Part four

***

There were many good memories. Toronto. Thump. His heart chose that moment to beat once, startling him. There was also the longhaired soldier girl who had let him out of his cell, not before giving him a reassuring, fearless smile. It had been a long while since someone had smiled at him like that. His hunger had been nagging him then, but somehow the only thing he had seen in that girl had been an equal, a predator freeing its fellow prisoners. She had disappeared, leaving behind the sneaking tendrils of darkness and hunger that had enveloped him soon after and just as they did now. Hunger. Gathering his limbs together he tried to take off, away from the wet pavement of the unfamiliar city. He crumpled back into a heap as soon as he had managed to prop himself against the wall. The clear night sky beckoned to him. He knew all reason would fade away from him if he could not get a drink, then the darkness would come again. With a huge effort, he stood and moved forward onto the street, limping, leaning on walls or cars from time to time, in search for the only thing that could help him retain the brief moments of sanity and the happy memories that came with them: blood.

***

The sharp wind had blown away all the warmth lingering in her body at the thought of Logan's blue eyes. She needed to concentrate on her mission tonight and yet she could not help but remember Cindy's words. After her visit to the hospital, Max had gone to bunk in with Original Cindy and had had a long talk with her old friend, calming down. She was still desperate and heart broken, but at least she now was over the toughest part of it.

"Well, Boo, Original Cindy can't tell you nothing more than that: you have to believe that you will find a way. And you will find one. Little rich boy is smitten, too, so my girl's not alone. You can make it together, Girl, stop running away. You're home now, Boo, in your crib where you' re loved."

Original Cindy's talk almost had Max convinced. Logan had paged her repeatedly but she had refused to answer. She just couldn't. Not yet. He had talked to Cindy and she had promised him to send his girl right over when she's ready." Only then had he stopped calling.

A few plates of Pasta Tricolore and some tears later, her friend had started anew:

"Max, Sugar, why don't you go visit Rich Boy?" she had prodded. "He's getting desperate and Original Cindy ain't gonna be held responsible for what the young smitten one could do if you don't show up and show him some love, Girl."

This time, Max had managed a crooked grin. "Okay, I'm going."

"Not just going, Boo," Cindy had insisted. "You gotta show the boy that you feel for him, too, that he ain't alone. Rich boy's got me worried, ya know, the last few months."

And with that, Max had left for Logan's penthouse.

Since then, things had gotten a semblance of normality, as much as there could be one. They were still seeing each other; she was still doing some of his legwork, even if he didn't really need it.

Tonight, she was riding her bike, letting the wind caress her face - sweet of Logan - he had kept her baby well, full tank and everything. But tonight, she was not alone and not on a joy ride either. Dr. Brandis was sitting behind her, and they were staking out the lab where she used to work.

***

He had stopped to rest a moment before giving another try at taking off. Slumping down in a corner he suddenly noticed the thin tha- thumps approaching. He had frozen in place waiting to see what was coming his way. The sight elicited a small crinkle in the corner of his lips as he heard another voice of his past in his head: "Wanna haf one, Mate? Jus yeas for the takin. Juicy, too" it taunted him. "Gab it, Mate, cortsy of yer old pal." The two tiny bodies scurrying past him unwittingly would have to do for the moment. None even had the time to squeak as they were drained of the precious liquid.

***

Natalie was supposed to have been long gone into hiding by now. Considering the fright of almost being kidnapped, she couldn't explain it even to herself that she was now riding a bike next to Max, the one who had almost killed her a few days ago. The wind blew against them, the current making Natalie even more tense than she had already been. The girl in front of her had put on an uncanny speed, and even though Natalie couldn't see her face, she was certain of what could be seen there: cold, emotionless determination, the focus of a soldier on its mission.

Natalie had been suspicious when she had heard that Max was doing errands for Eyes Only. By now, she had begun to understand a little more about the person in front of her. A slow smirk crept on Natalie's face, unseen in the darkness around them. She had watched Max around Logan and had noticed the tension both were subject to when the other was around. Adding to that Max's reaction to her entry in Logan's room and Logan's words this evening as they had left the penthouse - a tentative, barely whispered "Be careful" - Natalie had reached her own conclusion. For a second, she had been painfully reminded of her own past, but she had brushed that quickly away. She was actually slowly turning into Myra the matchmaker!

For some reason, she had begun to feel awfully protective of the two young ones as she thought of them. She chuckled lightly. She'd do her best to help, after all, even if they would never acknowledge it, they were quite forlorn, left alone with their problems.

Natalie exhaled in relief. Passing the sector police had been a piece of cake. Having connections to Eyes Only definitely had its advantages, she mused.

***

He grimaced at the bad taste lingering on his tongue. He had had shakes that had tasted better. He was definitely not peachy. Under the grime on his face, his muscles twitched at the memory, and he let out a small howl of pain. No time for that, though, or else even worse would follow. Surveying the dark city, he looked for light clusters, movement, a hospital would be his best bet now, provided he hadn't lost his touch and could sneak in unnoticed. A few times, he dove towards promising targets, without success, though. The city was too well lit and guarded, too many people, not the right building. He needed to head for the periphery; the repeated ups and downs were beginning to take their toll on his strength. Considering how well guarded the downtown hospitals had been, he intended to look for something smaller, less frequented. And sure enough, there it was. Two red crossed vans outside, the pungent medicine smell, and accessible roof, poorly lit. Judging by the alluring thumps inside, only a few guards.

***

A whispered voice distracted the mighty Logan Cale from the blueprints on his screen. His headpiece resonated again before he could answer. This time it was fainter, as if only to reassure itself: "Logan?" He hurried to respond without giving away his anxiety. "I'm here, Max."

"Just checking on you, Sleeping Beauty," she quipped, making him smile in spite of the tension.

But then, he couldn't keep himself and he exploded, "Where are you, Max?"

There was no time for her to respond, as he went on: "I've been worrying my ass off! You should have checked in after having passed the sector police!"

"At least you wouldn't feel it if it suddenly went missing," he imagined Max snapping at him and he chuckled. But she was calm, her voice soft and reassuring: "Just left there Logan, target in sight, right on schedule."

They had arrived. Quietly, they had settled in the darkness, waiting with predatory patience for the shift to change. Natalie needed to tackle the guards she knew best, the night shift.

Meddling had brought Natalie into trouble before. Like the time she had offered her help out of pure "scientific interest." This time, Max had been asking about security devices around the lab compound they were going to break into tonight. And Natalie had not been able to help herself insisting that she could keep the guards talking so that Max could slip in unseen. They were probably looking for her as well; it had been three days since she hadn't shown up for work.

Natalie forced herself to focus. There was another reason she wanted to go back, beside helping Max and Logan and busting Gentech. Her work for the past two months had gone more than a little beyond the call of duty. She had come across some interesting DNA material in the gene pool at Henderson and had used it to try out a few things. "Darn it, Lambert, why don't you just admit to yourself that you've gone nuts!" she berated herself. Messing with DNA that had a striking resemblance to the samples she had taken from Nick a long time ago and all that while that pesky, over- caffeinated assistant of hers, Angela, was pestering her with questions and commenting on how hard she was working all of a sudden. The genetic material might not have been a very close match, but there had been enough resemblance there to have her puzzle over it and go into the "scientific curiosity" modus. Right, and curiosity killed the cat. Why had she even tried to do it was beyond her comprehension. Was it because of her failure with Nick? Guilt? Atonement? Yeah, it had taken her only twenty years to get bitten by the same bug that had plagued Nick. He would have laughed his head off. The answer to her own questions eluded her. Suffice it to say, she had set her mind on it. And that's why she had tried so hard to convince Max to go along. Considering what Eyes Only had planned she needed to salvage what she could before moving on. But that was no concern of Eyes Only. It was her own past she battled.

***

Sitting in the dark was a welcome sensation for Max. She should have been bothered by the need to take a civilian with her and--let's face it--sharing the quiet darkness she had come to call her own. She wouldn't have minded sharing with Logan, though... But the woman behind her had not bothered her in any way yet. There was even a kind of companionable silence between them. But that was now over. The new guards were coming in.

***

Max had let Natalie go in first, waiting for her to involve the guards into a conversation. After the 2 minutes they had previously agreed upon, Max elegantly landed on the wall ledge, 3 meters above the entrance. She was in the research wing of the building, empty at night, so that she didn't need to worry about patients seeing her. Cautiously feeling her way around the corner, Max was about to continue her way up to the roof, the best entrance point as she had agreed with Logan, when a sound startled her. It was metal upon metal and some glass shattering, but then all was silent. Max went on, making a note to check on her way out. Once on the roof, though, the state of the air hatch she was supposed to use made her call on Logan. She whispered for his ears only, "Logan, it looks like someone just broke in a few minutes before me. I'm still going in." Silently, she perused the broken window, brushed aside the glass shards and slipped in. 'Careful, Max' was the only answer she received, the right one, as she quietly smiled to herself. There were no guards on the corridors, and Natalie had provided an access card to the lab area. As long as they hadn't shut her out in the three days she had been missing... Max was relieved when the door opened, and no alarm sounded. As she busied herself with the computer looking for the files Eyes Only needed, she concentrated on Logan's whispered indications and the silence of the corridor behind her, wasting no thought on the alleged intruder. Natalie was with the guard downstairs and anyone coming her way could be only an enemy.

***

Natalie's plan had worked up to this point. It was quite a risk she was taking as everything was timed, and any deviance could turn out deadly for real. But there was no way she could let Logan or Max in on her plans. She had to risk it. She had convinced the guards downstairs to let her in rather easily. Now, she was just entering her own office to retrieve the evidence of her research when in the dim light coming from the corridor, she faced the barrel of a handgun.

***

It had taken a while to get into the offices unnoticed in his attempt to find the supply and storage room. Then, the rummaging on the lookout for the fridge where the blood pouches would be, but finally he had made it. Trembling, eyes ablaze, he swallowed greedily, loosing little thought over the mess he made around. Five empty, bloody plastic shells later, he stopped and wiped his chin, pocketing another pouch. No, he was not ashamed, but not elated either; just relieved he had made it in time before loosing himself in the darkness of the hunger again. He could think somewhat more clearly again after what had seemed to him an eternity of hunger and torment. Concentrating on his surroundings he was about to attempt a quick clean up - as much as the blood was concerned - when he realized that he could hear voices on the same floor: a few of them actually. Some whispered, some tense and angry. Quickly stuffing the empty pouches into the biohazard bin, he crept out of the storage room, trying to assess his situation. Had anybody heard his rummaging? The whispers were accompanied by the silent clicking of a keyboard, barely to be heard even by him. No, the other direction posed more of a threat. Deciding he had stayed in long enough, he opened the unsecured window of the storage room and flew out. At least that way, an inattentive observer could blame what little mess he had left inside on the wind.

***

"So, Dr. Brandis, you wanted to tuck your research in tonight, didn't you?" Angela's face had lost all of the compassion it had ever shown and was radiating anger. "Made me wait three days, too." Natalie had frozen in her tracks, the door slowly sliding shut behind her. Heart pounding, she was unable to move. Not that Angela would have permitted such a thing, anyway.

***

Max finished loading the data, shut down the computer, and proceeded to the next step in their plan. She had placed the explosives and the evidence they had prepared beforehand and was now heading to the roof to check out the supposed burglar. That was when she found the open window. She looked down and concluded that whoever it had been, he was out. Another quick search of the upper floor gave no other results. "All clear, Logan, I'm on my way out." They had grudgingly agreed that Natalie needed to disappear permanently, or else she would be hounded down relentlessly. It had been Natalie's idea to stage her death. Logan had looked quite annoyed at her, as if he had some misgivings, but even though both Max and he had remembered Nathan Herrero, they hoped Natalie wouldn't have the same bad luck. Max checked her watch. Five more seconds, and there would be a small explosion outside, attracting the guards out. Max retreated the way she came.

***

Natalie's assistant moved backwards a few steps and motioned with the gun for her to move into the room. She patted the table attracting Natalie's attention to the now disheveled pile of notes there. Frantic, Natalie moved forward a step.

"Stop right there!" Angela ordered, aiming the gun. "Mr. White said you would be poking around like a nosy little bitch, but what you found out, well," she grinned widely with an ironical wink at her victim, "let's just say you made my day."

Natalie started to argue with her, in the hope Max could hear what was going on and come to her rescue, but Angela raised her gun and activated the silencer on it.

AN: Ok that's it for today, the rest, tomorrow. This is the point where you can ask all those questions you need to ask. I'll give you some explanations as to who Natalie is (not my character – part of the "Forever Knight" universe).