Disclaimers: I don't own Dark Angel or anything related to it,
doesn't life suck!
What if Max's mom had escaped Manticore with Max? What if Max grew up knowing Original Cindy and Kendra? What if Max's mom hadn't named Max, "Max," but something different. What if Logan wanted to find this Manticore "orphan." Here's their story...
A/N: Hey, because I had such good reviews, I decided to start writing with only 19, I know, amazing difference. The play fell through due to copyright problems, so I'm yours all summer. Thanks to all who read and reviewed, and those who just read, I hope you all well be happy with this chapter. And without further delay...
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*San Juan, Downtown*
Logan and Cass parked the car outside of a ten story building with WICKMAN, MINDLER, & SAMPSON painted on the wall. Cass winkled her nose at the distastefulness of the building and sign. Logan moaned when he saw a particular person exit the building.
"There goes our source, and this day keeps getting better and better," Logan hissed at the exiting figure in a well-tailored suit.
"You sure we were only after this woman for her knowledge. Who the hell is she anyway?" Cass lifted her glasses and concentrated on the figure to bring her into focus. Cass could barely make the figure out in the rain, which was pouring now.
"She's a partner, and I went to school with her," Logan gave a half- smile at the memory of his friend. He started up the car, which had special controls for disabled people.
"Uh-huh, I'm sure that's all you did," she smirked. When Logan began to shift the car into drive, Cass snapped to attention, "WAIT!"
"What?!" he exclaimed, stopping the car, an expression of alarm on his face.
"I did not dress myself up, put on make-up, get on a plane, and buy new clothes so you could play phone tag with your ex! What's her name?" Cass unbuckled her seatbelt and unlocked her door.
"Cass, I am not gonna let you chase down a woman you hardly know in the middle of a storm," Logan told her, his hand reached out and lightly touched her arm.
"Sorry, now you're wastin' valuble time," she turned to him.
"Kali, her name is Kali Wickman," he gave up and slouched in his seat as he put the car into park.
"Thank you," Cass said as she leapt out of the car, she tossed her glasses back in her seat, and placed her shoes on the floor of the car. She slammed the door and started running.
"Cass!" Logan called in one last attempt to get her to stop. She was already too far away for it to do any good. "Good luck," he muttered.
Cass called out Kali's name as she closed in on the woman. The woman finally turned when Cass was about ten feet behind her. "Are you Kali Wickman?" Cass asked, not out of breath at all. The woman in front of her was wearing a camal colored suit with a green top.
"I am," the woman said, her face was a tanned oval with deep green eyes. Her hair was a unique shade of a brown/red, and her relatively tall height was the clue of her good breeding and exceptional genes. "May I help you?" Kali asked, her small, perfect mouth was pursed, and her eyes had narrowed.
Cass took this moment to smile, "My name is Cassandra Cale, I believe my husband is an old friend of yours." At the woman's frown, Cass smiled wider, "Logan Cale, you two went to college together."
Kali Wickman frowned, then nodded, "Ah, yes, I'm sorry, what is this pertaining to?"
"My husband is a..." Cass licked her lips as her mouth went unusually dry, "...trying to contact you."
"Why?" Kali said, her eyes had gone from annoyed to cold as she tucked herself under her umbrella.
"I don't know," Cass didn't have to feign innocence, after all, she didn't really know.
"Where is he?" Kali's voice had picked up the coldness her eyes held.
"In our car, he wants to talk to you. He told me to tell you, 'Kipling As Live Interviews'?" Cass frowned, making sure the nonsense name had come out correctly.
"Fine," Kali tried not to smile, "I'll come with you, but I warn you- " She left the threat in the air, then held the umbrella over both her and Cass as they made their way to Logan and Cass's car. It was then that Kali noticed the fact that this woman had no shoes on and was dripping wet with smearing make-up. "Might I ask what hapened to your shoes?" she said with a snottish air.
"I had to run to catch up with you, and I figured taking of my...sandals would be better than tripping over my own two feet," Cass smiled, hopefully convincing this woman she was serious.
"I see," Kali replied, she looked straight forward until Cass crossed and knocked on the window on the passenger's side.
Logan unlocked the door, took one look at Cass and said, "Cassandra, Baby, you are gonna have to sit in the back, on the towel. "Kali, I can't believe it, you haven't aged a day in, how long has it been, ten years?"
"Nine years, six months, 3 days, and it's a pleasure, I'm sure," Kali smiled flirtatiously as she climbed in after Cass.
In the back Cass glared holes in the back of Kali's head as Logan and Kali flirted and decided where to eat lunch. "What do you think, Cassandra?"
Cass winced as Kali drew out her name, "What ever you two decide on is fine." 'Why am I jealous? It's completely unrational!' Cass yelled to herself, "Great, now I'm talking to myself! Fantastic," she hissed, leaning back onto the seat.
"I'm sorry, Baby. Did you say something?" Logan asked her, tossing a glance in his review mirror.
"No, I just hit my arm against the side, here," Cass spat. She was glaring at Kali, and Logan could only hope it wasn't going to end badly.
"Cassandra, what job do you hold? I mean, your husband here is a journalist, so I assume that's how you two met," Kali suggested, her voice almost sickeningly sweet.
"Never assume, for it makes an ass of you and me," Cass mumbled, then put on her sickeningly sweet tone. "We did meet through work. I was...that is to say...I was estimating the value of his posessions, and, well...we started talking, and here we are," Cass grinned and bit her lip, a nervous gesture Logan was beginning to think was gonna kill him someday.
"Oh, so you work in finances, for an insurance company?" Kali said, she found it hard to believe that Logan would go after some gold-digging, chick from cheapside. "You need to take a left at this intersection and a right at the next one, the place we're going is the first buliding on the right," she told Logan before turning her attention back to Cassandra.
"No, I don't work for an insurance company," Cass responded, she was getting tired of this woman.
"She doesn't work much now, but she certainly has an eye. When we met, Cassandra was a curator for a museum," Logan quickly tossed into the women's conversation.
"Really?" Kali asked. She always prouded herself in her skeptisism.
"Really," Cass replied, she hated this woman, it was official.
"Oh," and with that the carride was silent until they got to the restuarant.
"Hey, Cassandra, are you dry enough to go inside?" Logan asked, turning to glance at her after he parked.
"I'm fine," she snapped at him. He gave her his-we-need-to-talk look, and Cass quickly reevaluated her appearence. "On second thought, I could use a little more drying time. Why don't you go on in Kali, and we'll follow. Besides," she added before Kali could argue, "Logan needs to get into his wheelchair, and her hates for others to see him do it." Cass felt bad for using Logan as an excuse, but their blood transfusions weren't working as well as they had hoped, and they both knew it.
"That's fine, I'll make sure to get a wheelchair friendly table. Non- smoking?" Kali asked.
"That's correct," Logan answered, he pulled the car as close to the entrance as possible.
"Alright," Kali exited the car, she was not happy with this situtation. 'Probably looking for a quick make-out session,' she sneered as she walked into the entrance.
Logan parked the car as Cass climbed into the front seat. They both looked at each other for a few seconds before Logan started speaking, "What the hell was that all about?"
"You know, for an investigative journalism major, your vocab and investigative skills are lacking," she snapped back.
"And for a superhero, your people skills could use a lot of work," he snapped back.
"What is she anyway, your ex-girlfriend?" Cass asked, even though she wasn't really interested.
Or so Logan thought, "No, she liked me a lot, but she's not really my type. I tend to go for the dark hair eye combo with attitude on the side."
Cass's eyes widened, "Yeah, well...I don't like anyone who thinks they can get away with being rude to me just because I'm not on their social level."
Logan, not believing what he just admitted took a little time before forming his reply. "Do you wanna know why we're here?" he asked as he unhooked his seatbelt and began fiddling with assembling his wheelchair.
"That might be just a tad helpful," she sarcastically remarked, then began helping him.
"She contacted me saying that she believed her partners were smuggling underaged girls into Puerto Rico for the mob bosses, but I have reason to believe its more than that. I think she is a part of whatever is really going down," Logan closed his eyes and tried to relax.
"Of course she is," was all Cass said. She looked at Logan and smiled at his pathetic attempts to relax himself. "Let's go in and pretend we don't know anything, then let's go get her really drunk and beat it out of her," she through out with a smile. Logan opened one eye to look at her, and she grinned even bigger, "Hey, it's been a really long time since I've beaten someone's ass."
Logan couldn't help himself and laughed, "Just don't do any permanent damage, juries tend to go easier on mutalated badguys." They both smiled, then Cass got out of the car to help Logan, and they raced through the pouring rain into the restuarant.
Once they got inside, Cass took a moment to let her hair down because the rain had wiped away a lot of the make-up covering her barcode. "Hey, watch it," she exclaimed as someone bumped into her.
"Cass?" a deep male voice asked.
Cass turned around and smiled at the person in front of her, "Zach!" She through her arms around him and squeezed him so hard she thought she might crack a rib. "What are you doing here?" she asked as she pulled away.
"Had a little money saved up, and decided to come to the place where the sun never shines. My first day here and they've already ordered Seattle's weather to follow me," Zach smiled at this soaking figure in front of him.
"Hey, Zach, they've got a tab-Oh, hello," Jace's forehead creased as she observed this woman standing next to Zach.
"Jace, this is Cass," Zach made the introductions.
"So, another renegade X-5," Jace said smiling. "Zach here has been tellin' us all about ya," Jace winked at Cass. "Don't worry, I'm one too."
Cass nodded as she saw Logan waving her over, his unhappiness was obvious. "I have to go join my group, but why don't I give you our suite number and you all can come visit us." Cass took an ordering form from the front desk and began to jot down the information.
"Who exactly is us?" Zach asked, his mind forming ways to beat Logan up.
"Logan and myself," Cass replied in such a manner that suggested mess with him and I'll kick your ass.
"I'd like to get to know you better," Jace said, taking the info from Cass. "When would be a good time?"
"Wheneva, Logan has insomnia, and, well, I don't sleep. So you all figure it out and give us a call," with that Cass squeezed Zach's hand and smiled at Jace before walking over to her table.
"I like her," Jace nodded in Cass's direction. "She has this sweet look, but you know she could kick your ass in about five seconds flat."
"Told you," Zach muttered, and they went to their table.
"Who was that?" Logan whispered as Cass sat down beside him.
"That was my brother and a friend of his," she told both of them. "I was just telling them how shocked I was that they were in town, but I didn't want to interfere with their plans." Cass ran a hand through her still wet hair and tried to make herself as decent as she could.
"How charming," Kali's voice was flat as can be, she quickly picked up the menu and began scanning it.
Logan and Cass exchanged glances before picking up their menus and looking for what they wanted to eat.
"Hola. Prefieren ingeles?" the cheery, young waitress asked. (Hello. Do you all perfer English? From now on everything in is Spanish.)
Cass jumped in before either could ask that the woman speak in English, "We prefer Spanish." Cass had picked up most foreign languages very well and was able to speak most with ease.
The chirpy waitress smiled, "What would you like to drink?" As she got her pad and pencil out, Jace and Zach walked over.
"Cass, Jace and I were wondering if we could join you for lunch, it seems our reservations were misplaced," Zach spoke in a lone voice, his eyes betrayed his anger. Jace just seemed content to glare at the waitress.
After quickly glancing at Logan and catching his almost interminable nod, Cass gave a brief nod at Zach and Jace who grabbed chairs and sat down. Zach sat down between Logan and Kali, and Jace sat down between Kali and Cass. Her position was directly across from Zach so she could save Logan from Zach's display of testosterone.
"We're gonna need another moment," Cass said to the waitress. As the waitress walked away, Cass turned to Kali, "This is my brother, Zach, and this is his friend, Jace. This is Logan, and this is his *friend,* Kali." Cass spit Kali's name out while putting emphasis on the word friend. Her smile was bitter and her posture was tense, Logan and Zach easily caught onto this and they became tense until the food came. After they began to eat, Jace noticed that she became tense and they still had desert to get through.
"Well, Jace and Zach, what kind of work do you to do?" Kali asked, her smile practiced. "I know Cassandra was a curator before she and Logan got married, but I'm curious as to what you two do."
Before Zach could respond, Jace stepped in, "Zach here is a bodyguard- for-hire, he's the best, and I am a," she paused slightly, "hoping to get accepted to med-school, I wanna be a doctor someday, and Zach's salary has pretty much been putting me through school."
"Oh," Kali's face was one of surprise, why you would have to work to put yourself through school was beyond her. "Jace is a very unusual name, however did you aquire it?"
"I was one of the few girls in my family, extended family, and I kinda got named by an older cousin," Jace answered smoothly and effortlessly. She took a large bite of her brownie and closed her eyes in pleasure.
Logan swallowed his piece of flan in preparation of what he was about to say, "So, Kali, are you busy tomorrow night? I just thought that you and I could go grab some drinks and talk about things." He made sure to avoid Cass's gaze, and it was for the best considering she was glaring holes into his head.
Kali smiled with satisfaction at Cassandra's glare, "That would be purr-fect." Her look reminded Jace of a cat that had just swallowed the smaller family pet.
"Terrific. Oh my, look at the time, Cassandra, sweetheart, I think we should be going." Logan began frantically searching for their waitress.
"That's right. We have several things to do before tomorrow. We are redecorating our penthouse and need to go to those galleries. Our first meeting starts in an hour, and I was hoping to get refreshed," she knew she would hate herself with the next words that came out of her mouth. "Do you need a ride, Kali?"
"No, I'll just call for a company car," Kali picked up the check and pulled out her charge card. "This is my treat, including your meals Zach and Jace." Inside she was laughing, she knew people who paid as much as Zach, Jace, and Cassandra combined on one meal, not including dessert.
"Thank you," Zack said as he and Jace stood. "We need to get going anyway, we just got in and still need to check into our hotel. See you tonight, Cass-andra, Logan." Zach and Jace tossed down a more than sufficient tip and left.
"Bye," Cass called to their retrating forms. "See you around Kali, coming Logan." She stood impatiently at his side.
"Coming, bye Kali," Logan smiled at her while making a fast retreat. "I'll pick you up at seven, I know where you live." He could hardly keep up with Cass as she quickly stormed out of the resturant and into the now calm afternoon.
They drove back to the hotel in silence and didn't speak until they were back in the bugged hotel room. Cass threw her purse, the roomkey, and her now ruined shoes on the bed. Her sunglasses followed, and after she cracked her neck she turned towards Logan.
"What, in the name of all that is holy and sacred, are you doing!?!" Cass's voice was definately one step below yelling.
"I'm trying to get into contact with an old friend!" he threw back at her in the same tone, then he slammed the door shut hard enough to cause quite a response in the room below thiers.
"Yes, a tall, stunning, *female* friend!! Fine, go out with her, get your drinks, enjoy spending time with someone who's not below your breeding level, and I will go out with Zach and Jace and spend time with people who are just like me!" while at first her voice had been raised, Cass now dropped it to a low, upset tone.
Logan grabbed her and pulled her onto his lap, he whispered in her ear, "I just want to get the information from her, you are the only reason I wanted to do this, the chance to spend time with you is enough to send me into the depths of Hell, if I was promised just a decade with you." He pulled back, stared at her sharply, then let go of her.
Cass sat there dumbfounded for a little bit before realization of what he said sunk in. "Oh...My...Lord." She stared back at him, then slowly stood up. She walked over to a bag she had packed and dug around until she found what she was looking for. She sat down on the bed and motioned him over. He came over and noticed that she was setting up the transfusion equipment. He climbed onto the bed next to her, and they both leaned back as she hooked it up and began the transfusion. They closed their eyes, and the next things they knew, there was a knock on the door. Cass opened her eyes first and moaned as she realized who is was. She wondered if she closed her eyes and snuggled back up to Logan if the visitor would go away. She unhooked the equipment and nestled in for a long nap. She purred slightlly and smiled, then someone knocked again.
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Well, what do you think? If you want more, review, or not. But I have to have at least 7 reviews before I'll even start on the next chapter.
Who do you think the knocker is? Come on...........guess!
**Peace to all in this time of need**
What if Max's mom had escaped Manticore with Max? What if Max grew up knowing Original Cindy and Kendra? What if Max's mom hadn't named Max, "Max," but something different. What if Logan wanted to find this Manticore "orphan." Here's their story...
A/N: Hey, because I had such good reviews, I decided to start writing with only 19, I know, amazing difference. The play fell through due to copyright problems, so I'm yours all summer. Thanks to all who read and reviewed, and those who just read, I hope you all well be happy with this chapter. And without further delay...
******************
*San Juan, Downtown*
Logan and Cass parked the car outside of a ten story building with WICKMAN, MINDLER, & SAMPSON painted on the wall. Cass winkled her nose at the distastefulness of the building and sign. Logan moaned when he saw a particular person exit the building.
"There goes our source, and this day keeps getting better and better," Logan hissed at the exiting figure in a well-tailored suit.
"You sure we were only after this woman for her knowledge. Who the hell is she anyway?" Cass lifted her glasses and concentrated on the figure to bring her into focus. Cass could barely make the figure out in the rain, which was pouring now.
"She's a partner, and I went to school with her," Logan gave a half- smile at the memory of his friend. He started up the car, which had special controls for disabled people.
"Uh-huh, I'm sure that's all you did," she smirked. When Logan began to shift the car into drive, Cass snapped to attention, "WAIT!"
"What?!" he exclaimed, stopping the car, an expression of alarm on his face.
"I did not dress myself up, put on make-up, get on a plane, and buy new clothes so you could play phone tag with your ex! What's her name?" Cass unbuckled her seatbelt and unlocked her door.
"Cass, I am not gonna let you chase down a woman you hardly know in the middle of a storm," Logan told her, his hand reached out and lightly touched her arm.
"Sorry, now you're wastin' valuble time," she turned to him.
"Kali, her name is Kali Wickman," he gave up and slouched in his seat as he put the car into park.
"Thank you," Cass said as she leapt out of the car, she tossed her glasses back in her seat, and placed her shoes on the floor of the car. She slammed the door and started running.
"Cass!" Logan called in one last attempt to get her to stop. She was already too far away for it to do any good. "Good luck," he muttered.
Cass called out Kali's name as she closed in on the woman. The woman finally turned when Cass was about ten feet behind her. "Are you Kali Wickman?" Cass asked, not out of breath at all. The woman in front of her was wearing a camal colored suit with a green top.
"I am," the woman said, her face was a tanned oval with deep green eyes. Her hair was a unique shade of a brown/red, and her relatively tall height was the clue of her good breeding and exceptional genes. "May I help you?" Kali asked, her small, perfect mouth was pursed, and her eyes had narrowed.
Cass took this moment to smile, "My name is Cassandra Cale, I believe my husband is an old friend of yours." At the woman's frown, Cass smiled wider, "Logan Cale, you two went to college together."
Kali Wickman frowned, then nodded, "Ah, yes, I'm sorry, what is this pertaining to?"
"My husband is a..." Cass licked her lips as her mouth went unusually dry, "...trying to contact you."
"Why?" Kali said, her eyes had gone from annoyed to cold as she tucked herself under her umbrella.
"I don't know," Cass didn't have to feign innocence, after all, she didn't really know.
"Where is he?" Kali's voice had picked up the coldness her eyes held.
"In our car, he wants to talk to you. He told me to tell you, 'Kipling As Live Interviews'?" Cass frowned, making sure the nonsense name had come out correctly.
"Fine," Kali tried not to smile, "I'll come with you, but I warn you- " She left the threat in the air, then held the umbrella over both her and Cass as they made their way to Logan and Cass's car. It was then that Kali noticed the fact that this woman had no shoes on and was dripping wet with smearing make-up. "Might I ask what hapened to your shoes?" she said with a snottish air.
"I had to run to catch up with you, and I figured taking of my...sandals would be better than tripping over my own two feet," Cass smiled, hopefully convincing this woman she was serious.
"I see," Kali replied, she looked straight forward until Cass crossed and knocked on the window on the passenger's side.
Logan unlocked the door, took one look at Cass and said, "Cassandra, Baby, you are gonna have to sit in the back, on the towel. "Kali, I can't believe it, you haven't aged a day in, how long has it been, ten years?"
"Nine years, six months, 3 days, and it's a pleasure, I'm sure," Kali smiled flirtatiously as she climbed in after Cass.
In the back Cass glared holes in the back of Kali's head as Logan and Kali flirted and decided where to eat lunch. "What do you think, Cassandra?"
Cass winced as Kali drew out her name, "What ever you two decide on is fine." 'Why am I jealous? It's completely unrational!' Cass yelled to herself, "Great, now I'm talking to myself! Fantastic," she hissed, leaning back onto the seat.
"I'm sorry, Baby. Did you say something?" Logan asked her, tossing a glance in his review mirror.
"No, I just hit my arm against the side, here," Cass spat. She was glaring at Kali, and Logan could only hope it wasn't going to end badly.
"Cassandra, what job do you hold? I mean, your husband here is a journalist, so I assume that's how you two met," Kali suggested, her voice almost sickeningly sweet.
"Never assume, for it makes an ass of you and me," Cass mumbled, then put on her sickeningly sweet tone. "We did meet through work. I was...that is to say...I was estimating the value of his posessions, and, well...we started talking, and here we are," Cass grinned and bit her lip, a nervous gesture Logan was beginning to think was gonna kill him someday.
"Oh, so you work in finances, for an insurance company?" Kali said, she found it hard to believe that Logan would go after some gold-digging, chick from cheapside. "You need to take a left at this intersection and a right at the next one, the place we're going is the first buliding on the right," she told Logan before turning her attention back to Cassandra.
"No, I don't work for an insurance company," Cass responded, she was getting tired of this woman.
"She doesn't work much now, but she certainly has an eye. When we met, Cassandra was a curator for a museum," Logan quickly tossed into the women's conversation.
"Really?" Kali asked. She always prouded herself in her skeptisism.
"Really," Cass replied, she hated this woman, it was official.
"Oh," and with that the carride was silent until they got to the restuarant.
"Hey, Cassandra, are you dry enough to go inside?" Logan asked, turning to glance at her after he parked.
"I'm fine," she snapped at him. He gave her his-we-need-to-talk look, and Cass quickly reevaluated her appearence. "On second thought, I could use a little more drying time. Why don't you go on in Kali, and we'll follow. Besides," she added before Kali could argue, "Logan needs to get into his wheelchair, and her hates for others to see him do it." Cass felt bad for using Logan as an excuse, but their blood transfusions weren't working as well as they had hoped, and they both knew it.
"That's fine, I'll make sure to get a wheelchair friendly table. Non- smoking?" Kali asked.
"That's correct," Logan answered, he pulled the car as close to the entrance as possible.
"Alright," Kali exited the car, she was not happy with this situtation. 'Probably looking for a quick make-out session,' she sneered as she walked into the entrance.
Logan parked the car as Cass climbed into the front seat. They both looked at each other for a few seconds before Logan started speaking, "What the hell was that all about?"
"You know, for an investigative journalism major, your vocab and investigative skills are lacking," she snapped back.
"And for a superhero, your people skills could use a lot of work," he snapped back.
"What is she anyway, your ex-girlfriend?" Cass asked, even though she wasn't really interested.
Or so Logan thought, "No, she liked me a lot, but she's not really my type. I tend to go for the dark hair eye combo with attitude on the side."
Cass's eyes widened, "Yeah, well...I don't like anyone who thinks they can get away with being rude to me just because I'm not on their social level."
Logan, not believing what he just admitted took a little time before forming his reply. "Do you wanna know why we're here?" he asked as he unhooked his seatbelt and began fiddling with assembling his wheelchair.
"That might be just a tad helpful," she sarcastically remarked, then began helping him.
"She contacted me saying that she believed her partners were smuggling underaged girls into Puerto Rico for the mob bosses, but I have reason to believe its more than that. I think she is a part of whatever is really going down," Logan closed his eyes and tried to relax.
"Of course she is," was all Cass said. She looked at Logan and smiled at his pathetic attempts to relax himself. "Let's go in and pretend we don't know anything, then let's go get her really drunk and beat it out of her," she through out with a smile. Logan opened one eye to look at her, and she grinned even bigger, "Hey, it's been a really long time since I've beaten someone's ass."
Logan couldn't help himself and laughed, "Just don't do any permanent damage, juries tend to go easier on mutalated badguys." They both smiled, then Cass got out of the car to help Logan, and they raced through the pouring rain into the restuarant.
Once they got inside, Cass took a moment to let her hair down because the rain had wiped away a lot of the make-up covering her barcode. "Hey, watch it," she exclaimed as someone bumped into her.
"Cass?" a deep male voice asked.
Cass turned around and smiled at the person in front of her, "Zach!" She through her arms around him and squeezed him so hard she thought she might crack a rib. "What are you doing here?" she asked as she pulled away.
"Had a little money saved up, and decided to come to the place where the sun never shines. My first day here and they've already ordered Seattle's weather to follow me," Zach smiled at this soaking figure in front of him.
"Hey, Zach, they've got a tab-Oh, hello," Jace's forehead creased as she observed this woman standing next to Zach.
"Jace, this is Cass," Zach made the introductions.
"So, another renegade X-5," Jace said smiling. "Zach here has been tellin' us all about ya," Jace winked at Cass. "Don't worry, I'm one too."
Cass nodded as she saw Logan waving her over, his unhappiness was obvious. "I have to go join my group, but why don't I give you our suite number and you all can come visit us." Cass took an ordering form from the front desk and began to jot down the information.
"Who exactly is us?" Zach asked, his mind forming ways to beat Logan up.
"Logan and myself," Cass replied in such a manner that suggested mess with him and I'll kick your ass.
"I'd like to get to know you better," Jace said, taking the info from Cass. "When would be a good time?"
"Wheneva, Logan has insomnia, and, well, I don't sleep. So you all figure it out and give us a call," with that Cass squeezed Zach's hand and smiled at Jace before walking over to her table.
"I like her," Jace nodded in Cass's direction. "She has this sweet look, but you know she could kick your ass in about five seconds flat."
"Told you," Zach muttered, and they went to their table.
"Who was that?" Logan whispered as Cass sat down beside him.
"That was my brother and a friend of his," she told both of them. "I was just telling them how shocked I was that they were in town, but I didn't want to interfere with their plans." Cass ran a hand through her still wet hair and tried to make herself as decent as she could.
"How charming," Kali's voice was flat as can be, she quickly picked up the menu and began scanning it.
Logan and Cass exchanged glances before picking up their menus and looking for what they wanted to eat.
"Hola. Prefieren ingeles?" the cheery, young waitress asked. (Hello. Do you all perfer English? From now on everything in is Spanish.)
Cass jumped in before either could ask that the woman speak in English, "We prefer Spanish." Cass had picked up most foreign languages very well and was able to speak most with ease.
The chirpy waitress smiled, "What would you like to drink?" As she got her pad and pencil out, Jace and Zach walked over.
"Cass, Jace and I were wondering if we could join you for lunch, it seems our reservations were misplaced," Zach spoke in a lone voice, his eyes betrayed his anger. Jace just seemed content to glare at the waitress.
After quickly glancing at Logan and catching his almost interminable nod, Cass gave a brief nod at Zach and Jace who grabbed chairs and sat down. Zach sat down between Logan and Kali, and Jace sat down between Kali and Cass. Her position was directly across from Zach so she could save Logan from Zach's display of testosterone.
"We're gonna need another moment," Cass said to the waitress. As the waitress walked away, Cass turned to Kali, "This is my brother, Zach, and this is his friend, Jace. This is Logan, and this is his *friend,* Kali." Cass spit Kali's name out while putting emphasis on the word friend. Her smile was bitter and her posture was tense, Logan and Zach easily caught onto this and they became tense until the food came. After they began to eat, Jace noticed that she became tense and they still had desert to get through.
"Well, Jace and Zach, what kind of work do you to do?" Kali asked, her smile practiced. "I know Cassandra was a curator before she and Logan got married, but I'm curious as to what you two do."
Before Zach could respond, Jace stepped in, "Zach here is a bodyguard- for-hire, he's the best, and I am a," she paused slightly, "hoping to get accepted to med-school, I wanna be a doctor someday, and Zach's salary has pretty much been putting me through school."
"Oh," Kali's face was one of surprise, why you would have to work to put yourself through school was beyond her. "Jace is a very unusual name, however did you aquire it?"
"I was one of the few girls in my family, extended family, and I kinda got named by an older cousin," Jace answered smoothly and effortlessly. She took a large bite of her brownie and closed her eyes in pleasure.
Logan swallowed his piece of flan in preparation of what he was about to say, "So, Kali, are you busy tomorrow night? I just thought that you and I could go grab some drinks and talk about things." He made sure to avoid Cass's gaze, and it was for the best considering she was glaring holes into his head.
Kali smiled with satisfaction at Cassandra's glare, "That would be purr-fect." Her look reminded Jace of a cat that had just swallowed the smaller family pet.
"Terrific. Oh my, look at the time, Cassandra, sweetheart, I think we should be going." Logan began frantically searching for their waitress.
"That's right. We have several things to do before tomorrow. We are redecorating our penthouse and need to go to those galleries. Our first meeting starts in an hour, and I was hoping to get refreshed," she knew she would hate herself with the next words that came out of her mouth. "Do you need a ride, Kali?"
"No, I'll just call for a company car," Kali picked up the check and pulled out her charge card. "This is my treat, including your meals Zach and Jace." Inside she was laughing, she knew people who paid as much as Zach, Jace, and Cassandra combined on one meal, not including dessert.
"Thank you," Zack said as he and Jace stood. "We need to get going anyway, we just got in and still need to check into our hotel. See you tonight, Cass-andra, Logan." Zach and Jace tossed down a more than sufficient tip and left.
"Bye," Cass called to their retrating forms. "See you around Kali, coming Logan." She stood impatiently at his side.
"Coming, bye Kali," Logan smiled at her while making a fast retreat. "I'll pick you up at seven, I know where you live." He could hardly keep up with Cass as she quickly stormed out of the resturant and into the now calm afternoon.
They drove back to the hotel in silence and didn't speak until they were back in the bugged hotel room. Cass threw her purse, the roomkey, and her now ruined shoes on the bed. Her sunglasses followed, and after she cracked her neck she turned towards Logan.
"What, in the name of all that is holy and sacred, are you doing!?!" Cass's voice was definately one step below yelling.
"I'm trying to get into contact with an old friend!" he threw back at her in the same tone, then he slammed the door shut hard enough to cause quite a response in the room below thiers.
"Yes, a tall, stunning, *female* friend!! Fine, go out with her, get your drinks, enjoy spending time with someone who's not below your breeding level, and I will go out with Zach and Jace and spend time with people who are just like me!" while at first her voice had been raised, Cass now dropped it to a low, upset tone.
Logan grabbed her and pulled her onto his lap, he whispered in her ear, "I just want to get the information from her, you are the only reason I wanted to do this, the chance to spend time with you is enough to send me into the depths of Hell, if I was promised just a decade with you." He pulled back, stared at her sharply, then let go of her.
Cass sat there dumbfounded for a little bit before realization of what he said sunk in. "Oh...My...Lord." She stared back at him, then slowly stood up. She walked over to a bag she had packed and dug around until she found what she was looking for. She sat down on the bed and motioned him over. He came over and noticed that she was setting up the transfusion equipment. He climbed onto the bed next to her, and they both leaned back as she hooked it up and began the transfusion. They closed their eyes, and the next things they knew, there was a knock on the door. Cass opened her eyes first and moaned as she realized who is was. She wondered if she closed her eyes and snuggled back up to Logan if the visitor would go away. She unhooked the equipment and nestled in for a long nap. She purred slightlly and smiled, then someone knocked again.
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Well, what do you think? If you want more, review, or not. But I have to have at least 7 reviews before I'll even start on the next chapter.
Who do you think the knocker is? Come on...........guess!
**Peace to all in this time of need**
