Chapter 2
Max swore quietly as she unlocked the motorcycle shed behind her apartment and climbed on. She had stayed longer at Dan's then she had meant to and she was running a little bit late. She would have been later but Dan had somewhere to go too and he had left just a minute after Max had to go visit a friend for the weekend. Max didn't see how she would get by without him. She checked her pocket to make sure that the money was still there and then she climbed on her bike and sped off. The location that she had chosen for the race this time was on the outskirts of Seattle about thirty miles from where she lived and she sped most of the way there, flashing her ID at checkpoints to get through quickly. She could see the lights of the gathering before she could hear the roaring of the engines; there were well over ten motorcycles there. The biggest race yet.
She pulled in behind Mark's and saw that there were a few small fire barrels lit in the large space behind the store. There were some good motorcycles lined up on the back wall of the store including the brand new motorcycle that must have belonged to Danny. Max whistled as she saw the shining new black Kawasaki Ninja 650. She slid her bike into the spot beside it and turned off the engine. There were about fifty people standing around, some racers, most spectators. Some Max recognized from previous races but there were about two dozen people that she had never seen before. The mousy guy walked over to Max and put a hand on her shoulder. "I see that you like my buddy's bike," he said.
Max laughed and pulled her eyes away from the sleek frame. "It's a nice machine. It probably cost a fortune."
"Almost sixteen thousand dollars new and there are only about one hundred. The factory shut down during production. Would you like to go and meet him?"
"Sure."
"He brought his girlfriend along so he'll probably show off a little but he's a good racer."
Max smiled and once again wished that Dan could be here to share this with her. She didn't want him involved though, the life was too dangerous. She followed her buddy over to a small corner where a young man in a black leather jacket and a baseball cap was kissing the neck of a pretty young woman. They looked pretty comfortable together and Max could tell that they were enjoying themselves. "Maybe we shouldn't disturb them," she said, stopping.
The guy laughed. "Danny doesn't stop at anything. As soon as we're done he'll pick back up again with a furious pace. You'll hear her scream before the race is done."
Max laughed and followed the man closer. He put out a hand and touched the younger man on the shoulder. "Hey Danny, there's someone I want you to meet. This is Max."
The young man raised his head, and his gray eyes froze in horror. Max felt her breath catch in her chest and her stomach lurched. How she kept her dinner down she didn't know because at that moment she was looking into the face of her lover and her boyfriend. Dan had the same look on his face, one of sheer terror. "Hi Max," he said, breaking the silence.
Max just stood there, tears rolling down her cheeks. "You son of a bitch," she finally yelled, sending the whole crowd around her into a stunned silence.
"Calm down Max. Everything's going to be alright. Let's just forget about the race and go home and talk about this."
"Go home?" The girl in his arms piped up, "but you said we were going home after the race.
Dan glared down at her and Max felt heat rising in her face. She grabbed Dan by the collar of his jacket and slammed him against the wall. She leaned her face close to his. "Fuck you," she whispered, right into his face.
She dropped him onto the ground and raced over to her motorcycle, jumped on and sped off without ever looking at the Ninja again.
It didn't take Max long to get out of the city. She had raced through every checkpoint with her ID card and figured that she wasn't going to be safe for much longer. The sector police would begin to wonder why she was this far out without anything visible to deliver. The tears had stopped falling about thirty miles back and now she was stone, nothing could touch her and she was cursing herself for allowing herself to get connected to anyone. Especially allowing herself to fall in love. She had been taught that emotions were bad but then she had also been taught that the world was bad and she had found that to be wrong. She thought that Manticore had been wrong about the emotions too but they had been right, all too right.
She slowed down her motorcycle and pulled over to the side of the road. She was in the forest about fifteen miles out of Seattle and the sun wasn't even over the trees yet despite the fact that she had been riding for a little over two hours. Her boss was going to be pissed about the missed work thing but Max didn't really care, she would handle it. She'd forge a doctor's note or something like that. That was the least of her worries. She hopped off her bike and stepped into the calf high grass that surrounded the roadside. There weren't many cars close by and it was a quiet place to think, it reminded her of the High Place back at Manticore where she could go and be a normal kid. She wished that one of her brothers or sisters were here, Ben to make her laugh, Tinga to comfort her, Zack to whip her out of this sad state of depression and then go kick Dan's ass. Max was on her own, and she had to work for herself and live for herself, she couldn't run from every little thing. "What am I doing out here?" she quietly asked herself, leaning up against a tree trunk.
She swore loudly and hit the tree leaving a deep dent in the trunk. She ran back over to her bike and hopped on; gunning the engine she raced back to the checkpoint that she had just passed. She waited until she was in the city to use a pay phone to call her boss and ask for the day off. He wasn't very happy about it but he agreed sense she was the only good worker that he had. Max passed by her house and showered quickly, put up her money and changed clothes and finally three hours later she found herself in front of the familiar apartment building in downtown Seattle. His light was on in his apartment and Max found a thin smile crossing her lips.
It didn't take her long to get upstairs and she didn't take any time to knock on the door, she just kicked it off its hinges. "What the hell?" Dan asked, running into the living room from his bedroom. He stopped quickly when he saw Max.
"Honey, I'm home," she called, picking up the door and leaning it against the wall. "Sorry I left so quickly but I needed some time to think. But I've thought and I'm ready to talk. At first I wanted to kill you, then I wanted to kick your ass, then I wanted someone else to kick your ass, but now I want to kick your ass again, and I think I'm going to."
"I'll call the police," Dan said, reaching for a phone.
Max laughed and sat down on the sofa. "So I'd say I've got about an hour. I don't want to do it physically. Sense you think you're such a smooth racer I want to see how good you really are. A race, today at noon down Main Street. If I win I get your bike."
"And if I win I get you for one more night whether you like it or not."
Max grinned, there was no way she was going to loose this race. "Fine, I'll see you and your pretty bike at the Café at noon. Call some friends. You'll need someone to drive you home."
Dan glared at her back as she walked out of the room and then scratched his head as he looked at his broken door. How was he going to explain this to his landlord?
Max swore quietly as she unlocked the motorcycle shed behind her apartment and climbed on. She had stayed longer at Dan's then she had meant to and she was running a little bit late. She would have been later but Dan had somewhere to go too and he had left just a minute after Max had to go visit a friend for the weekend. Max didn't see how she would get by without him. She checked her pocket to make sure that the money was still there and then she climbed on her bike and sped off. The location that she had chosen for the race this time was on the outskirts of Seattle about thirty miles from where she lived and she sped most of the way there, flashing her ID at checkpoints to get through quickly. She could see the lights of the gathering before she could hear the roaring of the engines; there were well over ten motorcycles there. The biggest race yet.
She pulled in behind Mark's and saw that there were a few small fire barrels lit in the large space behind the store. There were some good motorcycles lined up on the back wall of the store including the brand new motorcycle that must have belonged to Danny. Max whistled as she saw the shining new black Kawasaki Ninja 650. She slid her bike into the spot beside it and turned off the engine. There were about fifty people standing around, some racers, most spectators. Some Max recognized from previous races but there were about two dozen people that she had never seen before. The mousy guy walked over to Max and put a hand on her shoulder. "I see that you like my buddy's bike," he said.
Max laughed and pulled her eyes away from the sleek frame. "It's a nice machine. It probably cost a fortune."
"Almost sixteen thousand dollars new and there are only about one hundred. The factory shut down during production. Would you like to go and meet him?"
"Sure."
"He brought his girlfriend along so he'll probably show off a little but he's a good racer."
Max smiled and once again wished that Dan could be here to share this with her. She didn't want him involved though, the life was too dangerous. She followed her buddy over to a small corner where a young man in a black leather jacket and a baseball cap was kissing the neck of a pretty young woman. They looked pretty comfortable together and Max could tell that they were enjoying themselves. "Maybe we shouldn't disturb them," she said, stopping.
The guy laughed. "Danny doesn't stop at anything. As soon as we're done he'll pick back up again with a furious pace. You'll hear her scream before the race is done."
Max laughed and followed the man closer. He put out a hand and touched the younger man on the shoulder. "Hey Danny, there's someone I want you to meet. This is Max."
The young man raised his head, and his gray eyes froze in horror. Max felt her breath catch in her chest and her stomach lurched. How she kept her dinner down she didn't know because at that moment she was looking into the face of her lover and her boyfriend. Dan had the same look on his face, one of sheer terror. "Hi Max," he said, breaking the silence.
Max just stood there, tears rolling down her cheeks. "You son of a bitch," she finally yelled, sending the whole crowd around her into a stunned silence.
"Calm down Max. Everything's going to be alright. Let's just forget about the race and go home and talk about this."
"Go home?" The girl in his arms piped up, "but you said we were going home after the race.
Dan glared down at her and Max felt heat rising in her face. She grabbed Dan by the collar of his jacket and slammed him against the wall. She leaned her face close to his. "Fuck you," she whispered, right into his face.
She dropped him onto the ground and raced over to her motorcycle, jumped on and sped off without ever looking at the Ninja again.
It didn't take Max long to get out of the city. She had raced through every checkpoint with her ID card and figured that she wasn't going to be safe for much longer. The sector police would begin to wonder why she was this far out without anything visible to deliver. The tears had stopped falling about thirty miles back and now she was stone, nothing could touch her and she was cursing herself for allowing herself to get connected to anyone. Especially allowing herself to fall in love. She had been taught that emotions were bad but then she had also been taught that the world was bad and she had found that to be wrong. She thought that Manticore had been wrong about the emotions too but they had been right, all too right.
She slowed down her motorcycle and pulled over to the side of the road. She was in the forest about fifteen miles out of Seattle and the sun wasn't even over the trees yet despite the fact that she had been riding for a little over two hours. Her boss was going to be pissed about the missed work thing but Max didn't really care, she would handle it. She'd forge a doctor's note or something like that. That was the least of her worries. She hopped off her bike and stepped into the calf high grass that surrounded the roadside. There weren't many cars close by and it was a quiet place to think, it reminded her of the High Place back at Manticore where she could go and be a normal kid. She wished that one of her brothers or sisters were here, Ben to make her laugh, Tinga to comfort her, Zack to whip her out of this sad state of depression and then go kick Dan's ass. Max was on her own, and she had to work for herself and live for herself, she couldn't run from every little thing. "What am I doing out here?" she quietly asked herself, leaning up against a tree trunk.
She swore loudly and hit the tree leaving a deep dent in the trunk. She ran back over to her bike and hopped on; gunning the engine she raced back to the checkpoint that she had just passed. She waited until she was in the city to use a pay phone to call her boss and ask for the day off. He wasn't very happy about it but he agreed sense she was the only good worker that he had. Max passed by her house and showered quickly, put up her money and changed clothes and finally three hours later she found herself in front of the familiar apartment building in downtown Seattle. His light was on in his apartment and Max found a thin smile crossing her lips.
It didn't take her long to get upstairs and she didn't take any time to knock on the door, she just kicked it off its hinges. "What the hell?" Dan asked, running into the living room from his bedroom. He stopped quickly when he saw Max.
"Honey, I'm home," she called, picking up the door and leaning it against the wall. "Sorry I left so quickly but I needed some time to think. But I've thought and I'm ready to talk. At first I wanted to kill you, then I wanted to kick your ass, then I wanted someone else to kick your ass, but now I want to kick your ass again, and I think I'm going to."
"I'll call the police," Dan said, reaching for a phone.
Max laughed and sat down on the sofa. "So I'd say I've got about an hour. I don't want to do it physically. Sense you think you're such a smooth racer I want to see how good you really are. A race, today at noon down Main Street. If I win I get your bike."
"And if I win I get you for one more night whether you like it or not."
Max grinned, there was no way she was going to loose this race. "Fine, I'll see you and your pretty bike at the Café at noon. Call some friends. You'll need someone to drive you home."
Dan glared at her back as she walked out of the room and then scratched his head as he looked at his broken door. How was he going to explain this to his landlord?