Chapter 7

AN: Ok thank you all for you input…I'm trying and trying to use it but I don't know how well I can.  This wasn't meant to be an original idea. Just so everyone knows I wanted to take what was there and put a spin on it.  That is why I am using what is there.  The writers did such a good job of it that I don't want to improve upon it only play with it a little.  Also this story is not going to be small.  I have so much in my head that it is going to take forever to put it all down.  So if you are missing the other x-5's they will be back it is just going to take a little time.  But they are in no way going to run the show.  This is after all more of a Max and Logan fic. I guess I'm just making a general statement that I do take your opinions into mind but that I don't want to use some of them because that isn't what I'm going for.  You are being heard and I do spend time thinking about it. Yeah I'm justifying myself to you. However we are going to break off of the original story line in little ways soon.  There are major events that I will still include however.

As I said before I am doing it this way to show comparison. Thanx for the input though I have taken it to heart making my writing a little more difficult.  I hope to please everyone but I know that isn't possible. So I do it for myself first. 

            Zack combed the streets of Seattle looking for anything that could lead him to his sister.  The day had come last week when Lydecker had called him in to give him the assignment he'd been dreading. 

            Find Max.

            Max wouldn't be in trouble when he found her if she had something to show for her eight months.  But Zack knew his baby sister all too well.  She wouldn't have anything.  Max probably hadn't even tried.  Zack couldn't say that he blamed her.  Secretly he hoped that she'd skipped town completely.

            "Hey, what do you say that while we're out here we have a little fun?" Alec asked.  Zack rolled his eyes remembering that Alec had always had a weak side for certain guilty pleasures.  Lydecker had insisted that Alec come with Zack on this mission for some reason, and Zack wasn't all too comfortable with Alec looking over his shoulder the whole time.  It reminded Zack all too much of certain similar missions where he had been required to spy on his siblings.  It meant that there was something about the situation that Lydecker didn't trust Zack on.  It meant that Zack would have to be extra careful.

            "Hey what do you say we complete our mission and get back to Manticore?" Zack shot back sarcastically.

            "You must be the life of the party." Alec commented.  "Good looks, winning personality, not to mention the fun that just rolls off of you."

            "Alec?" Zack paused to look at him.

            "Yeah?"

            "Shut up."

            "Yes sir." Alec mocked as Zack rolled his eyes for what must have been the fiftieth time in the past ten minutes.  "So where do you think Maxie is hiding?" Alec asked suddenly becoming serious.

            "She isn't hiding. And if you're so smart why don't you pick a place." Zack said clearly exasperated by his annoying sidekick.  If they ran into any trouble Zack wasn't sure whether he'd help Alec out or just leave him.  Possibly kick the crap out of him "accidentally" in the meanwhile.  Suddenly Zack wanted very badly to run into the wrong kind of people.

            "Hey that place over there looks good." Alec offered.  Zack followed Alec's finger to a bar.

            "A bar?" he questioned.

            "No the bookstore next door. Yeah the bar." Alec smart mouthed.  Zack just stared back in disbelief.  "Hey you asked me. Its worth a shot."

            "Max isn't like that." Zack defended.

Crash…

"I was crazy about you but you keep everyone at arm's length like you got some, great, big, dark something going on. It's just the more I tried to get close to you the more you pulled away." Darrin, a guy Max had met a little over a month ago, said calmly.  He was breaking up with her.  Well it was really no skin off her back, she'd only decided that it was about time she let herself have some fun when Darrin had showed up.  Max knew it wasn't going to be a forever kind of relationship since Manticore wouldn't exactly be thrilled with the idea.  Besides they just didn't have that connection she'd heard about.  Crud she'd felt more for Logan Cale, failed target of three almost four years ago.

Her mind flashed back once again on that night and she felt her blood start to warm to the image of his eyes.  She could still feel his body pushing against her to keep her in place, the way he had touched her cheek and his hard dominating kiss. That kiss…

Somewhere in the back of her mind it registered that Darrin had finished talking.

"I'm really glad we're having this conversation. You're right, I was angry at you but talking about it...the scales have fallen from my eyes and I realize now that...it was all my fault. Could you ever forgive me?" Max belted, her comments full of sarcasm and just the right amount of anger.

"I see the perimeter defense system is still fully intact. At least I tried." Darrin said as he walked away. Max watched him head over to another women waiting at the bar and shuddered in disgust.

"Craps all over everything and everyone. Then, wants mommy to forgive him." Original Cindy came up to offer condolences.  Max gave her a weak smile.  Truth was she may not have had deep feelings for Darrin but he'd still hurt her.  He'd cheated on her and accused her of being a female fog bank and like it or not, soldier or not, that still hurt.

"Tell me the truth. Am I a female fog bank?" Max had to know.

"He's just trying to blame you because he's a slut." Original Cindy offered.

"Yeah?"

"Hell yeah.  There is not the slightest grain of truth in anything that that idiot was saying. You are a totally down-ass female and a straight-up friend. Just 'cause you're a little..." Original Cindy drifted off so Max finished for her.

"Foggy…"

"More like a mystery…which isn't bad…" Original Cindy corrected.  Well fog bank or not, she still had a date with a certain statue in sector nine that she didn't plan on blowing off.  She wasn't out here for a meaningful relationship anyway.

"Hey Cin, I gotta jet send my love to the pretty boys k." Max smiled sweetly.          

"Sure thang Sugar.  Cya." Original Cindy waved Max out.

            "You were saying?" Alec questioned as Max walked out of the bar.

            "Shut up." Zack said as the two took off tagging along after her.

            They followed her to a run-down building where she stopped for a few minutes, grabbing a bag, and hopping back on her bike she then took off again, this time stopping in sector nine.

            The soldiers watched her as she carefully broke into an apartment with all the grace and poise of a cat.

            "Well it's nice to know she's using her training for something." Alec offered hopping off the back of a bike they'd "borrowed" outside of Crash.

            "Stay here.  We'll wait till she's done." Zack said holding out a hand and motioning for him not to go any further.

            "Do you think she'll use the door this time?"

            "Alec…"

            "I know shut up." Zack just smiled.