20. At the Frankenstein Place
The door to Sandeman's opened, and in Joshua came, with Original Cindy. They each had large ice creams. Joshua was wearing a motorcycle helmet; it looked silly, but it covered the better part of his face, allowing him to go out in public. You had to keep him on a short leash, though, thought OC. He wasn't so good with the social interaction.
"Hot," said Joshua, pulling off the helmet. Like doggies everywhere, he had the tendency to breathe through his mouth.
"Eat your cone, Sugar," Cindy said affectionately. "That'll cool you down." Ice cream was dear in post-Pulse Seattle, and she didn't want him to waste any. She'd made him take vanilla, she didn't know if he could eat chocolate. It was an interesting question.
Joshua pricked up his ears. He heard a faint noise, like an angry mosquito. He found something on the floor. "Max," he said.
"I didn't know you had a cell phone," said Cindy.
"Max was here." He pointed to his nose. "I smell her." He had accidently opened the line, and they both heard a voice. Cindy took the phone, and put it to her ear.
"Hello," she said whimsically.
"Max," said Logan. "Where are you?"
"This ain't Max," said OC. "This is Original Cindy. Who's there?"
"Cindy?" said Logan. "This is Logan. We've been worried sick about you."
"We just went for ice cream," said Cindy. Her cone was melting, and she licked her hand. "Can I call you back? I'm kinda in the middle of something."
"No, you cannot call me back!" Logan snapped.
Cindy was taken aback. This seemed to be her day for angry males, and she wasn't having it. "Don't talk to Original Cindy with that voice, or I'm hanging up."
"Cindy," said Logan, confused, "we've been looking for you everywhere. When we heard Joshua got captured we thought you were dead."
"Joshua's not captured. He's on the sofa. Ain't that right, Boo?" she said to Joshua.
"Joshua's with you," said Logan, feeling sick.
"I just told you we went for ice cream."
"You took Joshua out in public?" he asked.
Cindy laughed. "He wore his helmet. No running, no screaming," she said, paraphrasing Joshua.
"Cindy, put Max on the phone," said Logan.
"What do you mean put Max on the phone?" said OC. "She ain't here. Is this her phone?"
Logan was dizzy. If Cindy and Joshua were okay, who did White have in custody? Quickly, he thought over the events of the past few days. Eva Vadas was killed, leaving behind the words 'Smalton,' 'Stronghold,' and 'Pacific.' That led to Smalton, who was missing, but had left a map of Pacific County, emblazoned with the word 'Stronghold.' A mutant was captured, and White, usually so camera-shy, flashed his teeth for all the world to see. The mutant was escorted into the Pacific facility. Max, heroic and honorable, had a history of riding to the rescue.
Logan was stunned. It was a trap, and an obvious one at that. Like rank amateurs, they'd fallen for it, because they so badly wanted the dark prize. Max was at that moment racing headlong into danger, and the bad guys were ready for her.
"Logan," said OC. "Where's Max? What's goin' on?"
Logan almost hung up then. But he took a deep breath and began to explain, the evidence of his own stupidity cutting him to the quick. He lay out the situation for Cindy, not that there was anything she could do. He had to go after Max. If they didn't come back, at least someone would know. Someone would know what had happened to them.
At full throttle, her Ninja ate up the highway. There was no traffic after curfew. There was no longer much in the way of social infra-structure, so she had to keep a careful eye out for potholes. Before long, she was in Pacific County. Like all X-5s, she had a photographic memory. She had a perfect picture of Mike Smalton's map in her head. Max began to look for the stronghold, praying that Joshua was still alive.
In his Aztek, Logan smashed through the makeshift barricade at the city limits checkpoint. He sped off into the night. The guard, who had been in his hut, warming his hands on a cup of tea and trying to calm his nerves, emerged howling. How did they expect him to work this way? These people had no respect for authority. They were animals!
To be continued. . .