Chapter Eighteen:

Looking Forward

Original Cindy leaned against the doorjamb and watched her roommate's sister carefully packing her belongings into her backpack.

"So you just leavin', boo?" She watched in bemusement as Jondy packed a stuffed green parrot, not the sort of thing she expected a transgenic killing machine to number amongst her possessions. She shook her head.

"Yeah. I figure I've stuck around here long enough." She looked up and smiled. "Don't worry. I'll be back to visit."

Max frowned from her place behind Original Cindy. "Are you sure you can't stay longer?"

"Don't worry, baby sister. I'll be back. I've just got a few things I figure I ought to take care of. You know, stop in to visit some old friends here and there. Maybe drop in on my old roommate in San Francisco. I kind of vanished on her last February."

Original Cindy looked down at Milly who was winding her way around Max's ankles. As much as she hated to admit it, she was actually going to miss the fleabag. Max leaned over and picked up the cat as she watched her sister finished packing. As soon as she was finished, Milly leapt from her arms, padded across the floor and resumed her usual traveling spot. Jondy patted her head before reaching for the zipper. "Goofy cat."

Shouldering the backpack, she turned to her two companions. "Well, I guess it's time for us to go."

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Normal stopped chewing the bite of food in his mouth and turned to see Jondy standing in the doorway of his office. He was on his feet, as usual, taking notes on a clipboard, a pencil in his right hand and a sandwich in his left.

"Eating," he mumbled around the piece of sandwich in his mouth. Jondy walked forward and wrinkled her nose.

"Do you have any clue how much fat and grease is in that thing?"

"Oh for the love of Mike."

"What did I tell you last night about watching what you eat?" She placed a hand on her hip. "You can't be eating all that cholesterol. You'll clog up your arteries for sure." He finished chewing and swallowed.

"Not a problem for you."

Jondy shrugged. "Not my fault my metabolism takes care of that." She frowned at him. "Reggie, promise me you'll watch what you eat, okay?" He frowned at her and set down the sandwich, wiping the grease off his hands with a napkin.

"Fine, I'll watch what I eat . . . after I finish this sandwich." She rolled her eyes. It was the best she would get from him, she was sure. Shaking her head, she watched as he finished the last few bites.

"I figured I'd stop in and say goodbye before I left." He stopped chewing for a moment and finally swallowed.

"You're leaving?"

"Yeah, you know me, always on the go." She paused for a moment. "But you know I'll be back."

"Yeah, you have a habit of popping in when I least expect it."

"Well, you'd better watch it this time. I'm leaving Max to keep an eye on you." She smiled.

"Great, just great." But there was a touch of amusement in his eyes. She walked over and gave him a hug.

"Take care of yourself, Reggie, okay?"

"You too." He wasn't good at moments like this, so it was the best he could do.

"Now Original Cindy gonna have nightmares for a week." Jondy turned to see her sister's roommate in the doorway. "Do you have to do that in public, boo?"

Jondy laughed. "What? You don't want to hug Reggie, too?"

Original Cindy held up a hand, an expression of distaste on her face. "I'll pass." Max appeared in the doorway behind her.

"I just came to see if you wanted to go on one last run with me." She handed Jondy a package. The address was one block down from Logan's apartment. She'd told Max she was going to stop in and talk to him before she left, and this was as good an opportunity as any. She turned back to Normal.

"I'm going on this run with Max." She paused. "I'll be back in town soon. Gotta check up on baby sister, you know." She slipped an arm around Max's shoulder. She gave him one last smile. "Original Cindy? You'll keep him straight while I'm gone, right?"

Original Cindy smiled weakly. "Sure, shuga, but I ain't huggin' him." They watched Jondy and Max walk away. "So, you the one that picked up my girl's sister that night, huh?" Normal glanced away from Jondy's retreating figure and focused on Original Cindy. It took a moment to register what she was asking.

"Well, she left a pretty big dent in my car." He shook his head. "Does everybody know about those two?"

Sketchy chose that moment to burst into Normal's office waiving a tabloid. Mutant Changelings Found in Cribs All Over City, the caption read. "Cindy, you are never going to believe this . . . "

She wrenched the paper from his hand and smacked him on the forehead with it. "You're right, fool. I don't." Normal shoved a package into his hand.

"Hot run. 2456 Spring Street." Sketchy hesitated for a moment, frustrated that no one was listening to him. "I don't care what your stupid newspaper says. Bip! Bip! Bip! I don't have all day!" Frowning in frustration, Sketchy turned and headed for the door.

Normal shook his head. "Well, I guess that answers my question."

"Just when you think the world has enough fools . . ." Original Cindy shrugged, reached for the next package on the pile and headed for the door.

"So you're already leaving?" Logan asked, leaning back in his chair. Max had left a few moments earlier, accepting Jondy's hug and a promise that she'd be back in town soon. In a way, Jondy was glad, she'd wanted a few moments to talk to Logan alone.

"Yeah, when I called around the other day, Brian's contact convinced me to do a little leg work for her. See, Eyes Only's been trying to track down a couple of doctors that are smuggling medical supplies out of a hospital here in Seattle and selling them on the streets of LA . . ." She smiled lightly. Logan chuckled.

"Oh, really?" He shook his head, a bemused smile tugging at the corners of this mouth. "Jolene, huh?"

"Yeah."

He frowned. "Well, according to her, the next drop isn't until the first of the month. You've got a couple of weeks that you could stick around. Max will miss you, you know."

Jondy smiled sadly, glancing out the window at the buildings across the street. "I know, but I'll be in touch. I'm going to be in touch with that lab tech, too, so I'll be around." She sighed. "I think it's time I started living again, you know?"

Logan frowned momentarily. "Yeah." He understood.

"Anyway, I should probably get going. I just stopped by to let Eyes Only know that I'm available if he needs another transgenic on his side."

He smiled lightly. "Thanks. I'll pass on the message."

She cocked her head to the side. "I also had a message for Logan Cale. You're a nice guy. You love my sister. She loves you, but if you break her heart, whatever part of you is left when she gets done with you is mine." But she smiled, undermining the seriousness of her message. He understood. He smiled back.

"Anyway, I'll catch you later." She turned to go.

"Yeah, you too. Bye."

"Bye." As she walked down the hallway, Logan saw Milly's feline head pop out of Jondy's backpack. She flicked her whiskers at him in goodbye, and then the door closed, and they were gone.

On the street below, Jondy looked both ways. She knew where she was headed, but she wanted to take a good look at where she was before she left it. Milly's head appeared above her shoulder. She reached up to scratch her ears, and took one last look at her surroundings before heading east. She didn't turn to look back. She was done looking back. It was time for her to start looking forward.