Reaching for The Moon by ThePekingNoodle
Chapter Ninety: My Brother's Keeper
In which our heroes are called on for some fancy footwork in order to protect Max's siblings…
Max walked Zack over to the couch and despite his protests he collapsed onto it. A telltale bloodstain was seeping through his shirt at his left shoulder and Max started to take a look at it.
Zack waved her off. "It's nothing. There's no time to waste on me. It's our siblings who need help."
He paused and then said grudgingly as he looked at Logan. "His help."
Max and Logan stared at Zack in surprise. Logan was the first to speak. "What kind of help do they need?"
"Somehow the Colonel tracked Syl and Krit to San Francisco. The Tac Team left to pick them up about an hour ago."
""There's no time to get there before them." Logan stated the obvious. "So what, you want me to warn them somehow? Draw the Tac team off of them? What exactly are you thinking about doing?"
"I have comm frequencies I can contact them on but I'm afraid to use them with the Colonel closing in.
He's probably got the entire San Francisco area monitored and if I use the comm I risk bringing him down here. My stuff isn't all that sophisticated. I can't send a secure message to them."
"And you think I can?" Logan said.
"Logan, you have to try." Max protested thinking he was going to refuse.
Logan shot her an annoyed look. "I didn't say I wasn't going to try. But I need more information. Sending a message to their comms might not be the answer. Especially with heavy monitoring going on. What kind of code talk do you have set up?" The last was directed to Zack.
"Our own. We're not stupid enough to rely on the Manticore protocols." Zack snapped at Logan.
The atmosphere in the room was tense as the two men exchanged looks. It was clear that there was no love lost between them and that Zack was there only because he had no choice.
"Do you have the Manticore comm frequencies for the Tac Team?" Logan finally said.
"How do you think I happened to take a bullet?" Zack snapped. "I broke into one of their surveillance vans and took out the tecs in order to get them. Unfortunately a change of shifts was coming in, and they managed to wing me before I could get out. Here." His voice was cold as he held out a slip of paper to Logan.
Logan walked to him and took the paper wordlessly. He walked into his computer room and began to type commands into his system.
Max looked at Zack as he sat on the couch. The coldness in his voice and the way he had spoken of "taking
out" the tecs had sent chills down her spine. "Let me take care of that shoulder. Logan's going to be busy for a few minutes." She reached down to Zack and he pulled back from her.
"I said I was fine. It's a flesh wound that's all. I'm a soldier, Max. I don't need coddling."
Max shrugged. "Have it your way. Far be it from me to infringe on your macho code. We wouldn't want to risk bringing you down to the level of an ordinary human being, would we?" With those last words she turned her back on him and walked away to join Logan, who was now speaking to Sebastian over a headset. Zack stared after her, open mouthed at her obvious anger.
"What's happening, Logan?" Max asked him.
He looked at her briefly. "I've managed to hack into the Manticore team's communications. They haven't arrived in San Francisco yet."
"Can you warn Syl and Krit on their comms?"
"Doubtful. They're jamming the comm frequencies they use."
"So what can you do?" Max said her fear for her siblings evident in her voice and eyes.
"I'm going to try to draw the Tac Team off. With Sebastian's help. At the same time, I've sent a message on a landline to an operative in San Francisco. He's going to try to get a warning to them by more low tech methods."
"When will we know if you're successful?" she asked,
"If I'm not they'll have them surrounded in the next couple of hours. So right now it's a waiting game."
He glanced into the other room. "How's he doing?" he asked sotto voce.
Max shrugged. "He could be bleeding to death for all I know or care."
Logan was surprised by the anger in her tone but decided to let it go. Max's dealings with her difficult sibling were not something he wanted to be involved in. "Do you remember the two who we're trying to help?" he asked instead.
Max smiled, "Yeah. I do." She was quiet for a moment. "I wish I could see them once this is all over and they're safe." Her voice was wistful.
"Maybe you can." Logan said under his breath. His computer beeped softly and he turned back to it. "I need to work with Sebastian. You can watch if you want to." He was quickly involved in his task. Max watched the screens for a moment, but decided there was really no good she could do. Instead she wandered out to the kitchen and idly looked through the refrigerator. She pulled out an apple and was about to close the refrigerator when she became aware of a presence behind her.
"Becoming domestic, Maxie?" Zack said and she stiffened at the sarcasm in his words and tone.
"I'm hungry." She said shortly, keeping her back to him.
He laughed. "Next time I come by, he'll have you barefoot and pregnant and stirring the soup while he fools around with his computers. Never thought I'd see one of us as an accessory to a spoiled rich bastard."
"You'd rather see us all constantly on the run? As fugitives for the rest of our lives?" Max flung back at him. "Why did you come here if you hate him so much?"
"I don't hate him. He has his uses. I just hate what he's done to you." Zack retorted.
"He hasn't done anything to me except care about me and protect me and now he's trying to protect my family. I know you don't want to hear it, but I'm happy with Logan, Zack. So if you'll excuse me." She slammed the refrigerator closed and stalked from the room into the master bedroom, leaving Zack to his own devices.
When she emerged an hour later Logan was just closing down his computers. Zack was nowhere to be seen.
"It worked." Logan said to her with a smile.
"They're safe?"
"Safe and well on their way out of San Francisco." He assured her. "Sebastian was able to set up a decoy sighting on the opposite side of town to draw off the Tac Team and my guy got a message to them to get out of Dodge. It's going to look like they got the word and the team just barely missed them at the location Sebastian sent them to."
He rose from his chair and Max caught him in a hug. "Thank you, Logan."
His arms came around her. "I did it for you," he said softly.
"Now isn't this sweet?" Zack sneered as he emerged from the guest bedroom. He had cleaned up and he looked much improved from earlier. "Where are they heading?" He had obviously heard what Logan had said about Syl and Krit.
"North from San Francisco." Logan said briefly. "We sent the Tac Team south."
Zack nodded. He hesitated then said, "Thanks."
Max glared at him still annoyed at his earlier attitude.
Zack ignored her. "I'm going to see if I can hook up with them and get them to a new safe location.
See you around, Maxie. And think about what I said." Without waiting for a reply he walked out the door of the penthouse.
"Max?" Logan looked down at her, aware of her anger.
"Forget it, Logan. He's got a stick up his butt, but it's not my problem."
Logan shrugged. "We do have another slight problem though, Max."
She looked at him.
"Remember how the Colonel wanted us to come to dinner? Well he's renewed his invitation. To both of us.
And I don't think we can afford to say no right now. Not without arousing his suspicions. Especially after today." His tone was grim. "This is why I wanted you away from me."
"Too late for that now, Logan. When's the dinner party?" Max answered.
"Tonight."
End of Chapter Ninety…TBC…
