Slipped
Logan felt his body tight with anticipation as Jondy slipped the disk
into his computer and they waited for the picture to come up. She
didn't say anything, and even though her attention was focused on the
screen, the silence was uneasy.
It was an aerial view of Manticore. Logan's stomach lurched as he
recognized the fence and the building. It seemed like only yesterday
he'd stood in those trees, had Max's blood staining his fingers as
Lydecker dragged him away. "Where'd you get this?"
"Hoverdrone," Jondy said, her eyes fixed on the screen as two figures
appeared at one corner. Soldiers.
"How'd you do that?" he asked, surprised. It was almost impossible for
a civilian to get their hands on hoverdrone video footage. Not to
mention hoverdrones shouldn't have been out in the middle of nowhere
to begin with.
But she didn't answer. She pulled the keyboard toward her, stopping
the film, selecting the soldiers' faces, enlarging, enhancing. He
watched her fingers stroke the keys as she did all the things he
would have done. "Look at the screen, stupid," she intoned, without
so much as glancing at him.
Logan jerked his eyes up. The soldier guarding Manticore's perimeter
was Max. Alive and well. Her hands wrapped around a rifle. Her eyes
cold and hard, her face expressionless. He stared for a long time,
coming up with theories and discarding them.
"That's Eva with her," Jondy said after several moments had passed.
"She's supposed to be dead, too. Lydecker shot her before the
escape."
"So they have a way to bring them back." His voice sounded hollow in
his own ears. He was certain if he tried to get up, he'd pass out.
"Apparently," Jondy said. She clicked a couple of keys and the image
vanished from the screen. She reached for the disk.
"Leave it," Logan ordered. Jondy's hand stopped where it was. "I want
to analyze it."
"It's not faked," she said.
"Then you don't care if I see for myself."
"Be my guest." Jondy pushed back her chair and got up, leaving the
workstation to Logan. She only went as far as the other side of the
room, though, leaning against it to watch him.
He didn't move for a long time. He didn't want to do this with her
watching him. "Where are you staying in Seattle?" he asked.
"I came straight here."
"Guest room's down the hall. The bed's made up."
"I don't sleep," Jondy informed him.
"Neither did Max." His voice had dropped to a whisper. Shaking himself
from thoughts of her, he began to go over the film, analyzing it
frame by frame for any impurities. It was a long process.
_ _ _
At some point, Max became aware that the door to the Hole was
unlocked. She sat there, contemplating whether it was an oversight or
a trap. Her Manticore re- training had made her more cautious. It had
also made her stronger, so she pushed the door open and slipped out
into the hall.
The lights overhead were dim. It was night. Max kept her eyes on the
security camera in the hallway. When it completed its rotation and
began to turn in the opposite direction, she moved silently down the
hall.
"Help me...let me out..." One of the nomalies roused as she slunk past
his door. Max frowned. They were the monsters of her childhood. But
maybe that had been wrong. Maybe they were locked up down here for
another reason. Just as she was.
She never would have considered letting it out. But she was curious
enough to sneak back and peek through the reinforced window in the
door, the one through which the moans were being transmitted.
"Pretty pretty," the nomaly said, raising his face and baring decaying
teeth at her. His hair hung down raggedly, and he was in chains. The
guards must be afraid of them, too, Max thought. But Manticore hadn't
had them destroyed, so they were valuable. But for what purpose?
"I missed you, Maxie," the nomaly said, and Max's stomach clenched
hard. She must have misheard. As she continued to look at him, she
began to see Zack's face, betrayed by age and lack of care, but it
was Zack. He moved toward the door -- toward her -- and it was a
moment before she stepped back.
The identification number etched into the door caught her eye. Of
course this wasn't Zack. It was an X-2; the nomalies were all X-2s.
This one just happened to be Zack's predecessor.
Max fought the dual urge to run away as fast as she could, and to
linger and investigate further.
"I wouldn't stick my finger in his cage if I were you." The voice came
from behind her and Max jumped to find a guard leaning against the
wall. Watching her. "He likes the taste of human flesh."
Max said nothing. All the responses in her head were sarcastic, but
her brain was moving faster than that. None of the guards had ever
spoken to her before. And this one was alone. He didn't even have his
tazer out. So he was unafraid of her, which made him foolish. It also
meant he was breaking policy. She could use an ally on the staff if
her escape plans were to occur. Maybe this was her chance.
"Are you the one who left the door unlocked?" Max asked, adjusting her
stance. She hadn't forgotten everything she'd learned outside
Manticore's walls. Guys liked sexy girls, and that included security
guards. It was the easiest, quickest way to win him over to her
side.
"Bright one," he said, not moving.
"We all are," Max replied.
"But you're not like the others," he said, his small brown eyes fixed
on her. "Else you wouldn't be here."
"You could get in trouble," Max breathed.
The guard shrugged.
"I appreciate it. Your taking a risk for me." With every sentence, Max
moved a bit closer to him. Just to see how he'd react. What would
happen.
"I ain't doing it out of the kindness of my heart," the guard informed
her.
"Are you new? I haven't seen you around --" Max didn't get to finish
her sentence. The guard had his tazer hidden up his sleeve, and he
reached out and shocked her in the neck, hard, holding the device
there so long she could smell her skin burning.
_ _ _
Logan picked his head up off the keyboard and reached up to touch the
dents in his skin from the pressure. He straightened his glasses and
saw it was close to seven in the morning. The sound of the shower
began to register in his mind as put his hand against the keyboard
and pushed his chair back. At least he hadn't drooled on it this
time.
"You want breakfast?" Logan called to Jondy over the sound of running
water as he headed into the kitchen to start some coffee. The can he
kept in the freezer barely held enough grounds to fill the machine.
No more where that came from, he thought, wondering how much the
coffeemaker would bring him on the black market. Someone richer than
him was bound to be willing to pay through the nose to feed
their addiction.
But he'd think about that later. The air in the apartment felt humid,
and he wondered how long the shower had been running. Not to mention
that there was only one bathroom in the penthouse, and he needed to
use it. After several moments' debate with himself, Logan headed back
there.
"How long are you going to be?" Logan asked. There was no response
from inside. An instinct told him something was wrong. "Jondy?" He
knocked on the door before opening it.
The water beat down on her, where she was huddled on the floor of the
tub, shuddering violently. Logan moved quickly to shut off the water.
It was cold. Its absence made her open her eyes and look up at him as
she squeezed her arms tighter around her knees and tried to stop
shaking.
"It's okay," Logan said, grabbing a towel from the rack and wrapping
it around her. Her skin was cold to the touch. He brushed back some
of the long, tangled hair that was plastered against her face.
"You're going to be okay."
Her shaky hand seized the edge of the towel. "I can do it," she told
him.
"Stay here," he ordered.
"No problem," Jondy said, and he could have sworn he heard a note of
humor in her voice.
Logan dashed into the kitchen first, but there was no milk. "Damn," he
muttered to himself. He hadn't expected to have any more need for
tryptophan, so he'd sold the bottle he had. There was nothing he
could do. He went back into the bathroom.
"It's getting better," Jondy reported. It didn't look any better to
him. Logan scooped her up from the tub and carried her into the guest
bedroom. "Hasn't happened in a long time," she said. He was surprised
by how vulnerable the look in her eyes was now, considering the
hellfire of a fight she'd put up since she'd walked through his
door.
"Try to get some rest. I'll try to get some tryptophan," he said,
pulling the blankets up over her.
He went directly to the phone. "Sebastian."
"Logan. Are you all right?" Sebastian asked.
"I need some tryptophan. Got any sources?"
"You found another one." Sebastian never let anything slide.
"Yeah. And she's sick," Logan said.
"The supply of tryptophan was cut off six months ago. A group of
government black ops took out the importers. It served as a warning
to others."
"You're saying I'm not going to find any?" Logan demanded.
"I'll see what I can do," Sebastian promised, and disconnected.
Logan paced. He didn't really know what to do. If he went back in to
sit with Jondy, she'd probably just kick his ass when she was feeling
better. But if he didn't...what kind of person would he be to sit out
here and try to get information on Manticore when she was in the next
room suffering?
He decided to risk the ass-kicking.
_ _ _
"She'll kill you," Max threatened as the guard dragged her back into
her cell when he was finished. He dropped her and she felt the pain
radiate through her body. The effects of the tazer were beginning to
wear off.
"What makes you think she didn't send me?" the guard said. He slammed
the door closed and locked it.
Max lay on the floor and felt tears rise up in her eyes. A human
emotion. Maybe it would be better if she'd let Manticore turn her
into a soldier again. Then she wouldn't care what they did with her
body. She sniffled. Took her long enough, she thought bitterly, but
she did it. Renfro found a way to make this real punishment.
Max wouldn't be getting into trouble any more.
_ _ _
At some point, Jondy had fallen asleep and the tremors had subsided,
except for the occasional twitch. But still Logan stayed. He felt
responsible for her, and her siblings. He'd made sure they had the
money and identity papers if the need arose, and he kept track of
them. As Zack had done. After all, it was partly Logan's fault Zack
had been recaptured.
There was a knock at the door and Logan eased himself up from the bed,
not wanting to disturb Jondy's much-needed rest. Sebastian must have
come up with something. Logan started to open the door, then thought
the better of it. He did have an X-5 fugitive in his apartment. Not
that he thought the people looking for her would be polite enough to
knock. "Who is it?"
"Jam Pony messenger."
Logan frowned and opened the door. "Cindy."
"You don't call, you don't write," she said. "Sign here."
Logan did, and she handed him a package. "Thanks," he said, and she
nodded. It was awkward. "How are you?"
"It's been hard," Original Cindy acknowledged seriously. "You?"
"Really hard," Logan replied, and she nodded. Telling her Max wasn't
coming back was the hardest thing Logan had ever done in his life.
Looking at her now, he could still see the blank look on her face
before she'd started crying. "You want to come in? There's coffee."
"Coffee would be great," Original Cindy said and stepped across the
threshold.
"Logan?" Jondy's confused voice preceded her into the living room.
Cindy froze when she saw Jondy standing there, the bed sheet wrapped
around her. "Oh."
"It's not --" Logan said.
"I thought you had more class than that," Original Cindy said in a low
voice. "Guess I was wrong." She turned and walked out of the
apartment.
"Who was that?" Jondy asked, her voice a little too innocent.
"Max's best friend," Logan said. He hurled the package at her. "Here."
He went into the bathroom and locked the door. The water was probably
hot enough for a shower now.
_ _ _
When Max heard footsteps outside the door, she was ready for a fight.
It was hard to drop the tension when she saw Renfro standing there.
"What an honor," Max sniped.
"I hope you've enjoyed your time down here," Renfro said coolly, as
though Max hadn't spoken. As Max stepped out, the two women eyed each
other icily. "You're a soldier. It's time you started to act like
one."
"Ma'am, yes ma'am," Max replied, standing at attention. Saluting. And
not the way she wanted to salute, either -- she used all of her
fingers.
"I have an assignment for you, X5-452," Renfro said.
Max remained at attention.
"But don't worry, we won't send you into the big, bad world by
yourself," Renfro continued. "You'll have another one from your team
as backup."
Max's heart sank because she knew who it was going to be. Renfro's
favorite. Brin. Renfro liked to rent her soldiers out as assassins.
Max had a pretty good idea who she'd be ordered to kill, too.
"You leave at oh-three-hundred," Renfro said. "That doesn't give you
much time."
As the bitch glided away with her guards, Max hurried to the dorm
where the X-5s slept. It was a different room location that the one
they'd slept in as children, but nothing else had changed. It was the
same long row of narrow beds, although there were fewer of them now.
"What happened?" Eva whispered to Max, not even opening her eyes.
"Assignment," Max whispered back.
Eva sat up. Max looked around, but if any of the others were awake,
they didn't let it show. Max saw Brin's bed was empty. No doubt she'd
already gathered her pack and was ready to go. "This is your chance,"
Eva said to Max, very seriously.
Max shook her head. "She knows what she's doing. Brin's going, too."
"How much is freedom worth to you?" Eva asked, holding Max's gaze, as
Max frowned. "Just think about it."
Max nodded seriously, and tossed her pack over her shoulder. She tried
to smile, and failed. "If I don't make it back --"
Eva nodded. "I can take care of myself, Maxie," she whispered. "We all
can."
Max held her gaze another moment longer. If she did what Eva was
suggesting -- killed Brin in order to escape -- this was the last
time she'd see her sister again. Max turned quickly to leave. She
made no promises. She couldn't.
Brin was waiting in the hall. "Don't try anything," Brin ordered.
"I wouldn't dream of it," Max replied airily.
_ _ _
Jondy tucked her hair behind her ears and poured herself a cup of
coffee, then sat down at the counter to pull open the package Logan
had thrown at her. She was surprised when she saw it was a bottle of
tryptophan. The substance had disappeared from the black market
several months ago and had been impossible to acquire. Yet Logan had
found some, for a stranger who'd appeared on his doorstep
mere hours before and caused trouble the entire time she'd been
there.
It's just because I'm his way to Max, she told herself, finishing the
coffee and eyeing the other cup's worth that remained in the pot. She
hadn't had coffee in such a long time and it was so good and so
strong. But she couldn't shake the soothing feel of his fingers
stroking her hair.
"To hell with it," she muttered and drank the second cup of coffee.
_ _ _
"So what's the mission?" Max asked once she and Brin were on the road
in their large black Jeep Cherokee, which she could easily fence for
ten grand on the black market.
"Assassination," Brin said.
"I figured that," said Max. "Who?"
"You'll know soon enough," Brin told her.
"Renfro didn't think you could handle it alone?" Max couldn't help
taunting her.
"She's testing you," Brin said. "I'm here to observe."
"What makes you sure I won't kill you and escape?" Max challenged, her
voice even. Not playful, but not alarmingly serious.
"I'd kill you before you finished thinking the thought," Brin replied.
"That settles that, then," said Max. "How long's the drive?"
"Shouldn't take more than ten hours at top speed," Brin said.
So they were going to Seattle, Max thought, feeling the confirmation
in her stomach.
"Why do you fight so hard?" Brin asked. Max just looked at her. "You
can't deny it. And you hate me."
"I don't hate you," Max said. How could she hate Brin? Brin was her
sister. No matter what she did, or where her loyalties lay.
"We're on the same side now, but you look at me like I'm a traitor,"
Brin continued.
"Don't you remember what it was like?" Max asked.
Brin nodded solemnly. "They saved my life. Not you, not Zack, not any
doctor out there in the real world. Manticore did."
"Saving your life doesn't mean they own it, too," Max pointed out.
"Do you like what you see out there?" Brin demanded, gesturing sharply
to the window. "Everbody's homeless. Everyone's got to struggle to
survive. People who have nothing. Don't you understand what caused
that?"
"The Pulse," Max answered. Everyone knew that.
"Don't you see?" Brin asked. "We're the only ones who can protect
them."
"Who do they need protection from?"
"Themselves."
_ _ _
Logan felt less angry by the time he finished bathing. The exoskeleton
couldn't get wet, obviously, so for those few minutes of the day, his
life was back to the way it had been when he was broken: a
distracting struggle. He emerged into the kitchen feeling refreshed.
"You drank all the coffee," he said, shocked.
Jondy nodded, as though it was to be expected.
The anger surged again. Logan stood there, trying not to explode, and
then just turned and walked into his computer room without saying a
word. Jondy trailed him. "I don't want to talk to you," he told her.
"But I --"
"I just want to get this bitch figured out," he said, turning his
attention to the information on his computer. The details of Jondy's
impending nuclear strike weren't hanging together. But if he combed
the informant net, he might be able to get some corroborating
evidence. Something he could work with.
"I just wanted to say thank you," Jondy said quietly. "For
everything."
Logan ignored her, grinding his teeth together and frowning more
deeply at his computer screen. He had a guy with a connection with
plutonium on the black market. He might know something about the
nukes. The key was the government connection Jondy had mentioned.
The sound of the front door closing was almost imperceptible. Logan
picked his head up. "Jondy?" Of course there was no answer. He got up
from the computer, knowing he couldn't catch her. So he went to the
window and watched the front door. If he saw which way she went, at
least he'd have some clue of how to find her in a city the size of
Seattle.
_ _ _
"Seattle," Max said with distaste.
"Home sweet home," Brin needled her.
"When are you going to tell me who we're going to kill?" Max asked
again.
"You mean, who you're going to kill." Brin pulled the Jeep over to the
side of the road and turned it off, reaching under the seat where her
handgun was stowed. She put it into Max's hand. Max thought she saw a
little trepidation in Brin's expression. As though Brin wasn't
entirely convinced Max wouldn't kill her and run.
But Max got no pleasure for it, nor from the power she might have
felt, holding the gun in her hand. "You want me to walk around the
city with this?"
"No tracking required. We're here," Brin told her.
Max glanced out the windows. It wasn't Logan's building. She'd been so
certain they'd ask her to kill him. That Renfro would make her kill
him. But that made no sense when Max considered it now, rationally.
Logan was no threat to Renfro. And Renfro couldn't possibly know that
Max loved him. No, this would be some sort of political target. That
it was in Seattle was pure coincidence.
"Third floor," Brin said.
"We're shooting homeless drunks now?" Max asked. They were parked
outside a men's shelter.
"Just one particular homeless drunk," Brin reported. "Time's
wasting."
"Stay with the car," Max said, pushing the door open. "Otherwise, it
won't be here."
Brin nodded. "Max," she called through her open window as Max
approached the building. "Try to run and it's over."
"I know." Max jumped up to the lower rung of the fire escape and
started to climb. She didn't look down at Brin, fully aware she was
being watched. She didn't want to do this. Didn't want to kill
someone for Manticore's cause. But if she didn't, she would die. And
if she died, Zack's sacrifice would be in vain. Zack would kill
without question, if it meant his life. He'd demonstrated
that clearly enough.
Max dropped through the window into the hallway. It was littered with
debris. The shelter wasn't much better than the apartment she'd
squatted in. Of course, her apartment had smelled better. She
wondered if she was supposed to go from door to door and blast
everyone who was home.
But as it turned out, only one apartment was occupied. By the time she
got to the end of the hall, she was tired of kicking doors in. If the
occupant had been a little less distracted, he would have heard her
coming. But he wasn't. He was dead drunk.
"Max," he said when he saw her through bleary eyes.
"Lydecker," Max's tone was biting.
"I knew they couldn't hold you down. You kids who escaped were the
best of 'em."
Same old broken record. "I'm sorry," Max said as she pulled the
trigger. She shot him in the head so it would be instant. Then she
wiped down the gun and dropped it near his limp hand. Suicides
happened in places like this all the time.
"It's done," she said to Brin when she got back into the car. Brin
nodded, and started the engine. "You're not even going to check?"
"They'll know if you lied," Brin said. Max supposed that was true.
They only got a couple of feet into traffic before Brin jammed on the
brakes. "Stupid," Brin muttered at the bike messenger who'd ridden
haplessly into their path.
Max could only watch as the messenger raised her head and looked at
the people in the car who'd almost hit her. Her eyes locked with
Original Cindy's, watching her old friend's expression turn to shock
as they recognized each other. Brin honked the horn and stepped on
the gas, and they left Seattle behind them.
Logan felt his body tight with anticipation as Jondy slipped the disk
into his computer and they waited for the picture to come up. She
didn't say anything, and even though her attention was focused on the
screen, the silence was uneasy.
It was an aerial view of Manticore. Logan's stomach lurched as he
recognized the fence and the building. It seemed like only yesterday
he'd stood in those trees, had Max's blood staining his fingers as
Lydecker dragged him away. "Where'd you get this?"
"Hoverdrone," Jondy said, her eyes fixed on the screen as two figures
appeared at one corner. Soldiers.
"How'd you do that?" he asked, surprised. It was almost impossible for
a civilian to get their hands on hoverdrone video footage. Not to
mention hoverdrones shouldn't have been out in the middle of nowhere
to begin with.
But she didn't answer. She pulled the keyboard toward her, stopping
the film, selecting the soldiers' faces, enlarging, enhancing. He
watched her fingers stroke the keys as she did all the things he
would have done. "Look at the screen, stupid," she intoned, without
so much as glancing at him.
Logan jerked his eyes up. The soldier guarding Manticore's perimeter
was Max. Alive and well. Her hands wrapped around a rifle. Her eyes
cold and hard, her face expressionless. He stared for a long time,
coming up with theories and discarding them.
"That's Eva with her," Jondy said after several moments had passed.
"She's supposed to be dead, too. Lydecker shot her before the
escape."
"So they have a way to bring them back." His voice sounded hollow in
his own ears. He was certain if he tried to get up, he'd pass out.
"Apparently," Jondy said. She clicked a couple of keys and the image
vanished from the screen. She reached for the disk.
"Leave it," Logan ordered. Jondy's hand stopped where it was. "I want
to analyze it."
"It's not faked," she said.
"Then you don't care if I see for myself."
"Be my guest." Jondy pushed back her chair and got up, leaving the
workstation to Logan. She only went as far as the other side of the
room, though, leaning against it to watch him.
He didn't move for a long time. He didn't want to do this with her
watching him. "Where are you staying in Seattle?" he asked.
"I came straight here."
"Guest room's down the hall. The bed's made up."
"I don't sleep," Jondy informed him.
"Neither did Max." His voice had dropped to a whisper. Shaking himself
from thoughts of her, he began to go over the film, analyzing it
frame by frame for any impurities. It was a long process.
_ _ _
At some point, Max became aware that the door to the Hole was
unlocked. She sat there, contemplating whether it was an oversight or
a trap. Her Manticore re- training had made her more cautious. It had
also made her stronger, so she pushed the door open and slipped out
into the hall.
The lights overhead were dim. It was night. Max kept her eyes on the
security camera in the hallway. When it completed its rotation and
began to turn in the opposite direction, she moved silently down the
hall.
"Help me...let me out..." One of the nomalies roused as she slunk past
his door. Max frowned. They were the monsters of her childhood. But
maybe that had been wrong. Maybe they were locked up down here for
another reason. Just as she was.
She never would have considered letting it out. But she was curious
enough to sneak back and peek through the reinforced window in the
door, the one through which the moans were being transmitted.
"Pretty pretty," the nomaly said, raising his face and baring decaying
teeth at her. His hair hung down raggedly, and he was in chains. The
guards must be afraid of them, too, Max thought. But Manticore hadn't
had them destroyed, so they were valuable. But for what purpose?
"I missed you, Maxie," the nomaly said, and Max's stomach clenched
hard. She must have misheard. As she continued to look at him, she
began to see Zack's face, betrayed by age and lack of care, but it
was Zack. He moved toward the door -- toward her -- and it was a
moment before she stepped back.
The identification number etched into the door caught her eye. Of
course this wasn't Zack. It was an X-2; the nomalies were all X-2s.
This one just happened to be Zack's predecessor.
Max fought the dual urge to run away as fast as she could, and to
linger and investigate further.
"I wouldn't stick my finger in his cage if I were you." The voice came
from behind her and Max jumped to find a guard leaning against the
wall. Watching her. "He likes the taste of human flesh."
Max said nothing. All the responses in her head were sarcastic, but
her brain was moving faster than that. None of the guards had ever
spoken to her before. And this one was alone. He didn't even have his
tazer out. So he was unafraid of her, which made him foolish. It also
meant he was breaking policy. She could use an ally on the staff if
her escape plans were to occur. Maybe this was her chance.
"Are you the one who left the door unlocked?" Max asked, adjusting her
stance. She hadn't forgotten everything she'd learned outside
Manticore's walls. Guys liked sexy girls, and that included security
guards. It was the easiest, quickest way to win him over to her
side.
"Bright one," he said, not moving.
"We all are," Max replied.
"But you're not like the others," he said, his small brown eyes fixed
on her. "Else you wouldn't be here."
"You could get in trouble," Max breathed.
The guard shrugged.
"I appreciate it. Your taking a risk for me." With every sentence, Max
moved a bit closer to him. Just to see how he'd react. What would
happen.
"I ain't doing it out of the kindness of my heart," the guard informed
her.
"Are you new? I haven't seen you around --" Max didn't get to finish
her sentence. The guard had his tazer hidden up his sleeve, and he
reached out and shocked her in the neck, hard, holding the device
there so long she could smell her skin burning.
_ _ _
Logan picked his head up off the keyboard and reached up to touch the
dents in his skin from the pressure. He straightened his glasses and
saw it was close to seven in the morning. The sound of the shower
began to register in his mind as put his hand against the keyboard
and pushed his chair back. At least he hadn't drooled on it this
time.
"You want breakfast?" Logan called to Jondy over the sound of running
water as he headed into the kitchen to start some coffee. The can he
kept in the freezer barely held enough grounds to fill the machine.
No more where that came from, he thought, wondering how much the
coffeemaker would bring him on the black market. Someone richer than
him was bound to be willing to pay through the nose to feed
their addiction.
But he'd think about that later. The air in the apartment felt humid,
and he wondered how long the shower had been running. Not to mention
that there was only one bathroom in the penthouse, and he needed to
use it. After several moments' debate with himself, Logan headed back
there.
"How long are you going to be?" Logan asked. There was no response
from inside. An instinct told him something was wrong. "Jondy?" He
knocked on the door before opening it.
The water beat down on her, where she was huddled on the floor of the
tub, shuddering violently. Logan moved quickly to shut off the water.
It was cold. Its absence made her open her eyes and look up at him as
she squeezed her arms tighter around her knees and tried to stop
shaking.
"It's okay," Logan said, grabbing a towel from the rack and wrapping
it around her. Her skin was cold to the touch. He brushed back some
of the long, tangled hair that was plastered against her face.
"You're going to be okay."
Her shaky hand seized the edge of the towel. "I can do it," she told
him.
"Stay here," he ordered.
"No problem," Jondy said, and he could have sworn he heard a note of
humor in her voice.
Logan dashed into the kitchen first, but there was no milk. "Damn," he
muttered to himself. He hadn't expected to have any more need for
tryptophan, so he'd sold the bottle he had. There was nothing he
could do. He went back into the bathroom.
"It's getting better," Jondy reported. It didn't look any better to
him. Logan scooped her up from the tub and carried her into the guest
bedroom. "Hasn't happened in a long time," she said. He was surprised
by how vulnerable the look in her eyes was now, considering the
hellfire of a fight she'd put up since she'd walked through his
door.
"Try to get some rest. I'll try to get some tryptophan," he said,
pulling the blankets up over her.
He went directly to the phone. "Sebastian."
"Logan. Are you all right?" Sebastian asked.
"I need some tryptophan. Got any sources?"
"You found another one." Sebastian never let anything slide.
"Yeah. And she's sick," Logan said.
"The supply of tryptophan was cut off six months ago. A group of
government black ops took out the importers. It served as a warning
to others."
"You're saying I'm not going to find any?" Logan demanded.
"I'll see what I can do," Sebastian promised, and disconnected.
Logan paced. He didn't really know what to do. If he went back in to
sit with Jondy, she'd probably just kick his ass when she was feeling
better. But if he didn't...what kind of person would he be to sit out
here and try to get information on Manticore when she was in the next
room suffering?
He decided to risk the ass-kicking.
_ _ _
"She'll kill you," Max threatened as the guard dragged her back into
her cell when he was finished. He dropped her and she felt the pain
radiate through her body. The effects of the tazer were beginning to
wear off.
"What makes you think she didn't send me?" the guard said. He slammed
the door closed and locked it.
Max lay on the floor and felt tears rise up in her eyes. A human
emotion. Maybe it would be better if she'd let Manticore turn her
into a soldier again. Then she wouldn't care what they did with her
body. She sniffled. Took her long enough, she thought bitterly, but
she did it. Renfro found a way to make this real punishment.
Max wouldn't be getting into trouble any more.
_ _ _
At some point, Jondy had fallen asleep and the tremors had subsided,
except for the occasional twitch. But still Logan stayed. He felt
responsible for her, and her siblings. He'd made sure they had the
money and identity papers if the need arose, and he kept track of
them. As Zack had done. After all, it was partly Logan's fault Zack
had been recaptured.
There was a knock at the door and Logan eased himself up from the bed,
not wanting to disturb Jondy's much-needed rest. Sebastian must have
come up with something. Logan started to open the door, then thought
the better of it. He did have an X-5 fugitive in his apartment. Not
that he thought the people looking for her would be polite enough to
knock. "Who is it?"
"Jam Pony messenger."
Logan frowned and opened the door. "Cindy."
"You don't call, you don't write," she said. "Sign here."
Logan did, and she handed him a package. "Thanks," he said, and she
nodded. It was awkward. "How are you?"
"It's been hard," Original Cindy acknowledged seriously. "You?"
"Really hard," Logan replied, and she nodded. Telling her Max wasn't
coming back was the hardest thing Logan had ever done in his life.
Looking at her now, he could still see the blank look on her face
before she'd started crying. "You want to come in? There's coffee."
"Coffee would be great," Original Cindy said and stepped across the
threshold.
"Logan?" Jondy's confused voice preceded her into the living room.
Cindy froze when she saw Jondy standing there, the bed sheet wrapped
around her. "Oh."
"It's not --" Logan said.
"I thought you had more class than that," Original Cindy said in a low
voice. "Guess I was wrong." She turned and walked out of the
apartment.
"Who was that?" Jondy asked, her voice a little too innocent.
"Max's best friend," Logan said. He hurled the package at her. "Here."
He went into the bathroom and locked the door. The water was probably
hot enough for a shower now.
_ _ _
When Max heard footsteps outside the door, she was ready for a fight.
It was hard to drop the tension when she saw Renfro standing there.
"What an honor," Max sniped.
"I hope you've enjoyed your time down here," Renfro said coolly, as
though Max hadn't spoken. As Max stepped out, the two women eyed each
other icily. "You're a soldier. It's time you started to act like
one."
"Ma'am, yes ma'am," Max replied, standing at attention. Saluting. And
not the way she wanted to salute, either -- she used all of her
fingers.
"I have an assignment for you, X5-452," Renfro said.
Max remained at attention.
"But don't worry, we won't send you into the big, bad world by
yourself," Renfro continued. "You'll have another one from your team
as backup."
Max's heart sank because she knew who it was going to be. Renfro's
favorite. Brin. Renfro liked to rent her soldiers out as assassins.
Max had a pretty good idea who she'd be ordered to kill, too.
"You leave at oh-three-hundred," Renfro said. "That doesn't give you
much time."
As the bitch glided away with her guards, Max hurried to the dorm
where the X-5s slept. It was a different room location that the one
they'd slept in as children, but nothing else had changed. It was the
same long row of narrow beds, although there were fewer of them now.
"What happened?" Eva whispered to Max, not even opening her eyes.
"Assignment," Max whispered back.
Eva sat up. Max looked around, but if any of the others were awake,
they didn't let it show. Max saw Brin's bed was empty. No doubt she'd
already gathered her pack and was ready to go. "This is your chance,"
Eva said to Max, very seriously.
Max shook her head. "She knows what she's doing. Brin's going, too."
"How much is freedom worth to you?" Eva asked, holding Max's gaze, as
Max frowned. "Just think about it."
Max nodded seriously, and tossed her pack over her shoulder. She tried
to smile, and failed. "If I don't make it back --"
Eva nodded. "I can take care of myself, Maxie," she whispered. "We all
can."
Max held her gaze another moment longer. If she did what Eva was
suggesting -- killed Brin in order to escape -- this was the last
time she'd see her sister again. Max turned quickly to leave. She
made no promises. She couldn't.
Brin was waiting in the hall. "Don't try anything," Brin ordered.
"I wouldn't dream of it," Max replied airily.
_ _ _
Jondy tucked her hair behind her ears and poured herself a cup of
coffee, then sat down at the counter to pull open the package Logan
had thrown at her. She was surprised when she saw it was a bottle of
tryptophan. The substance had disappeared from the black market
several months ago and had been impossible to acquire. Yet Logan had
found some, for a stranger who'd appeared on his doorstep
mere hours before and caused trouble the entire time she'd been
there.
It's just because I'm his way to Max, she told herself, finishing the
coffee and eyeing the other cup's worth that remained in the pot. She
hadn't had coffee in such a long time and it was so good and so
strong. But she couldn't shake the soothing feel of his fingers
stroking her hair.
"To hell with it," she muttered and drank the second cup of coffee.
_ _ _
"So what's the mission?" Max asked once she and Brin were on the road
in their large black Jeep Cherokee, which she could easily fence for
ten grand on the black market.
"Assassination," Brin said.
"I figured that," said Max. "Who?"
"You'll know soon enough," Brin told her.
"Renfro didn't think you could handle it alone?" Max couldn't help
taunting her.
"She's testing you," Brin said. "I'm here to observe."
"What makes you sure I won't kill you and escape?" Max challenged, her
voice even. Not playful, but not alarmingly serious.
"I'd kill you before you finished thinking the thought," Brin replied.
"That settles that, then," said Max. "How long's the drive?"
"Shouldn't take more than ten hours at top speed," Brin said.
So they were going to Seattle, Max thought, feeling the confirmation
in her stomach.
"Why do you fight so hard?" Brin asked. Max just looked at her. "You
can't deny it. And you hate me."
"I don't hate you," Max said. How could she hate Brin? Brin was her
sister. No matter what she did, or where her loyalties lay.
"We're on the same side now, but you look at me like I'm a traitor,"
Brin continued.
"Don't you remember what it was like?" Max asked.
Brin nodded solemnly. "They saved my life. Not you, not Zack, not any
doctor out there in the real world. Manticore did."
"Saving your life doesn't mean they own it, too," Max pointed out.
"Do you like what you see out there?" Brin demanded, gesturing sharply
to the window. "Everbody's homeless. Everyone's got to struggle to
survive. People who have nothing. Don't you understand what caused
that?"
"The Pulse," Max answered. Everyone knew that.
"Don't you see?" Brin asked. "We're the only ones who can protect
them."
"Who do they need protection from?"
"Themselves."
_ _ _
Logan felt less angry by the time he finished bathing. The exoskeleton
couldn't get wet, obviously, so for those few minutes of the day, his
life was back to the way it had been when he was broken: a
distracting struggle. He emerged into the kitchen feeling refreshed.
"You drank all the coffee," he said, shocked.
Jondy nodded, as though it was to be expected.
The anger surged again. Logan stood there, trying not to explode, and
then just turned and walked into his computer room without saying a
word. Jondy trailed him. "I don't want to talk to you," he told her.
"But I --"
"I just want to get this bitch figured out," he said, turning his
attention to the information on his computer. The details of Jondy's
impending nuclear strike weren't hanging together. But if he combed
the informant net, he might be able to get some corroborating
evidence. Something he could work with.
"I just wanted to say thank you," Jondy said quietly. "For
everything."
Logan ignored her, grinding his teeth together and frowning more
deeply at his computer screen. He had a guy with a connection with
plutonium on the black market. He might know something about the
nukes. The key was the government connection Jondy had mentioned.
The sound of the front door closing was almost imperceptible. Logan
picked his head up. "Jondy?" Of course there was no answer. He got up
from the computer, knowing he couldn't catch her. So he went to the
window and watched the front door. If he saw which way she went, at
least he'd have some clue of how to find her in a city the size of
Seattle.
_ _ _
"Seattle," Max said with distaste.
"Home sweet home," Brin needled her.
"When are you going to tell me who we're going to kill?" Max asked
again.
"You mean, who you're going to kill." Brin pulled the Jeep over to the
side of the road and turned it off, reaching under the seat where her
handgun was stowed. She put it into Max's hand. Max thought she saw a
little trepidation in Brin's expression. As though Brin wasn't
entirely convinced Max wouldn't kill her and run.
But Max got no pleasure for it, nor from the power she might have
felt, holding the gun in her hand. "You want me to walk around the
city with this?"
"No tracking required. We're here," Brin told her.
Max glanced out the windows. It wasn't Logan's building. She'd been so
certain they'd ask her to kill him. That Renfro would make her kill
him. But that made no sense when Max considered it now, rationally.
Logan was no threat to Renfro. And Renfro couldn't possibly know that
Max loved him. No, this would be some sort of political target. That
it was in Seattle was pure coincidence.
"Third floor," Brin said.
"We're shooting homeless drunks now?" Max asked. They were parked
outside a men's shelter.
"Just one particular homeless drunk," Brin reported. "Time's
wasting."
"Stay with the car," Max said, pushing the door open. "Otherwise, it
won't be here."
Brin nodded. "Max," she called through her open window as Max
approached the building. "Try to run and it's over."
"I know." Max jumped up to the lower rung of the fire escape and
started to climb. She didn't look down at Brin, fully aware she was
being watched. She didn't want to do this. Didn't want to kill
someone for Manticore's cause. But if she didn't, she would die. And
if she died, Zack's sacrifice would be in vain. Zack would kill
without question, if it meant his life. He'd demonstrated
that clearly enough.
Max dropped through the window into the hallway. It was littered with
debris. The shelter wasn't much better than the apartment she'd
squatted in. Of course, her apartment had smelled better. She
wondered if she was supposed to go from door to door and blast
everyone who was home.
But as it turned out, only one apartment was occupied. By the time she
got to the end of the hall, she was tired of kicking doors in. If the
occupant had been a little less distracted, he would have heard her
coming. But he wasn't. He was dead drunk.
"Max," he said when he saw her through bleary eyes.
"Lydecker," Max's tone was biting.
"I knew they couldn't hold you down. You kids who escaped were the
best of 'em."
Same old broken record. "I'm sorry," Max said as she pulled the
trigger. She shot him in the head so it would be instant. Then she
wiped down the gun and dropped it near his limp hand. Suicides
happened in places like this all the time.
"It's done," she said to Brin when she got back into the car. Brin
nodded, and started the engine. "You're not even going to check?"
"They'll know if you lied," Brin said. Max supposed that was true.
They only got a couple of feet into traffic before Brin jammed on the
brakes. "Stupid," Brin muttered at the bike messenger who'd ridden
haplessly into their path.
Max could only watch as the messenger raised her head and looked at
the people in the car who'd almost hit her. Her eyes locked with
Original Cindy's, watching her old friend's expression turn to shock
as they recognized each other. Brin honked the horn and stepped on
the gas, and they left Seattle behind them.