"Okay, here's the deal. I don't know enough medical terminology to convincingly pose as a researcher in this field. So instead I have a child who happens to have this condition that the doctors think is caused by a virus they've found in her bloodstream. Only thing they've never seen anything like it and don't know how to cure it. So I'm looking for someone who might be able to." Logan handed Alec an ID for the Seattle Medical Association Conference on New Applications of Genetic Therapies. Taking the badge
Alec looked at him questioningly,
"So what does that make me?"
"That makes you my bodyguard since I happen to be a wealthy man who doesn't go out in this dangerous world without one. All you need to do is tag along and look suitably stupid. No smart comments." Alec gave him a look and a mock salute
"Yes Sir!" Logan sighed and picking up the suit jacket slung over the back of a chair pulled it on. Alec looked him over and nodded at the fit of it over the shoulder holster he had noticed Logan wearing.
"You know how to use that heat you're packing?" he questioned Logan wondering again about the many facets to this guy. He had expected some bleeding heart liberal journalistwhose weapons were a computer keyboard and words. Logan seemed to be more a man of action than that and he wondered at it.
"I know how." Logan replied shortly and Alec followed him out of the apartment. When the elevator doors opened they were both startled as a young blonde woman stepped out.
"Asha." Logan greeted her. "What are you doing here?" She gave Logan a smile and replied.
"I need some papers for a friend. Thought you might be able to point me in the right direction" It was then that she noticed Alec standing to the side of Logan and she narrowed her eyes and frowned at him. "What's he doing here?"
Logan looked at her confused, unaware of the encounter they had had the night Max returned.
"He's a friend. Look we have an appointment, Leave me the information and I'll see what I can do to help later, Okay?" Logan started to enter the elevator which Alec was holding open but she stopped him with a hand on his sleeve.
"A friend? He's one of them, those transgenics," she replied making transgenic sound like a dirty word. "He also tried to kill you the night your friend Max came back."
Alec raised an eyebrow and shrugged. "Didn't do it. did I? And I could have. Could have killed you too." Asha frowned unable to come up with a response and satisfied herself with shooting him a venomous look. Logan watched the by play between the two with interest. Asha was normally pretty emotionless around other people, reserving her feelings for her work with the S1W group. Of course Alec was good at provoking a reaction but still there seemed to be …something going on here. Shrugging he stepped into the elevator intent on getting to the conference.
"We're late Asha, I'll talk to you later." The doors closed and they were on their way down.
"Interesting friends you have." Alec observed. "Max know about her?"
"They've met." Logan replied shortly.
"So, you two…?" Alec prodded. Logan shot him a glare.
"I've know Asha a long time. Her group does some work that occasionally intersects with mine. That's it." Alec subsided into silence, wondering why in the world he cared about some little blonde norm. She certainly wasn't the type for fun and games and that was all the use he had for women. Mentally dismissing her he studied Logan further wondering anew what Max saw in this guy that made her want to throw away all she was for his sake.
* * * * * * * * *
"C'mon Logan pick up." Max muttered as the ringing of his phone echoed in her ear.
"Hey boo what's a matter?" Cindy's familiar voice caught her as she turned and slammed down the receiver of the pay phone.
"I need to get hold of Logan and of course he picks now to not answer his phone. I think I liked it better when he was in his chair and didn't get out much. Lately I never know where he is or what he's got going." Max continued her litany of frustration as she headed to her locker.
"Hot run, Missy. Or is your viewpoint that you're entitle to do less than others here owing to your recent medical condition?" Normal's voice intruded as she dropped onto the bench.
"Can it Normal. I've already done twice the runs of anyone else here today." Max answered absently.
"Well since your new buddy called himself in sick today seems to me you should be the one to pick up his slack. Seeing as how you talked me into hiring him in the first place." Normal shot back at her.
"Huh? Alec called in sick?"
"I believe I was speaking English. You heard me."
"What, Boo?" Cindy asked as Max suddenly jumped up from the bench and headed for the door.
"Not without this you don't." Normal was waving the package in front of her face and Max grabbed it on her way out.
"Fine but that's it for the day. I have a doctor's appointment. Need to check out my new heart make sure my employer isn't putting too much strain on it."
"That had better come with a doctors note tomorrow or you're fired." Nornal called after her as Cindy shook her head at him. "You. Back to work, here deliver this."
* * * * *
Delivery complete Max headed on over to Logan's place pushed by an urgency she couldn't shake. The combination of Logan not answering his phone and Alec not coming in to work was giving her a bad feeling. She knew Logan was obsessed with finding a cure to her virus from hell and he wasn't above taking crazy chances to do it. Now that he and Alec had become buddies he might just have taken Alec along on something he figured she'd veto as being too risky. She hoped she was wrong but wasn't going to risk his life on it.
Arriving at Logan's place she let herself in calling out "Logan." as she entered. There was no answer and she headed into his computer room already knowing she wasn't going to find him there. A quick glance told her she was right and she looked around for a clue as to where he had gone. On his desk she found a pile of printouts of what looked like medical papers dealing with viruses and genetic therapies. At the bottom of the pile was a list of doctors' names, most of them crossed out. One however had a star next to it and a notation of a date that was…today's. Unfortunately the name was one Max recognized from her time at Manticore. He hadn't been a staff doctor there but she remembered the name as a consultant used by some of the techs when they ran into problems.
"Great." she muttered to herself. "He's gone off to see this guy but where?" Suddenly she heard a faint sound and she whirled swiftly moving and flattening herself against the screen to the side of the room's entrance. A woman's figure rounded the corner and Max swiftly grabbed her from behind pinning her arms to her sides. The woman struggled briefly then subsided as she realized the strength of the person holding her. Keeping a tight grip on her hands Max spun her around and realized it was the blonde girl, Asha, who had been there the night she came back from hell.
"What are you doing here?" she demanded. "And where's Logan?"
"Logan lets me come here to use his shower since I don't have one. And he's not here as you can see." Asha retorted making no effort to hide her dislike of Max.
"I'll just bet he does." Max muttered. "Do you know where he's gone?"
"Off with your friend somewhere. How would I know." Asha responded glaring at Max. Even though Logan had never given her any encouragement Asha had hoped for years that someday he would look at her as other than a fellow revolutionary. She had known he was interested in someone else and when he had plunged recklessly into his quest to bring down Manticore she had finally figured it all out. Of course she had assumed Max was dead as had Logan and she had been willing to wait for him to overcome his grief planning on being the one who he could turn to when he was ready to move on. Max's return had destroyed that hope although the virus seemed to leave a door open. If they couldn't find a cure surely Logan would realize that he belonged with a normal woman, one who shared his passion for doing good, one who didn't have a crew of strange transgenics hanging on to her and creating problems.
Max for her part wondered who exactly this old friend of Logan's was and why he had never mentioned her before her recapture by Manticore. It was clear Asha didn't like her and Max found herself wondering exactly how close she and Logan had been those months Max had been gone. The girl obviously thought she had free run of Logan's apartment and that didn't sit well with Max who regarded that privilege as one belonging to her. Traumatized by the events of the past months, Max wondered if maybe Logan wouldn't be better off with a normal girl, one without her baggage or her deadly virus to threaten him. If he couldn't find a cure maybe he'd turn to this girl. In Max's eyes Logan was everything a man should be and Asha seemed to think so too. Shaking off her thoughts, Max decided she'd cross that bridge when it happened. In the meantime she needed to find out where Logan was.
"What friend of mine?" she demanded.
"The one who almost killed him the first night you came back. The one with the smart mouth." Max recognized Alec from the description and frowned. Logan was up to no good and he hadn't wanted her to know, hence Alec. Damn. She had to figure out where he was meeting the doctor.
"Did they say anything about where they were going?"
"No. They were in a rush though and Logan was wearing one of his suits. Must have been business." Asha was reluctant to help Max but she was picking up on a sense of urgency and she didn't want anything to happen to Logan. Or his friend to be honest. The guy was annoying but there was something about him…
"Anything else?"
"They had ID badges, you know the kind you wear when you go to a meeting or convention." At that Max was at Logan's computer searching the database for medical conventions being held in Seattle or nearby. Bingo. A conference on genetic therapies was going on at a resort just outside the city. Pulling up the conference agenda she scrolled through it and found the name of the doctor she had seen starred on Logan's list.
Damn. Logan knew that any medical personnel associated in any way with Manticore were targets these days. If Logan hadn't found the connection Alec had surely recognized the name. She would just bet there was an assassin or two headed for that conference. Hell, she wouldn't trust Alec except for the fact that she didn't think he'd try that game again. But another Manticore alum might, desperate for a chance to commute the life sentence they all seemed to be under these days.
As thoughts raced through her head Max was on her way out the door leaving Asha standing in confusion.
"Hey where are you going? What's going on?"
"No time to talk. If you don't want to put Logan in any more danger than he already is you'll keep your mouth shut too. Oh, and I'd suggest you finish up your shower and go home before we get back. I may not be in a very good mood and you really don't want to be around me when I'm like that." With that Max was in the elevator, the doors closing before Asha could come up with a suitable response.
