9:52 PM – December 24, 2020 – Ben's Penthouse
"Are you sure you want Max to come with us on this?" Ben asked quietly as he pulled on his heavy leather jacket near the front door. Logan stood next to him, zipping his own jacket.
"Trust me, if I had any say in the matter, Max wouldn't even be in the city right now." Logan said under his breath as he walked over to Max, who was really worrying him at the moment. Ever since Ben had brought up the subject of an ambush against the X5 who was in the city, she had become extremely quiet and sullen, barely uttering a word even when someone was speaking directly to her. "Max, you sure you don't want to stay back?" Logan asked softly. Max shot Logan a hot look from under her lashes. "Let's get this b**ch done with." She said in a low voice as she walked out the door.
"I'm sorry, sir." A uniformed TAC soldier moved forward to block Ben, Max, and Logan's path. Logan subtly moved in front of Max to block her from view. "We have a situation here, and there are no bystanders are being allowed through here." He finished as more teams unloaded from the back of military trucks. The teams swarmed around what appeared to be an abandoned warehouse, their semiautomatic machine guns perched at their shoulders.
Ben reached into his pocket and pulled out a laminated card. "I am supposed to have clearance, I'm with Renfro." He said quickly. The TAC soldier reached forward and accepted the card, studying the picture on the ID as he glanced at Ben. "I'm sorry, you need at least A6 clearance to be here, I'm going to ask you to leave. They have two X5s in there and we can't risk the civilian lives. "
Ben was about to protest when Logan tapped his shoulder from behind. "Let's just go, Ben." He said widening her eyes for emphasis. They took four steps off before Max spoke. "Follow me." She said before darting into an alley, jogging quickly despite her heavy leather boots.
Ben considered himself in decent shape, he worked out whenever he could; he'd marched through deserts with rebel armies in the middle east in the middle of heat waves, yet he still found himself trailing behind Max, Logan at his side, out of breath as she quickly detoured the TAC teams. "God she's fast!" Ben admonished breathlessly as they rounded a corner, seeing Max a hundred yards ahead of them. "How does she move that fast?" He asked as he hitched his camera bag back onto his shoulder.
"Max was on the track team in high school." Logan lied easily as he followed Max around the next corner.
Ben and Logan found Max pulling off her jacket as she peered through a small window. "Max, what's--" Ben began before Max cut him off.
"Shh…" She whispered almost silently. "Logan," She directed as she tossed him her jacket. "Get out of here, go back to Ben's, if I'm not back by morning, get out of the city." Max began to silently open the window.
"Max, no." Logan begged as a grabbed her arm trying to stop her, but he knew it was already to late. Hey eyes were hard, that look she had when she was on a mission and no one was going to stop her, the look that had mesmerized him so many times, yet now scared him.
"I have to help Zack and Niva." She said simply as she slid the window the rest of the way open and slid silently through.
"Logan, what the hell is going on?" Ben asked from beside him, his voice a strange shade of suspicion, his eyes wary.
Zack and Niva stood in a defensive stance, circling slowly as at least twenty-five TAC soldiers filed into the room. "This isn't good." Niva whispered from behind Zack.
"Show no fear, soldier." Zack shot back.
The TAC team filled the room; their weapon's drawn, their faces frozen with impassiveness. One solider who appeared to be the first in command stepped forward, his gun trained on Zack's head. "We have you surrounded, there is no where you can escape too. Surrender peacefully and this will be a whole lot easier." The man spoke calmly.
"Surrender?" Niva shouted with a sneering laugh. "You want me, you'll have to come and get me."
"Let's be realistic, X5 137, it is two of you against two dozen of us. You can't take us all before one of us gets a shot off." He said gesturing towards Zack with the barrel of his gun. And he was right, he was absolutely right.
"But when there is three, that changes things a bit, doesn't it." The husky female voice echoed from the shadows behind Niva. She heard Zack swear under his breath as Niva heard the sound of two feet hitting the floor.
Max joined formation easily, falling into step between Niva and Zack. "Nice to see you again, big sister." Max said distactidly to Niva with a small smile. Niva was in too much shock from the day's events to really be surprised.
"What in the hell are you doing here Max?" Zack snapped from the side.
"Saving your a**." Max said quietly before she projected her voice to the TAC team ahead of them. "I think the question now should be, do you want to surrender now and make things easier on you? Or do I need to beat all of you into a coma?"
Logan and Ben stood watching in horror as Max joined ranks with Zack and the third X5. Logan felt all the blood rush out of his head when five TAC soldiers trained their guns on Max's chest and head while she circled with her siblings. He then felt the air catch in his throat when the three leapt forward into the throng of soldiers.
Ben watched amazed as Max jumped at least eight feet forward to take out the first guard with a punishing kick the neck. Max…she was an X5. It just didn't make sense, but there was no other way. "Logan." He said, carefully checking his anger. "Did you guys forget to tell me something?"
Max ran full speed towards the wall, one of the few remaining TAC soldiers following behind her. She leapt, running along the side of the wall before she flipped backwards over the man's head, ending his conquest with a spinning kick to the back of the head. "You guys are totally ruining my vacation." She said sarcastically before she turned to check out the rest of her competition. Max spun, spotting the last soldier as he backed Niva into a corner, who was fending off two soldiers of her own. Max ran forward, diving into a series of handsprings. After a blunt bow the back of the head ended the last remaining soldiers time among the conscious, Max, Zack, and Niva found themselves back to back in the center of the large room, their chests heaving from the satisfying exertion of a good fight.
Zack took a step forward, gesturing towards Max and Niva with his hands as he fired off commands via hand signals.
'Max, you take the back, Niva and I will go out the side. Stay in the shadows, rendezvous at –' Zack's signs were quick and abrupt.
Max cut him off with the flick of a wrist.
'8546 West King Street, Penthouse Apartment. Its safe there.' She signed fluidly.
Or at least she hoped it was.
Zack nodded, not having the time to argue. He held his fist up and turned it to the left in the sign to execute the orders. Max's brown eyes met with Niva's green one last time as they both started to move towards their destination. Eleven years without seeing each other was hell, pure hell.
Max ran off to the back, while Niva and Zack sprinted to the side, feet pounding on the rotting floorboards of the old building. Max had just about reached the backdoor when she saw three TAC soldier jog in, weapons raised and trained on her. She spun on her heel and ran towards the steps that would take her to the second floor, and when a bullet whizzed past her ear and wood splintered a mere centimeter from her head, Max realized one thing. They weren't out to take prisoners anymore. They were out to kill.
Max leapt up the stairs, her legs straining as the launched herself up until she reached the top floor. She ran to the window, only to look out over the Hudson Bay. There was nowhere to go, she couldn't exactly jump into a frozen bay in the middle of December. She turned around again as the sound of feet pounded up the stairs. "Looks like I have to kick a little more a** tonight." She muttered as she the first man cleared the steps. "Fine by me." Before she could react, he'd fired his gun, and Max stumbled back uncontrolled as she avoided the bullet.
It was too late though, she had no time to try and regain her balance, only time for a small scream to escape her lips as she crashed through the window, seeming to fall endlessly. Her last thought was of Logan before she crashed through the thin layer of ice into the ice-cold water of the Hudson Bay.
It seemed like an eternity that Max, Zack, and the as-yet-unidentified female whittled their opponents down to nothing with a dazzling display of gymnastics, martial arts, and pure strength. Zack issued a series of hand signals before Max sprinted off in one direction, Niva and Zack in the opposite.
Ben and Logan began to move silently down the alleyway before the sound of breaking glass, and even more terrifying, the sound of one small female yelp split through the eerily silence. Logan looked up just in time to see Max's flailing body fly uncontrolled out of a top story window.
"HEY! YOU DOWN THERE!" Logan and Ben's head whipped around as three armed soldiers jogged down the alley. "You aren't supposed to be down there!" All three raised their weapons and took aim before Ben and Logan reacted.
"On three, run like hell." Ben mouth almost soundlessly.
"Max…" Logan whispered brokenly.
"Logan, we have to go now." Ben said as he pulled on Logan's arm. Logan snapped out of whatever trance he was in and joined Ben as they hauled a** down the hallway.
Ben and Logan skidded to a stop next to Ben's car, climbing in quickly as shots echoes out, one shattering the front headlight. "Go! Go! Go!" Logan shouted as he jumped into the passenger seat and slammed the door.
Ben fishtailed as he whipped the car into gear and flew out of the parking lot. "You two have some major explaining to do." Ben muttered as he watched soldier run out onto the street, pointing wildly at the car.
11:36 PM – Ben's Penthouse
"I never thought that I would ever have to use this." Ben said as he emerged from his room. He slid a clip into a small black handgun with his right hand as he loosely grasped the cool metal in his left.
Logan didn't respond, just continued to stare out the window despondently, his own weapon laying untouched on the high table next to him. Ben wanted to reassure him, tell him that he was sure Max was all right, but he didn't think he could say it when his own mind was steel reeling from what he had learned that night.
'Come back to me, Max, please, come back to me.' Logan mentally prayed as he stared down at the street below, desperately searching the light traffic for signs of Max, signs of her being ok.
Ben scratched the back of his head, at a complete loss for words. He had so many questions to ask, so much he had to know, but he couldn't force himself to search for the answers that would solidify the evidence that a woman he'd considered a friend, a woman he'd respected, was a woman that he had been aiding in apprehending. He didn't want to know that there was a chance that Logan, a friend who'd he'd shared countless pizzas over calculus books at three am, has been *knowingly* living with a cold-blooded killer.
Logan and Ben heard the light sound from outside the door and both grabbed their guns as the door flew open, the loud crack of wood against wood echoing throughout the quiet penthouse.
Logan dropped the gun to his side as Zack stepped quickly into the room, a red headed female following him as she checked the hallway and shut the door quickly behind her.
"Zack, where's Max?" Logan snapped; panic rising in his voice. When Ben saw that Logan knew who the angry looking male was, whom he recognized as the X5 Max had gone to help, he dropped his own gun to his side. This was all getting real complex real fast, and he really didn't like it.
"I don't know; we got split up." Zack answered quickly as he crossed the room to shut the blinds on the window. "This is the rendezvous point, she knows to make sure she isn't being followed."
"Well, we watched her take a header off the top of the building, and it didn't look planned at the time." Logan snapped as he tossed his gun haphazardly onto the dining room table to pace back and forth.
"What are you talking about? When we split up she was going out the back door." Zack shot back.
"It looked like she was knocked off the top floor, or fell or something, and we saw no sign of her before TAC teams started playing target practice with us. I'm going to go look for her." Logan said as he moved towards the door.
"Max knows what to do, she's been trained for this." Zack said as he stepped in front of Logan. "She'll get back when she can."
"And she could be hurt and need our help." Logan hissed back. "Her training isn't going to do her a hell of a lot of good is she can't move, is it? I'm telling you, I'm going to go look for her."
"Looking for her will only put her in more danger." The woman spoke for the first time since she had walked in, her voice smoothly slicing through tension in the room.
"Who are you?" Logan asked somewhat warily.
"Niva, Max's sister. And you are?" She asked as she brushed her hair off her face.
Logan didn't answer, only continued to stand toe to toe with Zack, each of them staring each other down as they waited for the lesser man to back down. Logan didn't have a chance to win a staring contest against a trained military commando, so he simply admitted defeat by turning on his heel and walking quietly out of the room.
"Well he's certainly the sociable sort." Niva huffed as she flopped down on the couch.
4:07 AM – December 25, 2020 – Ben's Penthouse
Logan leaned against the railing of the balcony outside of the guest bedroom, the light breeze ruffling his hair as he stared out over the bright skyline of New York City. And by Max coming here, there was a good chance that she could be dead, or worse, she could have been recaptured by the bastards who wanted to use her for spare parts on the next—
Logan shook the thoughts from his head. He had to stay positive. He had to stay strong for Max.
But if something had happened to her, he could never forgive himself. It was as simple as he couldn't live without her.
4:23 AM – December 25, 2020 – Ben's Penthouse
Ben was never a big drinker, despite the fact that he came from an Italian mother and Irish Father. Past the occasional glass of wine or beer with some guys from the paper, he never really drank that much. But right now, he really wanted a drink, a nice big stiff one.
He was harboring two people in his home, fugitives that had been running from the government for the past eleven years. The third one, still missing as of now, was one of the supposed killers that he had been helping to find, and she was living with his best friend. He said 'supposed killers' now because he couldn't believe no matter how much he tried, he couldn't see Max as a killer. The blonde guy who was currently sleeping lightly on his couch, he had no problem seeing him taking out a bunch of people with an AK47. Then there was the red head with the haunting eyes; she was currently sitting out on the terrace outside the dining room, barely having said a word since she'd come in. He had no idea what to think of her, she could have passed for any twenty-something female in the city with her chin length bob of blood red hair, but it was the eyes that stood out. They were huge, green, laser green, with something deeper lying beneath the carefully crafted defense system she'd obviously cloaked herself in. She was a mystery, plain and simple, and one that Ben found himself wanting to uncover.
Ben stood to go raid his kitchen to see what forms of hard liquor he had, and that was when he heard the sound. It sounded like someone had just fallen against the door.
It had been a very faint sound to him, and he'd been sitting right next to the door, yet Zack shot up to a sitting position as if someone had just thrown a hand grenade through the window.
Ben picked up his gun as Zack crossed the room soundlessly. He eased to the side; placing his hand on the doorknob and slowly turning, ready to take the head off of whoever was there.
When the weight against the door caused Max to loose his grip, and the door flew open and Max stumbled in the door, tripping off balance on her own feet. Ben's arms shot out instinctively as she toppled forward, dazed.
"Sh**." Ben cursed violently as he dropped the gun out of his hand and lifted Max's slight weight. She was soaking wet, and her skin was waxy and gray, her eyes unfocused.
Zack shot forward. "Max?" He said as he pushed Max's wet hair off of her neck and checked her pulse. "Max, can you hear me?" Max made a small sound, her eyes rolling momentarily into the back of her head as she blinked sluggishly. "Niva! Get in here!"
"What's going on?" Logan asked as he walked out of the guest bedroom. He saw Zack rush past him, shoving everything off the kitchen table with one fluid arm movement. Then he looked up and his heart jumped into his throat as he saw Max limp in Ben's arms. "Max! Oh God." He cried as he shot forward.
Niva ran into the room just as Ben was laying Max across the table. Ben, Logan and, Zack all started talking at once, each of them shouting orders at the other.
"Everyone shut up!" Niva shouted, taking control as she shoved Ben aside to get next to the table. "Maxie, honey, can you hear me?" She said softly as she felt Max's wrist.
Max's head rocked back and forth weakly as she spoke, her words garbled. She moaned as she weakly tried to sit up. "Ok, honey you need to stay still, all right? Can you do that for me?" She cooed softly as she turned to where the three men stood helplessly. "Ok, I think she has hypothermia, I need to get her out of these clothes. Ben, get me scissors, I'm going to have to cut her out of them. And a thermometer if you have one. Zack, go turn the oven on and open up the door, get that thing heating up. Logan, get me as many blankets as you can find. We need to get her core temperature up and fast. Move! Move! Move!"
They all scattered, Ben running into the bathroom, Zack sliding past them to fiddle with the over controls. Ben was back a moment later, a pair of black handled scissors in his left hand, a electronic thermometer in the right. Niva grabbed them wordlessly and started at the leg of her black pants, quickly slicing the damp fabric away from her skin. "Maxie," She talked softly and reassuringly as she monitored Max's consciousness. "You're going to be just fine, just stay awake, ok." She carefully lifted Max's left leg up, pulling the fabric away and sliding it off. "Ben, get me a hat, a ski hat, something to cover her head with. She's not warming up fast enough, we need to get her warm faster." Ben ran out of room to root through a hallway closet.
Niva pulled off what remained of Max's pants, and moved to cut off the soaked black cotton that clung to her skin. Max lifted her arms up lethargically, trying to push Niva away as she slid the thermometer into her mouth. "…oogg…oggaaannn." She moaned, her head rolling back as she rejected the thermometer from her mouth.
"What Maxie?" Just as Logan stepped back into the room, his arms full of blankets Max half words made sense. "Logan? Are you looking for Logan?" Logan dropped the blankets on the floor and flew to Max's side, taking his hand into hers.
"Max, baby, I'm right here." Logan said as he kissed Max's hand. "I'm right here, and I am not going anywhere. Now let Niva help you ok?"
Max immediately stilled when Logan's hand took her own. Niva quickly sliced off the rest of her clothes as Ben ran back into the room with a heavy wool hat in his hand. Niva grabbed it out of his hand and carefully put it on Max's head.
"She isn't shivering," Logan stated the obvious. "Isn't that good?"
"No, its really bad." Niva said as she grabbed one of the blankets and wrapped it tightly around Max. "Zack! How's that oven coming?" Niva pulled the thermometer out of her mouth with the flick of her wrist. "S**t. Ninety-one point four. We need to get her core temp up as soon as we can. She's been hypothermic for to long."
"I'm ready!" Zack called.
"Why is her not shivering bad?" Logan asked as he stroked Max's face with the side of his hand.
"Because her body is shutting down." Niva snapped impatiently. "Now take off your clothes."
"Excuse me?" Logan asked confused.
"I don't have time for this." Niva shouted. "Direct contact with body heat is the only way to get her warm, she seems to be the most comfortable with, now take off the f**king clothes! Zack, get your a** in here and move her. Ben lay a blanket on the floor in front of the oven. Move people!" Niva shouted out orders with the grace of a southern belle and the iron authority of a war general. "Don't move her too much, she'll go into cardiac arrest."
"Well there is inspiration for you." Zack muttered as he scooped Max up.
Logan pulled off his sweater, dropping it as he moved in front of the group, then dropping his tee shirt and pants. He sat in front of the oven, which was pouring heat into the air. Zack carefully lowered Max into Logan's arms. "You need to keep her still." Niva repeated as wrapped a blanket around Max and Logan. "Talk to her, keep her awake. But don't rub her, it could send her into cardiac arrest, also."
Logan cradled Max against his chest, leaning back against the counter behind them as he murmured idiocies to her, talking about nothing and everything at the same time.
Ben, Zack, and Niva stood wordlessly over them, every once in a while, Niva would crouch down and checked Max's pulse and temperature. It was the longest twenty minuets of all of their lives before Niva brokenly whispered, "She's warming up. Ninety- five-point-nine."
Logan smiled softly as he continued to rock back and forth, stroking Max's hair. "We just can't seem to take normal vacations can we?" Logan said as he kissed her, admittedly, warmer forehead.
Ten minuets later, Max was able to speak normally, and it was then that Niva reassured them all that she'd be fine. Of course, Max's first words were profanity, but that was to be expected.
"Can I go to sleep yet?" Max asked drowsily, blinking at the bright lights of the room around her.
"Yeah, baby sister. Can I clean out your cuts first?" Niva asked with a smile. "New York is dirty, and the water is worse. You'd be surprised what you were swimming with."
Max eyes were just drifting shut again, but the immediately flew open again with a hissed breath as Niva touched a cotton pad soaked with rubbing alcohol to a long slice along her arm. "Ahhh! What the hell is that? Acid?" Max snapped pulling her arm back.
"Suck it up, Maxie." Niva said with a playful grin. "I don't want you getting some sort of weird a** disease from this."
Logan held Max's hand and felt her pain, literally, as Niva disinfected her wounds, and bandaged the worst of them.
"Max, can you promise me something?" Logan asked as he carried her towards the guest bedroom.
"Mmmhmmm?" Max murmured into the curve of Logan's shoulder.
"Next time you want to go swimming, can you wait till some decent weather, then not go through a window in the process?"
Max laughed softly. "My bad." She whispered as Logan laid her down on the bed. "Stay with me."
"I'm not going anywhere." Logan answered, stroking her hair as he pulled the blanket over her.
"Logan?" Max whispered a few minuets later, he voice slurred with sleep.
"Yeah, baby?"
"Merry Christmas."
"Merry Christmas, Max."
"Are you sure you want Max to come with us on this?" Ben asked quietly as he pulled on his heavy leather jacket near the front door. Logan stood next to him, zipping his own jacket.
"Trust me, if I had any say in the matter, Max wouldn't even be in the city right now." Logan said under his breath as he walked over to Max, who was really worrying him at the moment. Ever since Ben had brought up the subject of an ambush against the X5 who was in the city, she had become extremely quiet and sullen, barely uttering a word even when someone was speaking directly to her. "Max, you sure you don't want to stay back?" Logan asked softly. Max shot Logan a hot look from under her lashes. "Let's get this b**ch done with." She said in a low voice as she walked out the door.
"I'm sorry, sir." A uniformed TAC soldier moved forward to block Ben, Max, and Logan's path. Logan subtly moved in front of Max to block her from view. "We have a situation here, and there are no bystanders are being allowed through here." He finished as more teams unloaded from the back of military trucks. The teams swarmed around what appeared to be an abandoned warehouse, their semiautomatic machine guns perched at their shoulders.
Ben reached into his pocket and pulled out a laminated card. "I am supposed to have clearance, I'm with Renfro." He said quickly. The TAC soldier reached forward and accepted the card, studying the picture on the ID as he glanced at Ben. "I'm sorry, you need at least A6 clearance to be here, I'm going to ask you to leave. They have two X5s in there and we can't risk the civilian lives. "
Ben was about to protest when Logan tapped his shoulder from behind. "Let's just go, Ben." He said widening her eyes for emphasis. They took four steps off before Max spoke. "Follow me." She said before darting into an alley, jogging quickly despite her heavy leather boots.
Ben considered himself in decent shape, he worked out whenever he could; he'd marched through deserts with rebel armies in the middle east in the middle of heat waves, yet he still found himself trailing behind Max, Logan at his side, out of breath as she quickly detoured the TAC teams. "God she's fast!" Ben admonished breathlessly as they rounded a corner, seeing Max a hundred yards ahead of them. "How does she move that fast?" He asked as he hitched his camera bag back onto his shoulder.
"Max was on the track team in high school." Logan lied easily as he followed Max around the next corner.
Ben and Logan found Max pulling off her jacket as she peered through a small window. "Max, what's--" Ben began before Max cut him off.
"Shh…" She whispered almost silently. "Logan," She directed as she tossed him her jacket. "Get out of here, go back to Ben's, if I'm not back by morning, get out of the city." Max began to silently open the window.
"Max, no." Logan begged as a grabbed her arm trying to stop her, but he knew it was already to late. Hey eyes were hard, that look she had when she was on a mission and no one was going to stop her, the look that had mesmerized him so many times, yet now scared him.
"I have to help Zack and Niva." She said simply as she slid the window the rest of the way open and slid silently through.
"Logan, what the hell is going on?" Ben asked from beside him, his voice a strange shade of suspicion, his eyes wary.
Zack and Niva stood in a defensive stance, circling slowly as at least twenty-five TAC soldiers filed into the room. "This isn't good." Niva whispered from behind Zack.
"Show no fear, soldier." Zack shot back.
The TAC team filled the room; their weapon's drawn, their faces frozen with impassiveness. One solider who appeared to be the first in command stepped forward, his gun trained on Zack's head. "We have you surrounded, there is no where you can escape too. Surrender peacefully and this will be a whole lot easier." The man spoke calmly.
"Surrender?" Niva shouted with a sneering laugh. "You want me, you'll have to come and get me."
"Let's be realistic, X5 137, it is two of you against two dozen of us. You can't take us all before one of us gets a shot off." He said gesturing towards Zack with the barrel of his gun. And he was right, he was absolutely right.
"But when there is three, that changes things a bit, doesn't it." The husky female voice echoed from the shadows behind Niva. She heard Zack swear under his breath as Niva heard the sound of two feet hitting the floor.
Max joined formation easily, falling into step between Niva and Zack. "Nice to see you again, big sister." Max said distactidly to Niva with a small smile. Niva was in too much shock from the day's events to really be surprised.
"What in the hell are you doing here Max?" Zack snapped from the side.
"Saving your a**." Max said quietly before she projected her voice to the TAC team ahead of them. "I think the question now should be, do you want to surrender now and make things easier on you? Or do I need to beat all of you into a coma?"
Logan and Ben stood watching in horror as Max joined ranks with Zack and the third X5. Logan felt all the blood rush out of his head when five TAC soldiers trained their guns on Max's chest and head while she circled with her siblings. He then felt the air catch in his throat when the three leapt forward into the throng of soldiers.
Ben watched amazed as Max jumped at least eight feet forward to take out the first guard with a punishing kick the neck. Max…she was an X5. It just didn't make sense, but there was no other way. "Logan." He said, carefully checking his anger. "Did you guys forget to tell me something?"
Max ran full speed towards the wall, one of the few remaining TAC soldiers following behind her. She leapt, running along the side of the wall before she flipped backwards over the man's head, ending his conquest with a spinning kick to the back of the head. "You guys are totally ruining my vacation." She said sarcastically before she turned to check out the rest of her competition. Max spun, spotting the last soldier as he backed Niva into a corner, who was fending off two soldiers of her own. Max ran forward, diving into a series of handsprings. After a blunt bow the back of the head ended the last remaining soldiers time among the conscious, Max, Zack, and Niva found themselves back to back in the center of the large room, their chests heaving from the satisfying exertion of a good fight.
Zack took a step forward, gesturing towards Max and Niva with his hands as he fired off commands via hand signals.
'Max, you take the back, Niva and I will go out the side. Stay in the shadows, rendezvous at –' Zack's signs were quick and abrupt.
Max cut him off with the flick of a wrist.
'8546 West King Street, Penthouse Apartment. Its safe there.' She signed fluidly.
Or at least she hoped it was.
Zack nodded, not having the time to argue. He held his fist up and turned it to the left in the sign to execute the orders. Max's brown eyes met with Niva's green one last time as they both started to move towards their destination. Eleven years without seeing each other was hell, pure hell.
Max ran off to the back, while Niva and Zack sprinted to the side, feet pounding on the rotting floorboards of the old building. Max had just about reached the backdoor when she saw three TAC soldier jog in, weapons raised and trained on her. She spun on her heel and ran towards the steps that would take her to the second floor, and when a bullet whizzed past her ear and wood splintered a mere centimeter from her head, Max realized one thing. They weren't out to take prisoners anymore. They were out to kill.
Max leapt up the stairs, her legs straining as the launched herself up until she reached the top floor. She ran to the window, only to look out over the Hudson Bay. There was nowhere to go, she couldn't exactly jump into a frozen bay in the middle of December. She turned around again as the sound of feet pounded up the stairs. "Looks like I have to kick a little more a** tonight." She muttered as she the first man cleared the steps. "Fine by me." Before she could react, he'd fired his gun, and Max stumbled back uncontrolled as she avoided the bullet.
It was too late though, she had no time to try and regain her balance, only time for a small scream to escape her lips as she crashed through the window, seeming to fall endlessly. Her last thought was of Logan before she crashed through the thin layer of ice into the ice-cold water of the Hudson Bay.
It seemed like an eternity that Max, Zack, and the as-yet-unidentified female whittled their opponents down to nothing with a dazzling display of gymnastics, martial arts, and pure strength. Zack issued a series of hand signals before Max sprinted off in one direction, Niva and Zack in the opposite.
Ben and Logan began to move silently down the alleyway before the sound of breaking glass, and even more terrifying, the sound of one small female yelp split through the eerily silence. Logan looked up just in time to see Max's flailing body fly uncontrolled out of a top story window.
"HEY! YOU DOWN THERE!" Logan and Ben's head whipped around as three armed soldiers jogged down the alley. "You aren't supposed to be down there!" All three raised their weapons and took aim before Ben and Logan reacted.
"On three, run like hell." Ben mouth almost soundlessly.
"Max…" Logan whispered brokenly.
"Logan, we have to go now." Ben said as he pulled on Logan's arm. Logan snapped out of whatever trance he was in and joined Ben as they hauled a** down the hallway.
Ben and Logan skidded to a stop next to Ben's car, climbing in quickly as shots echoes out, one shattering the front headlight. "Go! Go! Go!" Logan shouted as he jumped into the passenger seat and slammed the door.
Ben fishtailed as he whipped the car into gear and flew out of the parking lot. "You two have some major explaining to do." Ben muttered as he watched soldier run out onto the street, pointing wildly at the car.
11:36 PM – Ben's Penthouse
"I never thought that I would ever have to use this." Ben said as he emerged from his room. He slid a clip into a small black handgun with his right hand as he loosely grasped the cool metal in his left.
Logan didn't respond, just continued to stare out the window despondently, his own weapon laying untouched on the high table next to him. Ben wanted to reassure him, tell him that he was sure Max was all right, but he didn't think he could say it when his own mind was steel reeling from what he had learned that night.
'Come back to me, Max, please, come back to me.' Logan mentally prayed as he stared down at the street below, desperately searching the light traffic for signs of Max, signs of her being ok.
Ben scratched the back of his head, at a complete loss for words. He had so many questions to ask, so much he had to know, but he couldn't force himself to search for the answers that would solidify the evidence that a woman he'd considered a friend, a woman he'd respected, was a woman that he had been aiding in apprehending. He didn't want to know that there was a chance that Logan, a friend who'd he'd shared countless pizzas over calculus books at three am, has been *knowingly* living with a cold-blooded killer.
Logan and Ben heard the light sound from outside the door and both grabbed their guns as the door flew open, the loud crack of wood against wood echoing throughout the quiet penthouse.
Logan dropped the gun to his side as Zack stepped quickly into the room, a red headed female following him as she checked the hallway and shut the door quickly behind her.
"Zack, where's Max?" Logan snapped; panic rising in his voice. When Ben saw that Logan knew who the angry looking male was, whom he recognized as the X5 Max had gone to help, he dropped his own gun to his side. This was all getting real complex real fast, and he really didn't like it.
"I don't know; we got split up." Zack answered quickly as he crossed the room to shut the blinds on the window. "This is the rendezvous point, she knows to make sure she isn't being followed."
"Well, we watched her take a header off the top of the building, and it didn't look planned at the time." Logan snapped as he tossed his gun haphazardly onto the dining room table to pace back and forth.
"What are you talking about? When we split up she was going out the back door." Zack shot back.
"It looked like she was knocked off the top floor, or fell or something, and we saw no sign of her before TAC teams started playing target practice with us. I'm going to go look for her." Logan said as he moved towards the door.
"Max knows what to do, she's been trained for this." Zack said as he stepped in front of Logan. "She'll get back when she can."
"And she could be hurt and need our help." Logan hissed back. "Her training isn't going to do her a hell of a lot of good is she can't move, is it? I'm telling you, I'm going to go look for her."
"Looking for her will only put her in more danger." The woman spoke for the first time since she had walked in, her voice smoothly slicing through tension in the room.
"Who are you?" Logan asked somewhat warily.
"Niva, Max's sister. And you are?" She asked as she brushed her hair off her face.
Logan didn't answer, only continued to stand toe to toe with Zack, each of them staring each other down as they waited for the lesser man to back down. Logan didn't have a chance to win a staring contest against a trained military commando, so he simply admitted defeat by turning on his heel and walking quietly out of the room.
"Well he's certainly the sociable sort." Niva huffed as she flopped down on the couch.
4:07 AM – December 25, 2020 – Ben's Penthouse
Logan leaned against the railing of the balcony outside of the guest bedroom, the light breeze ruffling his hair as he stared out over the bright skyline of New York City. And by Max coming here, there was a good chance that she could be dead, or worse, she could have been recaptured by the bastards who wanted to use her for spare parts on the next—
Logan shook the thoughts from his head. He had to stay positive. He had to stay strong for Max.
But if something had happened to her, he could never forgive himself. It was as simple as he couldn't live without her.
4:23 AM – December 25, 2020 – Ben's Penthouse
Ben was never a big drinker, despite the fact that he came from an Italian mother and Irish Father. Past the occasional glass of wine or beer with some guys from the paper, he never really drank that much. But right now, he really wanted a drink, a nice big stiff one.
He was harboring two people in his home, fugitives that had been running from the government for the past eleven years. The third one, still missing as of now, was one of the supposed killers that he had been helping to find, and she was living with his best friend. He said 'supposed killers' now because he couldn't believe no matter how much he tried, he couldn't see Max as a killer. The blonde guy who was currently sleeping lightly on his couch, he had no problem seeing him taking out a bunch of people with an AK47. Then there was the red head with the haunting eyes; she was currently sitting out on the terrace outside the dining room, barely having said a word since she'd come in. He had no idea what to think of her, she could have passed for any twenty-something female in the city with her chin length bob of blood red hair, but it was the eyes that stood out. They were huge, green, laser green, with something deeper lying beneath the carefully crafted defense system she'd obviously cloaked herself in. She was a mystery, plain and simple, and one that Ben found himself wanting to uncover.
Ben stood to go raid his kitchen to see what forms of hard liquor he had, and that was when he heard the sound. It sounded like someone had just fallen against the door.
It had been a very faint sound to him, and he'd been sitting right next to the door, yet Zack shot up to a sitting position as if someone had just thrown a hand grenade through the window.
Ben picked up his gun as Zack crossed the room soundlessly. He eased to the side; placing his hand on the doorknob and slowly turning, ready to take the head off of whoever was there.
When the weight against the door caused Max to loose his grip, and the door flew open and Max stumbled in the door, tripping off balance on her own feet. Ben's arms shot out instinctively as she toppled forward, dazed.
"Sh**." Ben cursed violently as he dropped the gun out of his hand and lifted Max's slight weight. She was soaking wet, and her skin was waxy and gray, her eyes unfocused.
Zack shot forward. "Max?" He said as he pushed Max's wet hair off of her neck and checked her pulse. "Max, can you hear me?" Max made a small sound, her eyes rolling momentarily into the back of her head as she blinked sluggishly. "Niva! Get in here!"
"What's going on?" Logan asked as he walked out of the guest bedroom. He saw Zack rush past him, shoving everything off the kitchen table with one fluid arm movement. Then he looked up and his heart jumped into his throat as he saw Max limp in Ben's arms. "Max! Oh God." He cried as he shot forward.
Niva ran into the room just as Ben was laying Max across the table. Ben, Logan and, Zack all started talking at once, each of them shouting orders at the other.
"Everyone shut up!" Niva shouted, taking control as she shoved Ben aside to get next to the table. "Maxie, honey, can you hear me?" She said softly as she felt Max's wrist.
Max's head rocked back and forth weakly as she spoke, her words garbled. She moaned as she weakly tried to sit up. "Ok, honey you need to stay still, all right? Can you do that for me?" She cooed softly as she turned to where the three men stood helplessly. "Ok, I think she has hypothermia, I need to get her out of these clothes. Ben, get me scissors, I'm going to have to cut her out of them. And a thermometer if you have one. Zack, go turn the oven on and open up the door, get that thing heating up. Logan, get me as many blankets as you can find. We need to get her core temperature up and fast. Move! Move! Move!"
They all scattered, Ben running into the bathroom, Zack sliding past them to fiddle with the over controls. Ben was back a moment later, a pair of black handled scissors in his left hand, a electronic thermometer in the right. Niva grabbed them wordlessly and started at the leg of her black pants, quickly slicing the damp fabric away from her skin. "Maxie," She talked softly and reassuringly as she monitored Max's consciousness. "You're going to be just fine, just stay awake, ok." She carefully lifted Max's left leg up, pulling the fabric away and sliding it off. "Ben, get me a hat, a ski hat, something to cover her head with. She's not warming up fast enough, we need to get her warm faster." Ben ran out of room to root through a hallway closet.
Niva pulled off what remained of Max's pants, and moved to cut off the soaked black cotton that clung to her skin. Max lifted her arms up lethargically, trying to push Niva away as she slid the thermometer into her mouth. "…oogg…oggaaannn." She moaned, her head rolling back as she rejected the thermometer from her mouth.
"What Maxie?" Just as Logan stepped back into the room, his arms full of blankets Max half words made sense. "Logan? Are you looking for Logan?" Logan dropped the blankets on the floor and flew to Max's side, taking his hand into hers.
"Max, baby, I'm right here." Logan said as he kissed Max's hand. "I'm right here, and I am not going anywhere. Now let Niva help you ok?"
Max immediately stilled when Logan's hand took her own. Niva quickly sliced off the rest of her clothes as Ben ran back into the room with a heavy wool hat in his hand. Niva grabbed it out of his hand and carefully put it on Max's head.
"She isn't shivering," Logan stated the obvious. "Isn't that good?"
"No, its really bad." Niva said as she grabbed one of the blankets and wrapped it tightly around Max. "Zack! How's that oven coming?" Niva pulled the thermometer out of her mouth with the flick of her wrist. "S**t. Ninety-one point four. We need to get her core temp up as soon as we can. She's been hypothermic for to long."
"I'm ready!" Zack called.
"Why is her not shivering bad?" Logan asked as he stroked Max's face with the side of his hand.
"Because her body is shutting down." Niva snapped impatiently. "Now take off your clothes."
"Excuse me?" Logan asked confused.
"I don't have time for this." Niva shouted. "Direct contact with body heat is the only way to get her warm, she seems to be the most comfortable with, now take off the f**king clothes! Zack, get your a** in here and move her. Ben lay a blanket on the floor in front of the oven. Move people!" Niva shouted out orders with the grace of a southern belle and the iron authority of a war general. "Don't move her too much, she'll go into cardiac arrest."
"Well there is inspiration for you." Zack muttered as he scooped Max up.
Logan pulled off his sweater, dropping it as he moved in front of the group, then dropping his tee shirt and pants. He sat in front of the oven, which was pouring heat into the air. Zack carefully lowered Max into Logan's arms. "You need to keep her still." Niva repeated as wrapped a blanket around Max and Logan. "Talk to her, keep her awake. But don't rub her, it could send her into cardiac arrest, also."
Logan cradled Max against his chest, leaning back against the counter behind them as he murmured idiocies to her, talking about nothing and everything at the same time.
Ben, Zack, and Niva stood wordlessly over them, every once in a while, Niva would crouch down and checked Max's pulse and temperature. It was the longest twenty minuets of all of their lives before Niva brokenly whispered, "She's warming up. Ninety- five-point-nine."
Logan smiled softly as he continued to rock back and forth, stroking Max's hair. "We just can't seem to take normal vacations can we?" Logan said as he kissed her, admittedly, warmer forehead.
Ten minuets later, Max was able to speak normally, and it was then that Niva reassured them all that she'd be fine. Of course, Max's first words were profanity, but that was to be expected.
"Can I go to sleep yet?" Max asked drowsily, blinking at the bright lights of the room around her.
"Yeah, baby sister. Can I clean out your cuts first?" Niva asked with a smile. "New York is dirty, and the water is worse. You'd be surprised what you were swimming with."
Max eyes were just drifting shut again, but the immediately flew open again with a hissed breath as Niva touched a cotton pad soaked with rubbing alcohol to a long slice along her arm. "Ahhh! What the hell is that? Acid?" Max snapped pulling her arm back.
"Suck it up, Maxie." Niva said with a playful grin. "I don't want you getting some sort of weird a** disease from this."
Logan held Max's hand and felt her pain, literally, as Niva disinfected her wounds, and bandaged the worst of them.
"Max, can you promise me something?" Logan asked as he carried her towards the guest bedroom.
"Mmmhmmm?" Max murmured into the curve of Logan's shoulder.
"Next time you want to go swimming, can you wait till some decent weather, then not go through a window in the process?"
Max laughed softly. "My bad." She whispered as Logan laid her down on the bed. "Stay with me."
"I'm not going anywhere." Logan answered, stroking her hair as he pulled the blanket over her.
"Logan?" Max whispered a few minuets later, he voice slurred with sleep.
"Yeah, baby?"
"Merry Christmas."
"Merry Christmas, Max."
