"So she jumped out of the cult to save you?" Logan asked. Max had been back for ten minutes and she was filling him in all the details of the fight and Clio's appearance. She, Clio, was now resting comfortably on Logan's couch, a bandage and a bag of ice on her gash while Logan and Max sat in his office, he in his wheelchair, she perched like a sexy secretary on the edge of one of his desks.
"What can I say? Maybe she was God sent?" Max smiled. "She's really nice, Logan. We talked the entire ride home."
"And she's an X5?"
"What other kind of ninety pound girl can take out a guy nearly twice her size without breaking a sweat?"
"Got me," Logan sighed. "Anyway, Aurelius Parvo and the Chosen are defeated."
"For now," Max smirked.
"Yet the reliquary's totaled."
"Oh, well. Better off busted. We don't want it falling into the wrong hands yet again," Max stole a glance at Clio. "She's amazing. I've never seen another female X5 take out three guys at once."
"Well, she spent more time in Manticore than you did. Maybe she had more time to develop her strengths."
"I dunno," Max shrugged. She stole a glance at the clock on Logan's desktop computer. "Damn, it's late. I should be getting home and I told Clio I'd give her a ride back to her place."
"Sure no problem." Logan followed her to the next room. He clipped the back of her heels by accident with his chair.
"Ow!" Max hissed.
Logan turned red, "Oh my God—I'm so sorry."
"It's okay," Max rubbed her Achilles.
"Ah, you want to come to dinner tomorrow night?"
"Is that how you apologize?"
"I wouldn't be lying when I said it's the only way I know how."
They shared a secret smile for a second.
Yeah we have this virus beat, Max thought. "Hey, Clio? Let's blaze."
"Great, I gotta get home anyway," Clio stood, wiping off the bottom of her light blue pedal pushers as if she's sat in something dirty. She handed the ice bag to Max, who chucked it into the kitchen sink. "Thanks for your hospitality, Mr. Cale." Clio stuck out her hand and Logan shook it.
"Call me Logan. And it's no problem, Miss, um, Clio?"
Clio laughed. "I picked myself a last name a while ago, Mr. Cale. It's Belmont. But call me Clio."
"Well, then, it's been a pleasure Miss Clio Belmont."
"Right back at ya," Clio winked.
"Later," Max said, taking Clio by the elbow.
After she had dropped Clio, off with a promise to return any favor and yelling her address over her shoulder, Max finally made her way home yet again. This time she hoped to succeed in at least stepping past the front door.
Original Cindy's probably still out—I haven't heard from her even on my pager. She's most likely shacked up with another one of her minute maidens.
Clio's a pretty cool character. I hope she takes me up on that offer just so I can see her again. Besides Joshua and—ugh—Alec; either way you toss the dice, I have no more Manticore buddies that I'm currently in contact with. Zack's on a farm as Adam Thompson, Brin's…I don't know where she is, Tinga's dead, Ben's dead, Jondy I haven't seen in awhile. God damn, where did everyone go?
Max's apartment that she shared with Original Cindy was in sight now. She could almost smell the big cup of coffee she was planning on enjoying, along with a book Joshua lent her, a couple of vanilla-scented candles and, of course, her pajamas.
"Boo, where you been?"
So, Original Cindy was home. She was dressed in her blue terrycloth robe and a baby doll nightie in the deepest purple and had brown leather slippers on her feet.
"Being Superman," Max yawned, flopping onto the couch and kicking off her shoes. She wiggled her toes like she hadn't done it in ages.
"Another night on the job. Damn do the evil guys rest at all?" Original Cindy shook her head and rolled her eyes.
"Apparently not. Logan had me after a cult."
"Whoo, I ain't touchin' that with a ten-foot pole, boo. I'll leave it to my imagination."
Max sat up. "I did meet up with another X5. Her name's Clio. According to the grapevine she tried to stop the cult before I tried after her ex tried to get her to join."
"I am not hearin' this."
"Good, 'cause I don't feel like flapping my gums all night. I'm gonna curl up in bed and go into a coma." Max got up off the couch and made her way towards her room.
"What if Wheels calls while you're down for the count?"
Max turned, "Tell him I'm having the time of my life."