew what the answer would be.
"I've been smelling lilacs since I walked in the door this morning. It's stronger back here." Bling shook his head and ducked back out of the door.
"Lilacs and jasmine," Logan whispered as he smiled to himself. Then he remembered the purpose of his mother's "visit" and jumped out of bed. He pulled on the first clothes he found in the closet, grabbed his coat, and yelled out to Bling that he was going for a walk. He had some thinking to do.
He didn't pay much attention to the route he took and surprised himself by ending up at the waterfront where Max had found him dragging his feet in the surf just a few short months ago. The place hadn't changed at all; it was still a haven for refuse and pollution, but to Logan it was familiar and that was something he needed.
He stood at the water's edge and watched the seagulls as they dove under the waves in search of breakfast. Bending over, Logan combed his fingers through the sand until he found a small, flat stone. He stood again, curved his fingers around the worn rock and let it fly. It skipped once, twice, three times before succumbing to gravity and disappearing beneath the surf. Logan smiled. It had been an eternity since something so simple and uncomplicated had had the power to make him smile.
He turned and began searching for more stones but halted when an unusual splash of color caught his eye. He pocketed the stone in his hand and made his way over to the small blue patch that lay nestled between a broken beer bottle and an empty cardboard carton. When he finally got close enough to identify the spot of color, he was stunned.
Little blue flowers, small and delicate, reached up amid the trash to find a stray patch of sunlight. Logan was amazed that anything so fragile, so beautiful, dared to open its leaves in the midst of such filth, and yet there they were, standing strong and proud.
Logan leaned over and plucked one of the tiny flowers from the ground. As he stood there looking at the blue bud, he saw Max removing her shoes and coming to meet him on that very beach. He saw her face, strong and determines as she places her head on the table opposite him, with the plastic transfusion tube stretched between them.
He realized with a flash of sudden recognition that the blue flower reminded him of Max. On the outside it was beautiful and delicate, but on the inside it was strong, strong enough to survive whatever the weather and the environment put in its path. Max was the same - strong, resilient, and yet strangely fragile at the same time. Logan smiled as he tucked the small flower safely in his pocket and started for home. He had made his decision.
"Hey, Bling!" he called as he entered the apartment.
"Yeah, man, what's up?" Bling came out the kitchen with a half-eaten apple in his hand.
"There's something I need you to do for me, and I need you to do it quick." Logan gave his instructions to Bling, who went to work immediately.
Two hours later, Logan stood in the middle of his office, which was now empty save for the bare computer desk. Everything - the computers, the files, the video cameras - had been carefully dismantled and removed from the apartment by Bling, who had taken the equipment to his own place for safe keeping.
"That's the last of it," Bling said as he tossed the keys to the Aztec in Logan's direction. "I'm headin' out now." He paused, then offered his hand to Logan. "It's been a pleasure workin' with you. Make sure you let me know if you ever get back to town." The two friends shook hands.
"Thanks, Bling. Thanks a lot."
"No problem. You take care of yourself out there."
"You, too."
Bling nodded solemnly, then turned and walked out of the apartment without looking back.
Logan stood in the empty office for a few minutes more, reflecting on how much his life had changed in the past twelve hours. In effect, Logan Cale was taking on a new reality. He was embarking on an adventure of sorts that even he couldn't predict, and the strange part was, he couldn't have been happier about it. The dream had changed everything for him.
As he stood there, he felt a restless energy building up inside him. He figured dusk would arrive before Max and Cindy so that meant half the day with nothing to do now that his computers were gone..
Frustrated, bored, and anxious, Logan paced the apartment several times. He traced a path from the bedroom to the refrigerator to the windows and back around again. On his fourth trip through, his hand slipped into his coat pocket and found the small blue flower. He fingered it, feeling the soft, silky petals and the waxy leaves. That little plant still amazed him.
Struck by sudden inspiration, Logan trekked through the house until he found the small journal he wrote poetry in. Grabbing a pen off of the nightstand, he stretched out on the couch and began scribbling aimlessly. He wasn't trying to write anything magnificent, but it was still a way to pass the time. He zoned out and let his fingers take over, not even paying attention to the words they were putting to paper. However, it wasn't long before his fingers began to slow down and his eyes began to droop. Minutes later, he fell asleep with one hand still curled around the tiny blue flower in his pocket.