Stairway
"Oh GOD, that was close!" Charlie nearly screamed, getting the attention of a few squatters. She passed Krit her bag before she started stripping as they walked, unzipping her black shirt, turning it inside-out and pulling it back on, smoothing an invisible wrinkle on the now baby blue shirt. "Do you think they saw us?" She asked grabbing both their bags from him.
"Don't worry kid, we were away from the window before they even got to the top of the stairs." He took off his sweatshirt, grabbing his bag back and shoving it in, pulling out a leather jacket.
"How the Hell did they know they were being watched?" Charlie asked no one in particular in a harsh whisper.
"I'm not sure, Charlie. I'm going to suggest to your dad that we have a few people trail them tomorrow while we get in the room and set bugs." Krit responded equally frustrated and perplexed. "What do you think?"
She sighed, opening the front door to the building as they entered the crowded street. "I think we should add a camera or two. Something is up with them and it's caught my interest."
Knights HQ
"Daddy?" Charlie called out in a singsong voice as she and Krit walked into his office.
Arthur looked up at her, smiling. "Sweetheart... I wasn't expecting you back until tomorrow. Did you get anything?"
"Not really, Daddy. We just... ran into something... unexpected." The girl told her father, looking down at her shoes.
He looked puzzled. "Unexpected?"
"We were watching from Rick's, like we said we would, but they knew that they were being watched. They even came over looking for us." Krit explained. "I was thinking that we should have someone follow them tomorrow and have Charlie sneak into their room, leave a few bugs, a cam or two-"
"Maybe hack into his computer... see if I can track down anything..." Charlie interrupted, biting her lip in thought. "I think if we can get anything solid on him, it will come from there."
Krit smiled a little at their similar trains of thought. "Yeah... good idea." He stood walking over to a window and looking out onto the poverty stricken streets.
"I want you to wear an earpiece and microphone, just in case. I don't want anything going wrong." Arthur insisted.
"Yes, Daddy." The girl answered obediently, to tired to argue about her safety. She hadn't slept in a few days and it was taking its toll on her. She made sure not to show any physical signs of fatigue, but Charlie was positive that her young guard knew she wasn't sleeping.
"Since we've got all of this under control, why don't we go home. You coming with us?" Krit asked, walking over to stand behind Charlie's chair, standing guard over her as always.
"No, I have an informant to meet sometime between two and three. By the time I get it all sorted out, I'll have time to drink my coffee and go to bed." Arthur said, sighing heavily.
"You ok, Daddy?" Charlie asked him.
He smiled at her, looking her in the eyes. "I'm fine, Sweetheart. I'm just a little tired is all. Go home. Get some rest. You have a mission tomorrow."
Charlie stood up and leaned across the desk, kissing her father on the cheek. "'Night, Daddy."
"Sweet dreams, Charlie."
Krit, Charlie and Arthur's Apartment
Krit sat the drowsy girl down on the edge of the bed. The tired X6 mumbled something bout not being sleepy, but he knew different. He crouched in front of Charlie, unzipping her blue shirt and stripping her of it, quickly followed by her black tank top. He gently took her hand and pulled her to her feet as he stood up. He hugged her, running his hands slowly up and down her back before moving to the fly of her black jeans, ridding her of her pants and socks before sitting her back down. He grabbed a hockey jersey, slipping it over her bra and panty clad body before lying her back against the mattress and kissing her forehead. He quickly rid himself of all his clothes but his boxers, to tired to change. He climbed in beside her, smiling as she rolled onto her side, a thin arm finding it's way across his waist.
"Krit..." She mumbled in a haze, not sure if she was awake or dreaming.
"Yeah, Charlie."
"I missed sleeping in your bed."
"Well I missed holding you in my sleep. It's easier to protect you this way."
He felt her cheek move against his shoulder as she smiled. "Uh-huh." She responded. "I missed that too."
No good nights or sweet dreams were spoken as the pair lost themselves in the land of dreams, wrapped in one another's arms.
Max and Logan's Room
"You think we'll find them?" Max asked, staring out at the street. "I only have a short time off."
Logan looked up from his work, watching her as she looked out onto the world, the lights softly illuminating her body. "Of course we'll find them. Besides, if we don't find them now, we could always come back another time." As he spoke he walked up behind her, looking over her shoulder.
She turned to him, leaning back against the window, ignoring the smell of his cologne as best she could. "Yeah, I guess. I'm just a little home sick. You know, missing the gang and all."
"Why don't you call them tomorrow? Tell them about New York… after we get back from some sight seeing." Logan smiled, watching her face light up for a millisecond before becoming impassive once more.
"Sight seeing? And here I thought this was a business trip." She said, smiling mischievously.
He shrugged, smiling back. "It's not even a real business trip. I just got curious and dragged you along for the fun of it."
A silence overcame them. An uncomfortable, yet unbreakable silence.
'He's to close!' The soldier part of her mind screamed out. The part that believed it was all phony sentimentality. But she couldn't move, her body frozen.
He slowly leaned in, drawn to her. His lips neared hers and their eyes fluttered shut, not caring that this might be wrong, that this simple kiss would change everything.
"Room service."
Max quickly pulled back, eyes wide, her lips parted in shock as a blush painted her cheeks. "My strawberries." She muttered, nearly racing for the door.
Logan leaned his head against the cold glass where the young woman had been leaning seconds ago and sighed. 'You've got a choice, Cale.' He reasoned with himself. 'You can keep torturing yourself and keep her at arm's length, or you can kiss her.' He looked at her reflection as she walked into the room and sat on the floor, pulling out some files concerning the Knights he had found earlier that day. 'Forget it. She just wants to be friends. Phony sentimentality and all that.'
Dark Apartment Somewhere in New York
He leaned back in his seat, taking a long drag from his cigarette before continuing to bargain with the man on the other end of the phone.
"$500,000 and free passage for me and the X6 to Canada."
"Deal." Lydecker sighed on the other end. "And the X5 will come peacefully."
"The little one will be in danger. Of course he will."
"Why are you doing this? What did he ever do to you?" Lydecker said, trying to keep him on the line.
"Simple." The man said, putting his cigarette out on his coffee table, joining a number of identical marks. "He got to protect her. He got to live with her. He got to be the one she called to when she needed help. If he hadn't shown up, I'd be the one in her life. He hung up not looking for a reply. In less then a week Charlie would be his and Krit would be long gone.
Manticore - Gillette Wyoming
"Well?" He asked impatiently.
"I don't know what kind of scrambler this guy is using, but we pinpointed down to seven different locations, none of which are in the US. Who ever this guy is, he wants this done his way." The soldier responded, staring at the monitors.
"We have to get our hands on that X6."
"Oh GOD, that was close!" Charlie nearly screamed, getting the attention of a few squatters. She passed Krit her bag before she started stripping as they walked, unzipping her black shirt, turning it inside-out and pulling it back on, smoothing an invisible wrinkle on the now baby blue shirt. "Do you think they saw us?" She asked grabbing both their bags from him.
"Don't worry kid, we were away from the window before they even got to the top of the stairs." He took off his sweatshirt, grabbing his bag back and shoving it in, pulling out a leather jacket.
"How the Hell did they know they were being watched?" Charlie asked no one in particular in a harsh whisper.
"I'm not sure, Charlie. I'm going to suggest to your dad that we have a few people trail them tomorrow while we get in the room and set bugs." Krit responded equally frustrated and perplexed. "What do you think?"
She sighed, opening the front door to the building as they entered the crowded street. "I think we should add a camera or two. Something is up with them and it's caught my interest."
Knights HQ
"Daddy?" Charlie called out in a singsong voice as she and Krit walked into his office.
Arthur looked up at her, smiling. "Sweetheart... I wasn't expecting you back until tomorrow. Did you get anything?"
"Not really, Daddy. We just... ran into something... unexpected." The girl told her father, looking down at her shoes.
He looked puzzled. "Unexpected?"
"We were watching from Rick's, like we said we would, but they knew that they were being watched. They even came over looking for us." Krit explained. "I was thinking that we should have someone follow them tomorrow and have Charlie sneak into their room, leave a few bugs, a cam or two-"
"Maybe hack into his computer... see if I can track down anything..." Charlie interrupted, biting her lip in thought. "I think if we can get anything solid on him, it will come from there."
Krit smiled a little at their similar trains of thought. "Yeah... good idea." He stood walking over to a window and looking out onto the poverty stricken streets.
"I want you to wear an earpiece and microphone, just in case. I don't want anything going wrong." Arthur insisted.
"Yes, Daddy." The girl answered obediently, to tired to argue about her safety. She hadn't slept in a few days and it was taking its toll on her. She made sure not to show any physical signs of fatigue, but Charlie was positive that her young guard knew she wasn't sleeping.
"Since we've got all of this under control, why don't we go home. You coming with us?" Krit asked, walking over to stand behind Charlie's chair, standing guard over her as always.
"No, I have an informant to meet sometime between two and three. By the time I get it all sorted out, I'll have time to drink my coffee and go to bed." Arthur said, sighing heavily.
"You ok, Daddy?" Charlie asked him.
He smiled at her, looking her in the eyes. "I'm fine, Sweetheart. I'm just a little tired is all. Go home. Get some rest. You have a mission tomorrow."
Charlie stood up and leaned across the desk, kissing her father on the cheek. "'Night, Daddy."
"Sweet dreams, Charlie."
Krit, Charlie and Arthur's Apartment
Krit sat the drowsy girl down on the edge of the bed. The tired X6 mumbled something bout not being sleepy, but he knew different. He crouched in front of Charlie, unzipping her blue shirt and stripping her of it, quickly followed by her black tank top. He gently took her hand and pulled her to her feet as he stood up. He hugged her, running his hands slowly up and down her back before moving to the fly of her black jeans, ridding her of her pants and socks before sitting her back down. He grabbed a hockey jersey, slipping it over her bra and panty clad body before lying her back against the mattress and kissing her forehead. He quickly rid himself of all his clothes but his boxers, to tired to change. He climbed in beside her, smiling as she rolled onto her side, a thin arm finding it's way across his waist.
"Krit..." She mumbled in a haze, not sure if she was awake or dreaming.
"Yeah, Charlie."
"I missed sleeping in your bed."
"Well I missed holding you in my sleep. It's easier to protect you this way."
He felt her cheek move against his shoulder as she smiled. "Uh-huh." She responded. "I missed that too."
No good nights or sweet dreams were spoken as the pair lost themselves in the land of dreams, wrapped in one another's arms.
Max and Logan's Room
"You think we'll find them?" Max asked, staring out at the street. "I only have a short time off."
Logan looked up from his work, watching her as she looked out onto the world, the lights softly illuminating her body. "Of course we'll find them. Besides, if we don't find them now, we could always come back another time." As he spoke he walked up behind her, looking over her shoulder.
She turned to him, leaning back against the window, ignoring the smell of his cologne as best she could. "Yeah, I guess. I'm just a little home sick. You know, missing the gang and all."
"Why don't you call them tomorrow? Tell them about New York… after we get back from some sight seeing." Logan smiled, watching her face light up for a millisecond before becoming impassive once more.
"Sight seeing? And here I thought this was a business trip." She said, smiling mischievously.
He shrugged, smiling back. "It's not even a real business trip. I just got curious and dragged you along for the fun of it."
A silence overcame them. An uncomfortable, yet unbreakable silence.
'He's to close!' The soldier part of her mind screamed out. The part that believed it was all phony sentimentality. But she couldn't move, her body frozen.
He slowly leaned in, drawn to her. His lips neared hers and their eyes fluttered shut, not caring that this might be wrong, that this simple kiss would change everything.
"Room service."
Max quickly pulled back, eyes wide, her lips parted in shock as a blush painted her cheeks. "My strawberries." She muttered, nearly racing for the door.
Logan leaned his head against the cold glass where the young woman had been leaning seconds ago and sighed. 'You've got a choice, Cale.' He reasoned with himself. 'You can keep torturing yourself and keep her at arm's length, or you can kiss her.' He looked at her reflection as she walked into the room and sat on the floor, pulling out some files concerning the Knights he had found earlier that day. 'Forget it. She just wants to be friends. Phony sentimentality and all that.'
Dark Apartment Somewhere in New York
He leaned back in his seat, taking a long drag from his cigarette before continuing to bargain with the man on the other end of the phone.
"$500,000 and free passage for me and the X6 to Canada."
"Deal." Lydecker sighed on the other end. "And the X5 will come peacefully."
"The little one will be in danger. Of course he will."
"Why are you doing this? What did he ever do to you?" Lydecker said, trying to keep him on the line.
"Simple." The man said, putting his cigarette out on his coffee table, joining a number of identical marks. "He got to protect her. He got to live with her. He got to be the one she called to when she needed help. If he hadn't shown up, I'd be the one in her life. He hung up not looking for a reply. In less then a week Charlie would be his and Krit would be long gone.
Manticore - Gillette Wyoming
"Well?" He asked impatiently.
"I don't know what kind of scrambler this guy is using, but we pinpointed down to seven different locations, none of which are in the US. Who ever this guy is, he wants this done his way." The soldier responded, staring at the monitors.
"We have to get our hands on that X6."