"Report soldier."
Though Ty did not see the Major's gaze but he could feel it trace a line down his cheek, where, from his eye to his chin, there was a red scar. Similar scratches were on the faces of his fellow X-6s, Venka, Crawl and Pratt.
"The child was more of a challenge then I had anticipated. He regained consciousness before we could secure him and our tazers were not at the ready. It will never happen again. We have successfully strapped him down and administered the appropriate hallucinogens. It is only a matter of time now, sir."
Major Mathews smiled. He never seemed to tire of this boy's dedication to his job. "Excellent work, but try not to be so rough with the child. If what you said was correct and his mind is still pliable it would prove for less complications in the future if he were to ... enjoy his stay."
"Understood."
"Venka, Crawl, Pratt, go see to your regular duties. Ty, see you our other guest."
No more words needed to be said. They understood their orders and left without question.
*****
Her eyes were blood shot from the injections they gave her. Soon they would probably be coming in with eye drops since the metal contraption she was vertically strapped to would not let her blink. She did not know what time it was because they had made a point of not making visits at regular intervals, or maybe it just seemed that way in this room.
She tried to judge the time by the dramatic temperature changes in the room, one hour hot enough to make her sweat the next so cold she her teeth would have been chattering, had she not been gagged. The temperature was even more exaggerated on her now shaven head. Already they had begun to strip her of anything she had gained while free.
Needing anything else to concentrate on, her mind would try and make patterns of temperatures and correlate it to the times the X-6 came in, but soon Kat realized it was a futile effort. If Manticore didn't want her to know what time it was, she would never find out. However deep in mind she knew, though she didn't want to acknowledge the fact, that she had been there less than a day. She couldn't admit it to herself because she knew it meant she would have many hours if not days of this torture ahead of her.
Before her, on the three walls in her view they played images of war and death, and every once in a while words would flash upon the screen. Kat couldn't really understand why they would have to keep her eyes open as her ears were constantly assaulted with non-stop propaganda.
Once again the click of a door opening fell on her ears, easily distinguishable from the now monotonous drone of gunfire, explosions and monologues. Within seconds the boy she had heard others referred to as Ty stood beside her. During this, his fourth visit, he was again alone, carrying a tray that he placed on a table that was beside her but just out of view.
Kat's gaze drifted, her eyelids like sandpaper, to study his face as he prepared whatever was on the tray, her eyes hungry for anything other then the flat moving pictures that plastered the walls. On his cheek was a scratch, still apparently fresh as the wound was raw. It must have been Cole. The thought of her son still fighting sent waves of relief through her body, they did not have him yet. But the relief was short lived as she was buried in the reality of the situation. They may not have him yet, but it would be soon.
His face was too serious to belong to that of a twelve year old. It looked as though he had been forged in the fires of countless wars. But he was but a child, he should be worrying about grades, infatuations, and friends, not something gritty and heartless as this. It would have brought a tear to her eye, had they not so thoroughly dried out from the hours of unblinking staring.
As if to answer her thoughts, he took a fluid and liberally dropped it into each of her thirsty eyes. The soothing liquid was tainted with fear because she knew this would only mean she would be strapped to this apparatus for a longer period of time. Again her eyes looked to the boy, now successful in making eye contact. She tried to, with that one look, convince Ty to let her go. Maybe the dread in her eyes would soften his heart. But she knew that was just wishful thinking. He broke the eye contact unphased and returned to prepare something else on the tray. He was a soldier of Manticore and had a duty to fulfill and his precise and sure movements gave away that he had done this several times before. So for now her hatred did not befall upon this boy, but Manticore, who gave him no other choice.
Cutting through her thoughts, she felt the coolness of an antibacterial swab in the crook of her arm. Out of the corner of her eyes she could see he was preparing the spot to receive a needle he held in his other hand. Inside the clear chamber of the syringe was a reddish liquid. She tried to remember back to her training, what that liquid was. However knowing what was now being forced into her bloodstream would do her no good as it coursed through her veins with every beat of her heart.
The sensation was strange. She did not know if it was her own anxiety or the liquid that caused her heart to beat at this frenzied speed. It was as though it knew what the liquid would do and was trying to free itself from her chest. Moments later she knew why it was right to want to flee. An excruciating pain ripped through her body from her outer extremities burning deep into her core. It was like someone was ripping the very skin from her flesh and burning what remained and her body strained hard against the straps that held her tight. A hoarse scream left her dry throat only to be muffled by the gag. The nerves which told her muscles to clenched with the pain had now tired, and her body proceeded to spasm instead. Had she had wood in her mouth rather than cloth she could have surely snapped it into splinters. Thankfully after only a minute the stabbing pain receded to a dull throb in her skull. It pulsated like a hangover from a rowdy party, but Kat knew it had a much darker intent.
*****
The earlier half of the day had been spent walking around his apartment and he could have done that all day had his muscles not complained about their use. The sun began its slow decent when Logan finally ripped himself away from his computer. Though he was steeped in his work, all it took was one filename that returned from a search he began days ago:
/$$core(-m09).dump..files-#pentagon[six]{AreA 390}^[manticore]#.
He was already hard pressed to avoid things that reminded him of her, she had lain on his couch, she had stood by his computer, she had sat at his table…
Now, finally, for the first time in a long time Logan rolled back his desk chair and stood for a good stretch. His other hated chair now made it's home in the back of his closet. He was tempted to throw it away and have it incinerated but he knew that if nothing else, that chaired would serve as a reminder of things gained then lost.
Now it was his stomach that demanded his attention and with increasingly confident steps he went to the kitchen to prepare a meal. The food was already cooked when he realized he had prepared a meal for two.
The doorbell invaded his penthouse and thankfully, sliced through his sorrow. Looking out the peephole, he saw the back of a head of blond hair. Dr. Marion. Alyssa, he reminded himself. So her sister had given her the message. He could not see but he hoped she had the treatments there with her now.
"Good evening, Alyssa," Logan greeted, his grin was wide with relief despite himself. "I trust you got my message?" The doctor stood before him, but if he hadn't known her area of expertise he would have thought she was fresh out of collage. Before him, she wore a simple while t-shirt and jeans, her face bore no makeup and her hair hung loose about her shoulders. There was no way she was over thirty, but then how would she have been able to complete medical school as well as the research necessary to be such a prestigious genetic specialist?
"About five hours after I got home." She paused to admire him standing before him. Her eyes shined with pride. "So you're on your feet already? Two days before schedule, impressive. Do you have control of your toes yet?"
"My toes haven't moved yet, but that hasn't stopped me."
The warming smells of dinner reaching her nose. "Oh damn, I did it again didn't I? I keep forgetting to call first. I'm sorry."
"Oh, not tonight, I'm alone." He tried to hide the pang of hurt in his voice, and only partially succeeded.
She could sense his unease and did not dwell upon the subject. "Well, I dropped by to give you these two shots," her fist unfurled before and it was then Logan noticed she held two needles in their plastic prisons, already filled with fluid. "This should last you a day, and by tomorrow I can get you another vile. If you even need it."
Logan took them from her. "Thank you so much."
"Anything to help my star patient." Truly having nothing else to talk about, they both took a moment to smile.
Logan shook his head, he had forgotten his manners again. "Would you like to come in and stay for dinner? I cooked extra."
"Oh I wouldn't want to impose. My sister is downstairs cooking some vegetarian delight." The sarcasm in her voice told Logan that she was a meat lover just as himself.
"I have spaghetti with a meat sauce."
She involuntarily licked her lips. "You drive a hard bargain but really, I wouldn't want to be a bother."
"No bother. The food is already cooked and it is the least I could do for the doctor who help me stand again." He stood that much straighter to emphasize his point. Taking a few steps back he opened the door wider, welcoming her in to his humble abode.
"Alright, I concede," Alyssa smiled, raised her hands in a playful surrender and stepped into the apartment.
*****
"Sir." The speakerphone crackled. "The surgery was a success. The doctors say there were no difficulties and that the colonel will be breathing on his own in a week." Damn it, Mathews swore under his breath. He had hoped that the eighteen hour surgery to replace the Lydecker's heart and lung would have killed him. It would have made his life a lot less complicated. But alas, Manticore had horded some of the world's best surgeons and geneticists in the world and the chances of them making an error, or not forseeing all possible difficulties were unlikely.
The news frustrated him and he stood, ready to leave to his home on base, and grab a drink of brandy. But a flashing on his computer caught his eyes. It was an incoming message from the field. He clicked on the flashing note and a window was called up. He waited patiently for the decoded translation.
Major. Reporting. Raven.
Maybe Raven would bring him some good news to calm his nerves.
Raven. Download Recon. Mathews
Major. New data not clear. Raven
Shit. This day was just not his day. Lydecker was on the mend and his best operative had not been able to gather some simple information for him.
Raven. No new targets have been found? Mathews.
Major. Affirmative. Raven.
The major's frustration rose in his face and he could feel his cheeks go warm with anger. There was no need for this mission anymore.
Raven. Primary objective successful. Mathews.
Major. More time requested. Raven.
She had asked this of him before and he had agreed. This time being wasted confirmed that her talents were being squandered on this mission. It was time to bring her home.
Raven. Additional time is wasted.
Primary objective completed.
Ty will be sent.
Location. Mathews
*****
Raven had not expected the Major to deny her, her request. But the letters were plain before her. She had to feed him something so that he would deem the mission indispensable. What could she tell him that would assuage his impatience. She sent him another message so he would not notice her hesitation as she tried to think of some fact he would find interesting. As the message encrypted she looked nervously around the abandoned loft they had found, though she knew she was alone.
Major. Some rough information available. Raven.
As the letters were encrypted and sent, she knew what she could tell him. Her conscience may have fought her decision but she knew it was the only way Mathews would become as dedicated in seeking out all the X-5 as Lydecker. Ironically this was the only way Raven could think of to keep the X-5 safe for now.
*****
Her message did in no way comfort him. Why was she hiding her location? Why was she defying his order? He did not reach the point of panic because he knew she had been trained well but he also couldn't explain her behaviour. She had never failed to answer a question asked of her before.
Raven. Not necessary. Location. Mathews.
He persisted in finding her location and again he was denied. But the information that reached his eyes made him clear all his doubts.
Major. X-5 not to be underestimated.
Injection of unknown fluid increased capabilities five fold.
Strength, speed and agility enhanced. Rival X-6. Raven.
Greed filled his heart. With the X-5 captured and enhanced he would have over forty super soldiers under his control. It would help with the back order of assassinations and operations that were requested of Manticore world wide. It was this wait that was the main deterring factor to most of their customers. But if the stress on his resources were to be relieved…
Raven. Time granted.
New objectives: Seek all X-5, gain sample of said injection.
Report daily on your progress.
End transmission. Mathews
*****
"Hey Max." Zack said, as he climbed over the lip of the roof of the abandoned warehouse they had lucked out on. The loft they found seemed to be abandoned, probably the home of some drug dealer that had to pick up and leave. Raven said she could smell the cocaine. It was unfortunate that Canada's west had also been affected by the pulse. It was in much the same state of disrepair that America was.
As he approached her he had to guard his eyes from the piercing red light of the sunset. Her profile was emblazoned with this red fire. If he was not mistaken she was gazing off into the south.
"Max did you want some dinner?"
"I'm not hungry," she curtly replied.
As he stepped closer he could again see the sun shine off her tears and, though it was slight, her shoulders were slumped as well. His heart clenched in his chest to see her this way.
"Max. You have to put him past you."
"You don't know how hard I'm trying. You wouldn't understand with your phony sentimentality and all."
That hurt. He understood, all to well, what it was like to leave the one who you loved. He had understood since the night of the escape when he knew the greatest chance for escape was if they all separated.
"You're strong Max, you have to."
"Why do I have to?"
"For your sanity. I know it will take time to get over the hurt, but you can't rip yourself apart like this." He stepped closer to her.
"What am I gonna do without him?"
"You'll live your life and he will do the same." Again he inched closer.
Finally, Max turned to face him, and he could see how the fire in her eyes had been doused by the tears. The grief of few days had aged her beauty by ten years. But to Zack she would always be beautiful. "But it hurts so much."
He couldn't stand it any longer. Zack would give his life to take this pain away from her. So instead he offered something else. Friendship. Staring at the ground he spoke in an unsure voice, "Max. I know what Kat told you that night and it may have been true. But I also know that I can't give you whatever it was that Logan gave, no matter how much I may want to. And even if I did, I know I'm not the one you want. So at least understand, that I'll be here … as a friend." He hesitated. Had he done it right? He had never offered a friendship to anyone before.
Max knew a momentous occasion when she heard one, and a half smile came to her lips more tears streaming from her chocolate eyes. She closed the gap between them and rested her forehead on his shoulder. "That's all I need," she said through her tears. With timid arms he enfolded her in a warm embrace.
Though Ty did not see the Major's gaze but he could feel it trace a line down his cheek, where, from his eye to his chin, there was a red scar. Similar scratches were on the faces of his fellow X-6s, Venka, Crawl and Pratt.
"The child was more of a challenge then I had anticipated. He regained consciousness before we could secure him and our tazers were not at the ready. It will never happen again. We have successfully strapped him down and administered the appropriate hallucinogens. It is only a matter of time now, sir."
Major Mathews smiled. He never seemed to tire of this boy's dedication to his job. "Excellent work, but try not to be so rough with the child. If what you said was correct and his mind is still pliable it would prove for less complications in the future if he were to ... enjoy his stay."
"Understood."
"Venka, Crawl, Pratt, go see to your regular duties. Ty, see you our other guest."
No more words needed to be said. They understood their orders and left without question.
*****
Her eyes were blood shot from the injections they gave her. Soon they would probably be coming in with eye drops since the metal contraption she was vertically strapped to would not let her blink. She did not know what time it was because they had made a point of not making visits at regular intervals, or maybe it just seemed that way in this room.
She tried to judge the time by the dramatic temperature changes in the room, one hour hot enough to make her sweat the next so cold she her teeth would have been chattering, had she not been gagged. The temperature was even more exaggerated on her now shaven head. Already they had begun to strip her of anything she had gained while free.
Needing anything else to concentrate on, her mind would try and make patterns of temperatures and correlate it to the times the X-6 came in, but soon Kat realized it was a futile effort. If Manticore didn't want her to know what time it was, she would never find out. However deep in mind she knew, though she didn't want to acknowledge the fact, that she had been there less than a day. She couldn't admit it to herself because she knew it meant she would have many hours if not days of this torture ahead of her.
Before her, on the three walls in her view they played images of war and death, and every once in a while words would flash upon the screen. Kat couldn't really understand why they would have to keep her eyes open as her ears were constantly assaulted with non-stop propaganda.
Once again the click of a door opening fell on her ears, easily distinguishable from the now monotonous drone of gunfire, explosions and monologues. Within seconds the boy she had heard others referred to as Ty stood beside her. During this, his fourth visit, he was again alone, carrying a tray that he placed on a table that was beside her but just out of view.
Kat's gaze drifted, her eyelids like sandpaper, to study his face as he prepared whatever was on the tray, her eyes hungry for anything other then the flat moving pictures that plastered the walls. On his cheek was a scratch, still apparently fresh as the wound was raw. It must have been Cole. The thought of her son still fighting sent waves of relief through her body, they did not have him yet. But the relief was short lived as she was buried in the reality of the situation. They may not have him yet, but it would be soon.
His face was too serious to belong to that of a twelve year old. It looked as though he had been forged in the fires of countless wars. But he was but a child, he should be worrying about grades, infatuations, and friends, not something gritty and heartless as this. It would have brought a tear to her eye, had they not so thoroughly dried out from the hours of unblinking staring.
As if to answer her thoughts, he took a fluid and liberally dropped it into each of her thirsty eyes. The soothing liquid was tainted with fear because she knew this would only mean she would be strapped to this apparatus for a longer period of time. Again her eyes looked to the boy, now successful in making eye contact. She tried to, with that one look, convince Ty to let her go. Maybe the dread in her eyes would soften his heart. But she knew that was just wishful thinking. He broke the eye contact unphased and returned to prepare something else on the tray. He was a soldier of Manticore and had a duty to fulfill and his precise and sure movements gave away that he had done this several times before. So for now her hatred did not befall upon this boy, but Manticore, who gave him no other choice.
Cutting through her thoughts, she felt the coolness of an antibacterial swab in the crook of her arm. Out of the corner of her eyes she could see he was preparing the spot to receive a needle he held in his other hand. Inside the clear chamber of the syringe was a reddish liquid. She tried to remember back to her training, what that liquid was. However knowing what was now being forced into her bloodstream would do her no good as it coursed through her veins with every beat of her heart.
The sensation was strange. She did not know if it was her own anxiety or the liquid that caused her heart to beat at this frenzied speed. It was as though it knew what the liquid would do and was trying to free itself from her chest. Moments later she knew why it was right to want to flee. An excruciating pain ripped through her body from her outer extremities burning deep into her core. It was like someone was ripping the very skin from her flesh and burning what remained and her body strained hard against the straps that held her tight. A hoarse scream left her dry throat only to be muffled by the gag. The nerves which told her muscles to clenched with the pain had now tired, and her body proceeded to spasm instead. Had she had wood in her mouth rather than cloth she could have surely snapped it into splinters. Thankfully after only a minute the stabbing pain receded to a dull throb in her skull. It pulsated like a hangover from a rowdy party, but Kat knew it had a much darker intent.
*****
The earlier half of the day had been spent walking around his apartment and he could have done that all day had his muscles not complained about their use. The sun began its slow decent when Logan finally ripped himself away from his computer. Though he was steeped in his work, all it took was one filename that returned from a search he began days ago:
/$$core(-m09).dump..files-#pentagon[six]{AreA 390}^[manticore]#.
He was already hard pressed to avoid things that reminded him of her, she had lain on his couch, she had stood by his computer, she had sat at his table…
Now, finally, for the first time in a long time Logan rolled back his desk chair and stood for a good stretch. His other hated chair now made it's home in the back of his closet. He was tempted to throw it away and have it incinerated but he knew that if nothing else, that chaired would serve as a reminder of things gained then lost.
Now it was his stomach that demanded his attention and with increasingly confident steps he went to the kitchen to prepare a meal. The food was already cooked when he realized he had prepared a meal for two.
The doorbell invaded his penthouse and thankfully, sliced through his sorrow. Looking out the peephole, he saw the back of a head of blond hair. Dr. Marion. Alyssa, he reminded himself. So her sister had given her the message. He could not see but he hoped she had the treatments there with her now.
"Good evening, Alyssa," Logan greeted, his grin was wide with relief despite himself. "I trust you got my message?" The doctor stood before him, but if he hadn't known her area of expertise he would have thought she was fresh out of collage. Before him, she wore a simple while t-shirt and jeans, her face bore no makeup and her hair hung loose about her shoulders. There was no way she was over thirty, but then how would she have been able to complete medical school as well as the research necessary to be such a prestigious genetic specialist?
"About five hours after I got home." She paused to admire him standing before him. Her eyes shined with pride. "So you're on your feet already? Two days before schedule, impressive. Do you have control of your toes yet?"
"My toes haven't moved yet, but that hasn't stopped me."
The warming smells of dinner reaching her nose. "Oh damn, I did it again didn't I? I keep forgetting to call first. I'm sorry."
"Oh, not tonight, I'm alone." He tried to hide the pang of hurt in his voice, and only partially succeeded.
She could sense his unease and did not dwell upon the subject. "Well, I dropped by to give you these two shots," her fist unfurled before and it was then Logan noticed she held two needles in their plastic prisons, already filled with fluid. "This should last you a day, and by tomorrow I can get you another vile. If you even need it."
Logan took them from her. "Thank you so much."
"Anything to help my star patient." Truly having nothing else to talk about, they both took a moment to smile.
Logan shook his head, he had forgotten his manners again. "Would you like to come in and stay for dinner? I cooked extra."
"Oh I wouldn't want to impose. My sister is downstairs cooking some vegetarian delight." The sarcasm in her voice told Logan that she was a meat lover just as himself.
"I have spaghetti with a meat sauce."
She involuntarily licked her lips. "You drive a hard bargain but really, I wouldn't want to be a bother."
"No bother. The food is already cooked and it is the least I could do for the doctor who help me stand again." He stood that much straighter to emphasize his point. Taking a few steps back he opened the door wider, welcoming her in to his humble abode.
"Alright, I concede," Alyssa smiled, raised her hands in a playful surrender and stepped into the apartment.
*****
"Sir." The speakerphone crackled. "The surgery was a success. The doctors say there were no difficulties and that the colonel will be breathing on his own in a week." Damn it, Mathews swore under his breath. He had hoped that the eighteen hour surgery to replace the Lydecker's heart and lung would have killed him. It would have made his life a lot less complicated. But alas, Manticore had horded some of the world's best surgeons and geneticists in the world and the chances of them making an error, or not forseeing all possible difficulties were unlikely.
The news frustrated him and he stood, ready to leave to his home on base, and grab a drink of brandy. But a flashing on his computer caught his eyes. It was an incoming message from the field. He clicked on the flashing note and a window was called up. He waited patiently for the decoded translation.
Major. Reporting. Raven.
Maybe Raven would bring him some good news to calm his nerves.
Raven. Download Recon. Mathews
Major. New data not clear. Raven
Shit. This day was just not his day. Lydecker was on the mend and his best operative had not been able to gather some simple information for him.
Raven. No new targets have been found? Mathews.
Major. Affirmative. Raven.
The major's frustration rose in his face and he could feel his cheeks go warm with anger. There was no need for this mission anymore.
Raven. Primary objective successful. Mathews.
Major. More time requested. Raven.
She had asked this of him before and he had agreed. This time being wasted confirmed that her talents were being squandered on this mission. It was time to bring her home.
Raven. Additional time is wasted.
Primary objective completed.
Ty will be sent.
Location. Mathews
*****
Raven had not expected the Major to deny her, her request. But the letters were plain before her. She had to feed him something so that he would deem the mission indispensable. What could she tell him that would assuage his impatience. She sent him another message so he would not notice her hesitation as she tried to think of some fact he would find interesting. As the message encrypted she looked nervously around the abandoned loft they had found, though she knew she was alone.
Major. Some rough information available. Raven.
As the letters were encrypted and sent, she knew what she could tell him. Her conscience may have fought her decision but she knew it was the only way Mathews would become as dedicated in seeking out all the X-5 as Lydecker. Ironically this was the only way Raven could think of to keep the X-5 safe for now.
*****
Her message did in no way comfort him. Why was she hiding her location? Why was she defying his order? He did not reach the point of panic because he knew she had been trained well but he also couldn't explain her behaviour. She had never failed to answer a question asked of her before.
Raven. Not necessary. Location. Mathews.
He persisted in finding her location and again he was denied. But the information that reached his eyes made him clear all his doubts.
Major. X-5 not to be underestimated.
Injection of unknown fluid increased capabilities five fold.
Strength, speed and agility enhanced. Rival X-6. Raven.
Greed filled his heart. With the X-5 captured and enhanced he would have over forty super soldiers under his control. It would help with the back order of assassinations and operations that were requested of Manticore world wide. It was this wait that was the main deterring factor to most of their customers. But if the stress on his resources were to be relieved…
Raven. Time granted.
New objectives: Seek all X-5, gain sample of said injection.
Report daily on your progress.
End transmission. Mathews
*****
"Hey Max." Zack said, as he climbed over the lip of the roof of the abandoned warehouse they had lucked out on. The loft they found seemed to be abandoned, probably the home of some drug dealer that had to pick up and leave. Raven said she could smell the cocaine. It was unfortunate that Canada's west had also been affected by the pulse. It was in much the same state of disrepair that America was.
As he approached her he had to guard his eyes from the piercing red light of the sunset. Her profile was emblazoned with this red fire. If he was not mistaken she was gazing off into the south.
"Max did you want some dinner?"
"I'm not hungry," she curtly replied.
As he stepped closer he could again see the sun shine off her tears and, though it was slight, her shoulders were slumped as well. His heart clenched in his chest to see her this way.
"Max. You have to put him past you."
"You don't know how hard I'm trying. You wouldn't understand with your phony sentimentality and all."
That hurt. He understood, all to well, what it was like to leave the one who you loved. He had understood since the night of the escape when he knew the greatest chance for escape was if they all separated.
"You're strong Max, you have to."
"Why do I have to?"
"For your sanity. I know it will take time to get over the hurt, but you can't rip yourself apart like this." He stepped closer to her.
"What am I gonna do without him?"
"You'll live your life and he will do the same." Again he inched closer.
Finally, Max turned to face him, and he could see how the fire in her eyes had been doused by the tears. The grief of few days had aged her beauty by ten years. But to Zack she would always be beautiful. "But it hurts so much."
He couldn't stand it any longer. Zack would give his life to take this pain away from her. So instead he offered something else. Friendship. Staring at the ground he spoke in an unsure voice, "Max. I know what Kat told you that night and it may have been true. But I also know that I can't give you whatever it was that Logan gave, no matter how much I may want to. And even if I did, I know I'm not the one you want. So at least understand, that I'll be here … as a friend." He hesitated. Had he done it right? He had never offered a friendship to anyone before.
Max knew a momentous occasion when she heard one, and a half smile came to her lips more tears streaming from her chocolate eyes. She closed the gap between them and rested her forehead on his shoulder. "That's all I need," she said through her tears. With timid arms he enfolded her in a warm embrace.