Smoke & Mirrors by Star 24
Disclaimer: Dark Angel and its characters are property of Twentieth Century Fox and James Cameron and Charles Eglee. This original story is property and copyright 2003 Star24.
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Chapter Four
Max and Original Cindy's Crib
Max sat on the battered sofa, wrapped in a soft red robe with her legs curled underneath her. She sipped from the cup of broth Original Cindy had brought to her. Cindy picked up her own cup, and came to sit on the other end of the sofa, facing her.
"So spill it, girlfriend. We all thought you were gone to join the heavenly chorus. Logan said you were shot in the heart by those black helicopter guys who were on your tail. Now you home and you tellin' Original Cindy that they brought you back from the dead with a heart transplant from your brother? The brother you never told me you had?"
"Logan said?" There was a hesitation in Max's voice as she repeated Logan's name.
"He was there. The boy was a wreck. Watchin' you die and all. He's gonna go ballistic when he finds out you're still among the living." Cindy paused, "unless you already went to see him?"
"No. Why would I go to him before you?" Max regarded her friend in honest bewilderment.
"Well you two bein' as close as you were and all." Original Cindy looked closely at Max.
"We were friends." Max stared at Cindy, who took a breath before answering slowly.
"Yeah right, that's what ya always told me. I just thought there was more to it."
Max laughed. "I don't think so, and I guess I'm the one who would know. Logan was a friend is all. You're my best boo." Her gaze wandered around the apartment coming to rest on the black Ninja sitting in the middle of the room. "Thanks for keeping my baby safe for me," she said softly.
Original Cindy continued to look at her with a troubled gaze. "Sure, no problem. Somehow it just didn't seem right to get rid of her. Maybe I was hopin' you'd come back to ride her again."
Max yawned. "Look, I've been on the run for days, I need to crash. I was afraid to sleep 'cause I thought they might catch up with me while I did. Wasn't easy getting out of there."
"How did you get out?"
"Long story. Can I tell ya tomorrow? I sit here any longer I'm gonna fall asleep where I'm sitting"
Original Cindy smiled, "Room's still there and your clothes are in the drawers."
Max rose and walked to the end of the couch. Leaning down she hugged Original Cindy. "It's good to be home."
"Welcome home, sugah. Welcome home." Cindy hugged her in return, and then sat back thoughtfully as Max left the room.
Fogle Towers
"Hello" Logan spoke into the headset of his phone, even as he continued to study one of the files he had managed to download from Manticore before they had detected his intrusion. It had been a near thing, but he had managed to break the trace before it completed, and he had come away with a lot of information. The key now was interpreting what he had found.
"Hey, boo." Original Cindy's voice greeted him.
"Hey. What's up?" Logan was surprised to hear from her. At first, after the ill fated raid on Manticore, they had stayed in frequent touch, but as time passed, it had been easier not to be reminded of Max, so he had pulled away from contact with her friends.
"You sittin' down?"
"Yes. Why?"
"I got some news for ya. Now there's the good of it and there's the bad, I gotta level." Original Cindy sounded hesitant, not quite like herself. There was the sound of a car gunning its motor behind her, making it clear she was calling from somewhere outdoors.
"Are you okay? Is something wrong?" Logan became concerned. "Is someone after you? Do you need to come here?" His fingers were busy on the keyboard as he spoke.
"Whoa, chill boy. Ain't no one after Original Cindy."
"Why are you calling me from a payphone then?" Logan had already traced the call to a phone on the corner outside of Cindy's place, and the location was blinking on his monitor.
"'Cause I needed some privacy for this call." Logan could hear her take a deep breath on the other end of the phone. Her next words floored him as she said in a rush, "Max is back."
Logan sat there fingers arrested on his keyboard. "Max is dead. She died in my arms." His voice was harsh as he dismissed her words.
"Boo, she died, but she been resurrected. It's Max aiight, complete with the scar on her chest where they transplanted her brother's heart. I'd know my homegirl anywhere; it's her."
"Oh my God." Logan almost whispered the words, and then there was silence on the phone.
"Logan? You still there?"
"I'm on my way over."
"NO!" Original Cindy paused, not sure how to continue. "Logan, she's sleeping."
"I won't wake her. I need to see her. To touch her…to know she's really still alive." Logan sounded like he was fighting off tears.
Original Cindy's voice was gentle as she responded. "Thing is boo… she don't remember you. Least not as anything more than a friend. I'm sorry."
There was silence for a few moments. "She made herself forget." Logan sounded as if he was talking to himself. "To protect me."
"Huh?" It was clear Original Cindy was confused.
"It's a long story. Max has the ability to—selectively forget things if she has to." Logan was silent a moment. "Okay look, I won't come over tonight then. You sure you're all right though? She wasn't followed?"
"She said not and I ain't seen nothing out of the ordinary."
"I'm going to arrange to have someone keep an eye on your place for tonight. Call me in the morning on my cell, okay? I need to see her." The last words were almost a plea, and Cindy found herself slowly nodding.
"Okay." Cindy paused then went on quickly, "Logan…it'll be okay. She's alive and she's back."
"Yeah. Thanks." There was a click as the connection was broken. Logan sat there for a moment and then, reaching a decision, he rose and pulled on the dark jacket that was slung over a chair. He grabbed his laptop case and his car keys and turned to leave his apartment. He stopped and returning to his computer room he opened a drawer and pulled out his gun. After making sure it was loaded and the safety was on, he shoved it into his pocket and was out the door.
Twenty minutes later he pulled his car into a space across from Max's building. He turned off the engine, opened his laptop, and quickly tapped into the Manticore communications frequency that had been supplied to him on his informant's computer disk. As routine transmissions began to fill the silence in his car, he settled back to wait out the remaining hours of the night.
End of Chapter 4
