Broken Wings - XV -

Max

Part of me was telling me to shout for joy and embrace my brother. The other half wanted to beat him until he answered my question and got that smug expression off of his face. It was the usual reaction to Zack. Hands on my hips, I asked again. "What are you doing here?"

His voice was a firm whisper. "I was passing through LA and saw you walking the street. What are you doing here Maxie?"

His face was hard and unrevealing but I knew he was hiding something. Female intuition, sixth sense, feline curiosity, or all of the above. Who knew? All I knew was that Zack had classified something as need to know only and decided I did not need to know. Nothing irritated me more but I could play just as well as he could.

"Just checking out the city and it's peeps."

I could have sworn that his face paled for a minute before resuming its hardness. What was he not telling me?"

"I don't believe you Maxie. Why are you really here?"

"What are you hiding?"

**********************

Zack

Max. Of all the people I was expecting to see in Los Angeles, Max was the last on the list. Her ability to be the wrong place at the wrong time staggers the mind. If she was with Logan, I could believe that she was having a cute little vacation, and not have to be on guard that she might run into the second biggest troublemaker I have to worry about. What is it about Eye's Only that turns soldiers into bleeding heart saps?

"What are you hiding?" she asked me. Actually hissed at me. That wasn't nearly as important of a question as why she was spying on Justin. God, if Jhondie had disobeyed me and started looking for the others and Justin didn't keep his word and tell me, he wouldn't have to worry about getting killed for a story. I would do it for him.

"You're out of your territory soldier," I said in a low voice, ignoring her question. "Your boyfriend decide to take you for a vacation?" As much as I didn't want to admit it, the thought of her having a sweet, romantic time with Logan felt like someone rubbing sandpaper over my skin and then pouring alcohol over it. It was just that Logan was a liability. Justin didn't bother me because he had proven he could handle himself. There wasn't anything emotional about it, no matter what anyone said. It was a preference based on past performances.

"Girl's got to get around," she replied casually. "Isn't that right Mr. Stay On the Move?" She pursed her lips at me. "Why are you really here?"

I wasn't any good at lying to Max. For some strange reason she brought out the honesty in me, some twisted little ethical code I thought long dissolved by years of training. It didn't mean I was going to tell her to truth though. She just needed to be distracted. Max was easily distracted, unlike the other sister here in LA. Once Jhondie got the scent of something, she never let it go. If she even suspected Max was here, there would be no separating them.

"Syl had a problem I had to take care of," I replied. "LA is my restock point
after taking care of her." If you can't lie to someone outright, you tell them a half-truth. It was like bouncing a shiny ball of tin foil across the floor. LA was my restock point. If I needed anything, I could get it, and ever since Kayla found out about Jhondie, I had a place to crash that didn't involve sleeping outdoors or in a dive so bad that the roaches don't even scatter when the lights come on. And Syl did have a minor problem. Easy to take care of, and then I wanted to come back here and check on Jhondie.

I felt bad about Jhondie getting hurt. I was the one that insisted on driving and shooting while she finished breaking the security code so Justin could get the files he needed. It was a precision relay, and I got caught up in the moment. She and I were moving as a unit, each performing our respective functions as we made for a common goal. She was trying to get me to give her the gun while she was shouting on the cell phone and banging on the laptop. I refused. If she were distracted the mission wouldn't be completed. So, we got rid of our pursuers, but ended up with the car flipping. I shouldn't feel bad. She was the one who was there risking herself for nothing. But I was the one that flipped the car. It was irrelevant to the moment. I had to deal with Max and that took all of my capabilities.

Max's face lit up for a moment. "Syl's here?" she asked excitedly.

"She stays on the move," I replied pointedly. Max knew what I meant. Between her and Jhondie, I had all I could handle with X-5's wanting to stay stable in one location. I didn't get the chance to question her further. Justin broke off his conversation with the Asian guy he was talking to, and started to come out to his car parked in the alley. Max shot me a dirty look for making her miss Justin's conversation as I scrambled up and took off. The last thing I wanted was for Justin to question why I was with Max. If by some chance he didn't know, and I had a suspicion he didn't, it was better I not be seen with her. He and I were going to have a private conversation later about the whole deal.