Reaching for The Moon by The Peking Noodle
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Chapter Seventy Five: Family Reunion
In which our heroine's family reunion doesn't go quite as planned…
The young man stood staring at Max for a moment, and then he suddenly leaped into action, launching himself at her with inhuman speed.
Logan stood there helplessly, as the two became a jumbled tangle of bodies and limbs. Kicks and punches, blocks and counter-blocks were flying in every direction. The only sounds were the occasional grunts from one or both of them, and the thuds as one or the other collided with walls and furniture.
It was over as suddenly as it had begun. Max managed to grab one of Zack's legs and yank it from under him as he aimed a kick at her. He ended sprawled on the floor with her holding him down.
"Logan. Here. Quickly." She called breathlessly.
Logan hastened to her side holding the gun on Zack. Max slowly stood, taking care to place herself so that Zack couldn't get past her to Logan.
"So now what? You take me back to Manticore?" Zack spat out as he lay on the floor looking up at them.
"Why would I do that?" Max asked him.
"Come on. I can see you're an X5, one of the ones who didn't make it out, and this must be your handler."
"Zack, don't you know me at all?" Max asked him. "I'm Max."
Zack stared at her. "Let me see your bar code."
Max turned and lifted the hair from the back of her neck. Zack gazed up at her and a look of surprise washed across his face. "You are Max. I thought you didn't make it. How…"
Logan interjected at that point. "I don't think this is the best place for long explanations. If I could find you so can others, and I don't think we want to stick around for that." He lowered the gun and gestured for Zack to get up.
"Who are you?" Zack demanded a new look of suspicion on his face.
"He's my husband and a friend." Max interjected quickly.
"Your husband?" Zack looked at her incredulously.
"We really do need to get out of here. Zack, you can come with us or not, but I'm not staying here with Max any longer. It isn't safe." Logan took Max's arm and began to pull her with him. She pulled away and glared up at him.
"We can't leave him here."
"We can't stick around either. Seb's been blowing up my pager for the last five minutes. We need to get out and get out now."
Max turned and glared at Zack. "You can come with us, or stay here and have a family reunion with some others you probably don't want to meet. I'm going with Logan."
Logan and Max turned and headed to the door. When they got there, Max put a hand on Logan's arm. "Wait."
Zack was next to her and the two exchanged glances. "I don't know who it is but we're about to have company," he said. " We need to get to the roof." He was out the door leading the way to the stairs, Max and Logan hard on his heels. The three raced up the stairs. As they reached the top Logan heard faint sounds below, voices calling out orders.
Zack was fumbling with the heavy door that led to the roof. Within seconds he had the door open and they were outside. He slammed the door behind them and grabbed a rusted pipe lying on the roof to wedge it closed. "That'll only hold for a few. We need to get out of here."
Max was already at the edge looking over to the next building, one that faced on the opposite block. "We can jump it here," she called out.
"Um, Max. Are you forgetting something?" Logan asked. He was at her side looking at the gap between buildings. Max looked at him in alarm. There was no way he could make the jump.
Before she could respond, Zack had taken a running start and was across to the other building. He pulled something from a pack he had on his back and the next thing Logan knew a rope came flying across the gap. Max grabbed an end and quickly attached it to a sturdy protrusion on their roof. Zack was doing the same on his end. Logan watched in amazement as the two worked in tandem, each seeming to know exactly what the other wanted to do. Then he noticed the subtle hand signals they were exchanging.
"Okay, Logan you have to trust me now." Max turned to him. Put your arms around my neck and hold on. Don't look down."
Logan hesitated but then there was the sound of a muffled knock against the door Zack had wedged shut.
"Now, Logan."
He wrapped his arms around her neck and held on for life. Max grabbed the rope and stepped off the rooftop. Logan closed his eyes as they dangled six stories above the ground. They swung gently as Max made her way, hand over hand, across the rope. Within minutes, Logan felt Zack's strong grip on his hands as he pulled them both up onto the opposite roof.
Max ran over and released their side of the rope and then threw it across so the entire rope was laying on the other rooftop. There was no indication that it had served as a bridge across.
"Move." Zack stood at an open doorway leading into the building. Max and Logan piled in after him, pulling the door closed behind them. The three headed down the stairs, with
Zack and Max stopping periodically to listen for signs of anyone else in the building. The building was clear and in minutes they had emerged onto the street.
"Now what? Our transportation is back there." Max asked.
Logan smiled. "That I can take care of. Give me your keys." He signaled to a young male who was leaning against a street light pole and when the boy came over Logan spoke to him for a moment. The keys changed hands and Logan came back to them smiling.
"We'll have your bike in just a few. But three of us can't ride it."
Zack shrugged his shoulders. "Give me your location. I'll be there."
Max started to protest but Zack looked at her. "If you don't, I'm outta here anyway. So if you want to talk, tell me where we rendezvous. Or not. It's up to you."
Logan intervened. "Fogle Towers, in the high-rise district. Penthouse A."
Before they could say anymore, the boy Logan had sent after the Ninja roared around the corner on it and pulled up next to them. Logan turned to deal with him while Max looked to be sure there was no pursuit. When they both looked around, Zack had disappeared.
"Do you think he'll show up, Logan?"
Logan shrugged. "Maybe. But we better get out of here ourselves."
Max climbed onto the bike with Logan behind her and the two headed away from the area.
End of Chapter Seventy-Five…TBC…
