Reaching for the Moon by ThePekingNoodle

AN: For those who don't know, fanfiction.net was not allowing the PN to update this week. The nerve!! Many thanks to Dark Angel Reflections for letting me post on their board while fanfiction.net was down. After all, PN has a responsibility to the mental health of her readers. Hmmm, that is if PN's readers have any mental health… That's an interesting question to ponder. PN will now get back to her regularly scheduled programming.   PN

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Chapter Eighty-Six: Lights, Camera, Action

In which our hero and heroine jump into the thick of things…


Logan drew his gun and held it at the ready as he followed Max into the dark hallway. The building was without electricity, and dark had fallen outside. Fortunately the front doorways opening off of the hallway were missing doors, and an anemic light from the few dim streetlights outside filtered in. Max's night vision allowed her to see clearly, but it took Logan's eyes a few moments to adjust. When he did, he noticed a sliver of light seeping out from an intact door about ten feet in front of them. He started to tap Max on the shoulder, but she was already pointing towards the door in question. She turned to face Logan and with her hands signaled that she was going to go ahead past the door and that he should stop and take up position against the wall it was set in, but several feet before it. When they were set, flanking the door as Max had indicated, she looked at him and nodded to let him know she was going in. He nodded back and made sure the safety was off his gun.

Max stepped back and with a swift hard kick the door flew open. She quickly dropped back into position on the side of the opening and the two waited. Light spilled out into the hallway from the opening, but both Max and Logan made sure they were outside of the narrow beam.

"What the hell was that?" a voice swore from inside of the room.

"Maybe the wind?" said a second voice.

"Inside the building?" said the first.

"This place is about to fall down around our heads. Why couldn't the wind do it?" said a third.

"Jones, go check the hallway. Miller, see anything on the surveillance cams?"

"Nothing since that john picked up the hooker down at the corner. They haven't come out of the SUV yet.

He must be getting' his money's worth," a fourth voice leered.

Max held up her fingers for the number four and Logan nodded to confirm that he hadn't picked up more than four different voices so far. Just then there were footsteps, and a soldier emerged from the doorway, gun held at the ready. He glanced first in Logan's direction. Their eyes locked but before he could cry out he slumped back into Max's arms. She dragged him back away from the door and gently laid him down, being careful not to make any noise. Moving so quickly that she was a blur to him, she came to Logan's side.

"That's one. But if there are only four in there where are the other six or eight that Sebastian detected?" she whispered.

"Keeping quiet? Sleeping?" Logan suggested.

"Maybe, but we need to know how many are in there, and if there are others somewhere else. I'm going to take our friend out of sight and see if I can find any more."

Logan started to protest, but Max was already gone, tossing the unconscious soldier over her shoulder and then slipping into an open doorway to the blackness beyond. In seconds she was back out and headed down the hallway. Logan couldn't see any other signs of light further down so he stifled his nerves and impatience until she returned, shaking her head that the rest of the floor was empty.

"Now what?" he whispered to her.

"Shhh." Max put her finger to his lips and they both flattened themselves to the wall as another soldier came to the door.

He looked in the opposite direction of them as he said to someone inside the room, "Don't see him. Maybe he went out back to take a leak."

"Not according to the cameras," came the voice that had been identified as Miller earlier.

"Find him." This was a new voice. Max held up five and Logan nodded.

The second soldier had started down the hallway in the opposite direction of Max and Logan. Once again moving as a blur, Max left Logan's side. This time there was a soft grunt as she took out the second man.

"What was that? Ronson you okay out there?" A voice called from inside the room.

Max and Logan stayed silent as she dragged the body into the same room she had taken the first one into. She signaled to Logan to drop back into the room a few feet behind him and he did so.

This time two men came to the doorway and scanned both directions down the hallway. "Ronson? Jones?" one of them called. He was met by dead silence. "Man, I don't like this." He turned and spoke to someone in the room. "Dead as a morgue out here. You sure they didn't go outside?"

"Not according to my cameras, "was the answer.

"This place is givin' me the willies," said the second man as he scanned the empty hallway once again. "We need two more guys and we better do a sweep. There's someone in this building besides us." He called in.

"Think it's one of the fugitives we're waiting for?" said his companion. "They're supposed to be some kind of super soldier or something."

"Well if it is, it would make this operation less of a waste of time." Said a third man who came out of the doorway. He glanced around. "Keller and Boman, get out here and help with a building sweep. Miller, you and I and Wilson will stay at the command post. Bring the tasers. Orders are capture, not kill."

Within seconds two more men joined the first two. They conferred briefly and split into two pairs. One was heading in Logan's direction and one toward the back of the building. Logan checked his gun once again and dropped back to the wall next to the door into his room. Then he waited. He heard footsteps coming closer and tensed in anticipation but before the men could enter the room he was in there was a commotion down the hallway. He heard running footsteps. There were several cries and thuds. Then there was silence again.

He stepped to the doorway to the hallway and looked out just as two more men came out of the lighted room at a run, holding weapons at the ready. They ran straight to the room where Max had taken the first two. Logan followed them. When he reached the room and looked into it he gasped. Max was writhing on the floor as the two held tasers on her. Six unconscious bodies were scattered around the room.

"Got her," said one of the two in satisfaction.

"She can't be alone. No way that little girl took out six of our guys."

"Drop the weapons." Logan said to the two holding his gun on them. They hesitated and he took aim and carefully shot one of them in the leg. The man fell to the floor and his taser went flying. The other spun to face Logan, dropping his taser and pulling a gun as he did so. Logan didn't hesitate to fire and he fell to the floor beside his companion, with a bullet in his shoulder. Logan ran to Max and threw her over his shoulder. He heard footsteps behind him and ran to the window. Luckily there was no glass remaining. He dropped Max out of it and dove headfirst himself as he heard the sound of taser darts whistling past. When he it the ground he rolled over and grabbed Max, dragging her with him around the corner of the building.

"Max." he shook her urgently. "We've got to get out of here."

She stirred and then opened her eyes. "What…"

Logan pulled her to her feet. "There's no time. Come on." He dragged her behind him around the building.  He could hear voices behind them. When they reached the side closest to his car he stopped. It was half a block away and there was no way they were going to make it. There was no cover at all. The voices were getting closer.

Logan checked his gun and pushed Max behind him.

Suddenly there was a shout from inside the building. "They're heading west. Down the block. Got 'em on the cams."

"Thank you Sebastian." Logan breathed. "Max, come on." Max was steadier on her feet and he was able to pull her along with him to the SUV, keeping close to the shoulder high weeds in the vacant lot they were passing. After what seemed an eternity they reached the vehicle. He pulled Max around to the side shielded from the street and building, and slid open the back door, pushing her inside and following himself. He climbed into the front seat and started the engine and leaving the lights off, he silently backed the vehicle up and around the corner. Once they had made it safely, he swung it into a wide U-turn and quickly headed away from the neighborhood. Only when they had made it several blocks without any signs of pursuit, did he turn on the headlights. He glanced into the back where Max was still sitting on the floor, seemingly dazed, then headed to the center of the city.

As they reached what appeared to be Portland's equivalent of Seattle's high rise district, he looked back at Max once again. "Max, you need to lose that wig. And the hose. There should be some tissues in the seat pocket and there are water bottles in the mini-fridge. Get rid of the makeup."

"Why?" she managed as she pulled off the wig and wiggled out of the torn fishnets.

"I can't bring a streetwalker into my hotel room. It'll attract too much attention." Logan had slowed the SUV as Max worked to make herself presentable. "Here." He tossed her a comb and she ran it through her hair. He pulled the SUV over into a parking spot and turned to look her over. Without the wig, makeup and torn fishnets, Max looked more presentable.

"Well?" she demanded.

"You can pass as a high class call girl. It'll have to do."

Max frowned at him, but he ignored her as he pulled the SUV out and around the corner. He pulled up to a well-lighted hotel and a valet came around to open the door. Logan climbed out and took the ticket the boy was holding out.

"Staying overnight, Mr. Eastman?"

"Yes, thank you." Logan came around to where another valet was holding the door for Max. He held out his hand to her and she took it and climbed down with dignity befitting royalty. A doorman held open the entrance and they proceeded into the lobby of an expensive hotel.

Logan waved to the front desk clerk. "Send up late dinner for two please."

"Right away, Mr. Eastman." The clerk responded giving Max a once over. Logan frowned and when he looked up and met his eyes, the clerk flushed and quickly turned away. Another doorman held an open elevator for them and within moments they were safely inside and on their way up.

Max let out a sigh and leaned against Logan. "I take it you keep rooms here."

Logan shrugged. "It's useful to have a place under another name in the event." He dropped an arm around Max's shoulder, conscious of the slight tremors that were still running through her. When the elevator reached its destination he ushered her out and pulled out his wallet. He led her to a doorway and slipped a plastic card into the slot. When the door opened he led her into a luxurious suite. He steered Max to a plush sofa and she collapsed onto it.

Logan walked to the windows and glanced out. "We're safe here. There's nothing to connect Michael Eastman with Logan Cale. Tomorrow we can head out of Portland once I get you papers."

"That's tomorrow. What about tonight?" she asked.

"First we eat and then we have that talk." Logan said grimly.


End of Chapter Eight-Six…TBC…