10. Dark Angel
Logan didn't care what Max was up to. He wanted her now. He had finally made a big deductive leap, and they needed to talk. He couldn't sit on his hands while she messed around with Alec. What if another life was at stake? The murder of Eva Vadas weighed heavily on his conscience; he didn't want more blood on his hands.
He leaned back in his wheelchair and dialed his cell. He was practically shaking with exhaustion. He could only wear the exoskeleton for so long, the stress made all his muscles quiver. Max picked up, and for a moment all he could hear was wind and static.
"Yeah," she shouted.
"Max," he said. "Come on over. It's important."
"Wait a minute!" she screamed. "Sit up properly and help me balance, or we're gonna tip over!"
"What?" said Logan. "Where are you?"
"Hold on!" Max said, either to her passenger, or into the phone. She took one hand off the handlebars and reached behind to steady Alec. He was a mess, sloppy drowsy and practically dead weight. They had gotten off the roof with difficulty, and made it back to her motorcycle. If she could have thrown him across the back like a sack of meal, she would have, but he was too big. He had to help her or they weren't going to make it. The security force was in hot pursuit.
She jabbed him with her elbow, and he responded by tightening his grip on her waist.
"Max," said Logan peevishly, "where are you? What have you done?"
Her voice came over the line, thin and tight, "Alec and I were ripping off some movie shoes from a rich wise guy. The operation went south and Alec got a dose of knockout gas. He's out of it."
Logan was confused, "Movie shoes?"
"That's not important," shrieked Max. "We have to lose these security guys!"
"Max," said Logan. "Eva Vadas was murdered. I have some of her research, and a lead."
"Okay," said Max.
"We don't have time for you and Alec to be screwing around."
"I know," said Max.
"That was a stupid stunt to pull," said Logan.
"I know," grunted Max. There was the sound of squealing tires.
"All of Alec's plans blow up in his face," said Logan.
"I know!" screamed Max.
Logan sighed. "Where are you?" He wheeled himself to the computer. "I'll see if I can find you an escape route."
"Huh," said Logan, looking at the red shoes. "Who'd have thought?"
"I know," said Max, sweeping her long hair back into a loose ponytail. "Aren't they stupid?"
"Do you know what they are?" he asked her.
"No," she admitted. She didn't really care. They'd better be worth something though, or she was going to make Alec very sorry. Alec was, at present, in dreamland. The moment they had pulled up in front of Logan's building, he'd tumbled off her bike. She'd had to grab him under the arms and drag him upstairs. Between the two of them, she and Logan had stuffed him in the shower, fully dressed, in the hope of halting any residual chemical effect. Now he was stripped to his skivvies, and bundled up on Logan's couch, sawing logs.
"I hate to ask," said Max, "but could you hang onto the merchandise until Alec gets on his feet? We could hide them somewhere."
Logan laughed. "Max, the S1W uses this place as a drop. If I'm rousted, it's not going to be for stolen shoes."
"Oh, right," said Max, momentarily anxious. She didn't like the thought of Logan getting pinched for contraband ordnance. Asha's contraband. Asha was Logan's gal pal in the struggle. She was blonde and cute, and not infected with a retro virus targeted to Logan's DNA. Max hated her guts. "Maybe Asha should find another sucker to warehouse her little toys," she said. She didn't believe in guns, and had sworn never to use one again.
"Max," said Logan. That was all. He was committed to the resistance.
She dropped it. "So, what did you do tonight?" she asked brightly, to change the subject.
"Nothing special," said Logan. "Research."
Max felt guilty. Logan always thought about the big picture. Here he was, trying to help her, and she had been playing cat burglar.
"I'm sorry about tonight, Logan," she said. "I didn't think we'd get caught."
"What's done is done," he sighed. "You're okay, thank God. I just don't want anything to happen to you, Max. You know how I feel."
There was an awkward silence. A regular girl would have hugged her boyfriend about then, but Max didn't have that option. Logan looked away, and considered Alec, who was sleeping peacefully. "Anyway," he said. "Alec will sleep it off, and be back to his charming self in no time."
"It was just some kind of gas," said Max. "It had pretty much dissipated by the time I got there. It didn't affect me at all."
"Well, nobody's going to booby-trap their house with something virulent," said Logan, "too many ways for it to go wrong."
Max dropped into an armchair. She was quiet for a minute. That minute grew into another minute. When she finally spoke, she said: "We got that girl murdered, Logan."
"I know that," said Logan. "I've been thinking about her all day."
"We were stupid," said Max. "We have to be more careful. They don't care who they hurt."
"They're the bad guys," he said starkly. "But you're right. You're right about everything. If it's any consolation, I talked to Matt Sung. She wasn't raped. There was no evidence of sexual trauma."
"I figured," said Max. "And it doesn't make any difference."
"No," Logan agreed.
Max and Logan went into the kitchen. Max put on her gloves and took a moment to root around in the fridge. She was famished. "Any veggies?" she asked.
"I'm fresh out," he said.
She made herself a sandwich. "How goes the research?" she said finally, holding a hand over her mouth because she was eating.
"I have a theory," said Logan, making Max smile.
He took a long sip of coffee. "I think Eva mailed a package to someone. Her notes are cannibalized. I think she contacted a government type, and talked to him before she talked to me."
"Where do you get that?" asked Max.
"See this name here?" Logan pointed at a sheet of paper. Max moved closer, being super careful not to touch him. "I'm guessing now, but I think that's Mike Smalton, who works for Harlan Keystone."
"Oh," said Max.
"Senator Harlan Keystone," laughed Logan.
"Oh!" said Max.
"Yeah," said Logan. "Smalton is his aide. He's local. Maybe she knew him. They were at school together. I checked."
"So, maybe this guy is the missing piece of the puzzle," said Max, considering. "Where's he located?"
"Well, there's his office, obviously. If that's where it is, we're out of luck. But I'm betting if she sent him anything, it was to his local residence. She would have wanted to keep it quiet."
"And you just happen to have his address," said Max.
"That I do," said Logan.
"You're taking a lot on faith here," said Max. "That's a pretty skimpy trail, a lot of guess work."
"So you don't want to pursue it?" said Logan.
"Oh, I want to pursue it," said Max. "What else do I have to do with my time?"
"I was right the last time," said Logan. "I mean, I found Eva."
"Well, I guess we know our next stop," said Max. "I like that."
"Yeah," said Logan.
The detritus from Max's makeshift meal was now a bio-hazard, and she wrapped it all up to take with her. They were observing CDC blood and body fluid protocols. She was Logan's own personal Typhoid Mary, his angel of death. One slip up, and he'd be counting out Charon's change. The constant stress was rendered just this side of intolerable by unyielding vigilance.
They went back to the living room. Alec was still asleep, and the red shoes were still sparkly.
"Look at those things," said Max. "Whoever wore those, she was really tiny."