A/N: (I promise I don't do this often.) To answer Owl and jazshiri, I was working on keeping this mainly romance-free, but if anything happens, you'd be on the right track. Thanks for reviewing, it gives my ego a boost and I type faster.
Chapter 3: O Sister, Where Art Thou?
In the kitchen of Logan's apartment, Max had almost hauled herself bodily into the refrigerator.
"Logan! You got any apple sauce?"
From his vigilant position in front of his computer, he called back absently, "Dunno. Check the fridge."
Max looked down thoughtfully at the knee she had placed on one of the none-too-sturdy shelves, cocked an eyebrow and backed out, leaning on the polished door.
"Logan! Some government guys came by looking for Eyes Only while you were in the bathroom. Said they wanted details, so I copied your hard drive and gave it to them."
"Okay…What?!" Logan pushed himself away from his desk so violently that he wound up in the kitchen doorway, sliding along the polished floorboards uncontrollably and with an audible "Eep!" From her position by the fridge, Max eyed him curiously.
"I thought you were done with using chairs for transport."
"Cute. Very cute. Spare me the X5 wit."
She brushed her fingers on her jacket then blew on them. "I'm just good, and you know it. Now I have you attention, is there anywhere else apple sauce could be?"
He creased his brow in thought. "I dunno, a cupboard, I suppose. And anyway, what do you want with –"
A soft knock on the doorframe behind them. Logan stifled a grimace – he knew exactly who it was. Nobody else would sneak into his penthouse apartment, and the only other who could was already here. Not that she ever knocked, to boot.
"Hey, Zack."
Zack gave a tight nod of acknowledgment and sauntered over to give his sister a hug of greeting, which Logan eyed suspiciously. Oh, go away, Logan thought at Zack in annoyance. Just when things are going great, he has to show up and spoil everything.
The leader of the X5s had once told him that if he didn't want visitors, he shouldn't leave his windows open, and Logan wondered if deadbolting them shut would keep Zack out in future. Probably not.
"Maxie, I need your help. I was going to call Zane or Krit or even Syl, but you were closer."
She scowled and crossed her arms. "Nice to know what you really think of me."
He passed a frustrated hand through his hair. "It's not like that, and you know exactly why," he snapped.
Mocking returned to her voice. "Yeah, I know. If I be a good little tin soldier and do everything by your rules, I get to play with the others."
"Max, do you want to get Jondy back or not?" Zack's deadpan voice returned, and took with it the last of Max's bravado.
"J—Jondy? What happened to her?!"
Zack pulled out his phone and punched a few numbers in. Great, he trusts me so much he's muted the keytones. Wordlessly he offered it to her, and as she listened, Max's face turned deathly pale.
"Max? Max, what's wrong?" Logan stood up unsteadily, balanced himself and placed a hand on her shoulder. But she wasn't paying attention. He noticed, irritably, that her attention was focused once again on her big brother.
"What happened, Zack?" her voice was barely above a whisper.
He sighed heavily, jutted his jaw defensively and puffed himself up. "She got care-"
Max fisted a handful of black leather. "I swear, Zack, if you say 'she got careless, she got caught,' I'm going to kick your ass to within an inch of your life, and haul you back to Manticore to get you patched up so I can kick your ass again."
"It's the truth," he snapped back. "How else do you want me to paint it?"
"Why didn't you go to her? Try to help her?!" Max snarled in righteous outrage.
He slumped, uncaring that he did so in front of Logan, and spoke almost softly. "Baby sister, that message is a week old. I only got it this morning. And you heard her…she's already gone."
Max let go of his jacket and sat down hard on one of the black stools. Her eyes, although brimming with angry tears, were set. "That settles it then. We'll go get her back."
