By 2am all arguments had ceased and they were all on their way to White's.
Logan drove his car with Alec and Talia as passengers. Otto, bound and gagged and hidden on the floor of the backseat went with them and Max rode on her Ninja behind them. The plan that they'd finally formulate was rather ingenious. Logan, Alec and Talia would park just outside Whites place while Max would leave her Ninja a block away. Then she would meet up with the rest of them and together they would proceed to break into White's car and lay Otto in the back seat. Talia and Alec would go round the back of the house where they'd keep an eye out for White.
When the time was right, Max and Logan would set off White's car alarm, thus creating just the diversion that would be needed for Talia to slip inside White's window and plant the bugs. Max and Logan would then leave in his car, and after the bugs had been correctly and effectively placed among White's things, so would Alec and Talia leave, on Max's Ninja.
One thing about this plan obviously had Alec a little worried, and as they pulled into White's street he made sure to voice it.
"So when we get to Max's Ninja I'm driving us back right"?
"Alec…" thinking his question nothing more than nervous banter, Talia was about to tell him to sharpen up his act, however, seeing the seriousness in his face made her chuckle. He looked utterly calm and perplexed, like this type of mission was an everyday occurrence, and could afford to be taken lightly. Talia's uneasiness fell away.
"If it's gonna cause irreparable damage to your obviously fragile male ego to have me drive us home… then yes, you most certainly can drive us home"
Alec was baffled. Max never let him drive. She loved treating him like a weak little nothing which most of the time resulted in him viewing her as more of a mother figure than an equal. This was gonna be fun indeed.
Overhearing their conversation, Logan killed the engine and turned to look at them. From the sullen look he wore, Alec had a feeling their fun had come to an end. He was right.
"Now listen" Logan began
"Nothing about this mission will be funny I promise you that! If either of you escape with your lives you'll be lucky. It's a very dangerous thing we're doing here and if even the slightest mistake is made it will surely result in death."
"Dangerous thing we're doing?" Talia mused
"I don't see you removing yourself from the vicinity of your car!"
Logan clenched his jaw and cast a fiery look her way. As if his expression alone would win this war of words that he and Talia seemed always to be fighting
"White's a very dangerous man, we can't afford to make mistakes here, the first sign of the milk turning sour and both of you are outta there understood?" He finished through clenched teeth.
"Got that" Alec said and hoped out of the car in the hope of escaping the firing line.
"Now that we're both outta ear shot, would you mind telling me exactly what is it that you seem to have against me"? Logan asked coyly.
"Well where should I start? Oh I know, how about the way you twist Max's mind on decisions which don't concern or effect you in any way?" She said plainly, as though she was discussing something as insignificant as ice cream flavours.
"You think that's what I do"?
"I think your personal relationship with Max shroud's her judgment and will one day probably get someone killed. Though of course it won't be you because you never leave the safety of your computer seat or your car!"
Though Talia's words stung like a bee, Logan couldn't say he hadn't harboured such thoughts himself. He'd even been told numerous times that he would one day get Max killed. But back then he'd chosen to ignore Zack along with all his petty insults, which seemed to work well enough. That was until Max had been shot, but even then he'd managed to convince himself of his innocence in the matter. Though many times he'd thought of leaving her, of just vanishing into thin air and escaping to some remote corner of the earth away from Max and his life as eyes only, Logan knew he couldn't and he hated himself for being so weak. But he loved her, and she loved him…if only that was enough. If only Love alone could keep her alive.
It would be easy to become lost in thoughts like these, and now Logan fought hard the temptation to become a stone and just think everything through. He'd do that tonight while he lay in the dark alone at Joshua's, but right now he had to deal with Talia, someone obviously had to teach this girl a lesson.
"What Max and I do is our business, I'm not going to just sit here and listen to these insane ramblings. You've only known Max a week, and me even less than that! How you've managed to draw such colourful pictures of our characters eludes me."
Logan was pleased with himself, he was sounding very mature and judging from Talia's quietness she must be taking what he was saying seriously.
'Maybe after this little spat the air between us will clear. Who knows? We may even become friends. If I could become friends with Zack then anything's possible' He thought as he chose his next words carefully.
"And although it doesn't surprise me that you think this way of me…" he thought back to all the ill looks she had given him at Joshua's, and then back to their first meeting over the computer link.
"Hopefully in time I'll be able to change your mind. After all, the rest of the transgenics have accepted what I do and me. And Max considers what I do to be of importance and me as a valuable asset. Not just as a boyfriend, but as one of her own, as one of the team. We're fighting a hard battle here with the Familiar's, a battle that so far, we seem to be losing…"
Talia's attention snapped back to Logan. While he was babbling her thoughts had wandered. But now, after his use of the 'we' word again, a word she hated hearing him say, her attention and defensive reflexes clicked back on.
"We" She said raising her voice. If he hadn't gotten her point before, this time she would make if even clearer.
"You say that word as though you've earned it. Is that what you truly think Logan? That you've earned it? That you're one of us"?
Her blatancy baffled him.
"Were you made in a lab? Were you subjected to year after year of cruel hard training? Have you ever had to watch one of your brothers or sisters be shot because someone higher up than you didn't believe they were strong enough?"
Hearing her, Logan knew this was one battle he would not win. Talia was like an impenetrable fortress that'd never allow him to think of himself as anything less that a human. Inferior, a lesser species and nothing he did or said would ever convince her otherwise.
"You have no idea what we are and I've got a real problem with you referring to yourself as one of us!" With that, she got out of the car and joined Alec on the street.
"What was all that about"? Alec asked Talia as soon as she had exited the car.
"Just a little dispute I had with Logan about something, it's got nothing to do with the mission so don't worry 'bout it" She smiled.
Unsatisfied with her answer and seeing that Max was approaching, Alec decided he'd ask Logan about it later, right now he had to focus on the task at hand.
Logan was now alone in the car with Otto. But he was far from being at peace. Talia's words played over and over in his mind until they met with the memory of Zack's words and then the two voices would converge into one huge mess of warnings. But despite it all and against his better judgment, he decided that he wouldn't tell Max what Talia had said. He only wished that he could come up with a better reason in his head to support his decision, because at the moment, the only one he could think of was the truth.
'You won't tell her because then she may realise what a mistake being with you is and leave''
He'd just have to play his cards extremely close to his chest and pray that the warnings of both Talia and Zack didn't come true. Because he knew, that if something should happen to Max, it would surely be worse than last time, and probably more permanent.
Still plagued with his thoughts, Logan Cale stepped out of his car and joined the transgenics.
* * *
"Here take this" Max handed Talia a cell phone.
"Once you get to the back of the house you call me up, my number's set on speed dial 4" Talia nodded to show she understood and began studying her phone.
"Alec, you call up Logan's phone once you're in position"
"You both got that"? Max's tone had chance into her military style.
"Any questions?" She asked, but neither of them did.
"Ok, we all meet back at Logan's at 0300 hours, good luck" Max turned and began hauling Otto out of Logan's car.
"You'll be pleased to know the ordeal is over" Max handed Otto to Logan and placed a briefcase of tools down gently on the sidewalk.
As Talia followed Alec across the street she looked back to see Max underneath White's Black Sedan. Disengaging the alarm system. So far things were going according to plan.