Smoke & Mirrors by Star24
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.
______________________________________________________________
Chapter Nine
Fogle Towers
Max sat in front of Logan's computers with a look of intense concentration on her face. She typed in commands on his keyboard, and then waited impatiently for files to open up for her. So far the only thing she had found was his personal financial records. She let out a soft whistle as a file that listed detailed offshore account balances opened in front of her eyes.
"Damn. He really is loaded. Wonder how I did actually meet him?" she muttered to herself, sitting back for a minute, her brow wrinkled in thought as she searches for the memory.
The two of them are standing in the dining room of the apartment.
Logan sends her a look, "I haven't been able to get you off my mind."
"You need to get out more," she responds, not falling for his practiced charm.
He just smiles, "Come here. I want to show you something."
He walks over to an ornate mirror that is hanging on one of the walls and Max follows him. She stands in front of it, and Logan is standing close behind her, almost touching her.
Max looks at the mirror and then at the two of them, reflected in it, "American, neoclassic, gold leaf detail, late 1800s. I could probably fence it for two or three grand."
Logan reaches around and touches her chin, "No, I meant this. Probably the most singularly beautiful face I've ever seen."
She leans back towards him playing the game, "Expensive gifts, surprise late-night visits, over-the-top flattery...Do you always come on this strong?"
His voice is husky as he replies softly, "Only when I meet someone I have to know everything about…"
The computer beeped softly and Max came back to where she was. There was a look of speculation on her face and she glanced around the apartment, looking for the mirror of her vision. Not seeing it, she shrugged and went back to working on the computer.
An hour later she sat back in frustration. Despite her best
efforts, she hadn't managed to bring up any of the Eyes Only files that she
knew had to be somewhere on the computers in front of her.
"Gotta hand it to him, he's good. Guess it's on to Plan B."
She touched the comm unit in her ear, activating it, and then spoke. "Subject's computers are inaccessible. It's time to activate the contingency plan." She nodded in satisfaction at the response, then pulled the comm out of her ear and shoved it in her pocket. After making sure the computers were exactly as they had been when she had arrived, she got up from the desk chair and began to wander around the apartment.
As she walked, she paused occasionally to run her fingers gently over various objects, studying them with interest.
"You wouldn't be trying to rob the place again would you, Max?"
Max turned at the sound of Logan's voice, mentally berating herself for letting him return without her noticing his entrance.
Logan stood there smiling at her, but there was something in his eyes that gave her pause.
"Last time I tried that, I seem to remember taking a dive out of a window," she quipped. The words came easily and she wondered where that memory came from.
"You remember that?" Logan studied her intensely.
"Yeah…I guess I do." Max looked at him. "Shouldn't I?"
"What else do you remember about us, Max?"
"We're…friends… aren't we?" Her look was one of honest confusion.
"You tell me what we are, Max."
Logan had moved closer and they were separated only by inches. Max stared up at him, caught by the intensity of his look. Something seemed to snap in Logan, and his hands went out to her, pulling her face to his. He kissed her, devouring her mouth like a starving man. Max didn't resist and her hands went up to his face as she returned the kiss.
When they broke apart they just stared at each other. Max opened her mouth to say something, but just then the phone began to shrill insistently.
Logan hesitated, but as the phone continued to ring he turned and strode into his office.
"Hello." He glanced out to see where Max was, but she had wandered over to the windows and was staring out of them. The set of her back was rigid and her hands were clenched at her sides.
Logan dropped into his desk chair and grabbed a pad and pen, and began to scribble rapidly. "When? Who? Got it. That's only four hours from now. Not much time to do anything. I'll let him know but I can't make any promises. Thanks for the heads up."
He hung up the phone. "Damn," he muttered. After glancing at Max once more, he picked it up and rapidly punched in another number.
"Matt. Logan here. We have a situation, a planned hit. It's on for tonight at the Crystal Palace Hotel, the Children's Hope Foundation fundraiser. The target is Judge Jergens. What can you do?" He listened, a look of frustration running across his face. "I understand. Well, give it your best shot. Thanks."
When he hung up he ran his fingers through his hair. There was a frown on his face.
"Logan?" Max was standing next to him, looking down at him. "I couldn't help overhearing."
Logan just looked at her.
"Sounds like you could use some help?"
"Max, do you mean…?" Logan stared at her, hope dawning in his eyes.
"I used to help you with this stuff, didn't I? You and… Eyes Only."
"You remember?"
"Sort of," she answered vaguely, with a smile. "What's going down?"
"Are you really sure you want to do this?"
"I'm sure. Now tell me the plan."
End of Chapter Nine
