Reaching for The Moon by ThePekingNoodle
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Chapter Ninety-Four: My Hero
In which our hero arrives in the nick of time…and our heroine does all right for herself
Logan tensed at the sound of a woman's scream, His first impulse was to rush towards its source, but he forced himself to move slowly. If it were Max, no good would be done if he got himself captured or killed by being careless. Every nerve screamed at him as he made his way towards the light and the scream. There had been only that one and now all was eerily silent in the dark warehouse.
After a few moments, he reached a short hallway that bent off to the left. He eased around the turn and saw the source of the light. A door was open approximately 30 feet in front of him and light streamed out of it. A little past it, on the opposite side of the hall, there was another open door, but that room appeared to be black.
He held his gun at the ready as he moved down the hallway toward the lighted door, hugging the wall as he did so. Finally he reached a point where he could peer into the room. He waited and listened but there were no sounds so he cautiously ducked his head around the doorway. At first glance the room appeared to be empty, but as his gaze swept it he spotted a pair of legs extending out from behind a decrepit desk. After one last glance behind him to be sure he was still alone, he swiftly crossed the room. The legs belonged to a burly man dressed in what looked like SWAT team type garments. He was very dead. A neat hole had been blown through the center of his forehead. Logan leaned in to check his pulse, but it only confirmed that the man was indeed dead.
Logan looked around the room but there were no signs of a robbery, which had been his first thought when he saw the body. The other possibility was a drug deal gone bad. The woman screaming might have been a girlfriend or companion of the dead man. It would certainly be a natural reaction to witnessing a murder. He doubted that Max would be found in this place, but he figured he needed to finish checking it out. Leaving the body where it lay, he headed out to check the room across the hall, keeping his gun at the ready just in case the shooter was still around.
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Max concentrated hard on overcoming the effects of the drug she had been given. Her brain was functioning better, but her body was still sluggish and weak. Her captors had been gone for a while and she didn't think she had much time left before the second one returned. She had little hope that he wouldn't. The look in his eyes had been one of determination and lust. For a second she wondered where the Colonel had found him. The first man was military in his attitude and actions, but the second one seemed more like a street thug.
She was still struggling to force her limbs to obey her brain when there was the sound of a single gunshot. For a moment she froze but as she heard approaching footsteps she concentrated harder.
There was the sound of a key being turned and the door to her prison swung open. The second man stood silhouetted in the light spilling from the room across the hallway. He held a gun loosely in one hand.
"It's just you and me now, sweetheart," he crooned, crossing the room to stand over her. Max didn't try to pretend she was still unconscious this time. "So you're starting to wake up? Good. I like my women aware. Adds some spice if you know what I mean." He let the gun drop to the floor as he leaned over her.
"What do you want?" Max played the frightened victim. "Is it money? My husband will pay you whatever you want if you bring me back safely. He's very rich."
The man laughed. "Oh no doubt he will. But first, you and me are gonna have some fun."
Max shivered for his benefit. "Please don't hurt me."
"I ain't gonna hurt you, baby. Not unless you fight me. Just relax and we'll have a good time together. Before Max realized what he was planning on, he reached down and ripped the front of her dress open, then quickly straightened, leering down at her.
"Please…don't…" she protested pitiably, still playing her role. She needed him to get closer if what she planned was going to have a chance of working. She moved suggestively to encourage him on.
His eyes gleamed and he dropped down on the cot on top of her. His heavy weight crushed her into the thin mattress and his stale breath made her wrinkle her nose. Max tensed. It was almost time. She had one chance and she couldn't afford to let it pass. He lifted his head and pressed an open-mouthed kiss on her. Max forced herself to lie there passively even as his hands began to roam down her sides. Then he did what she had been waiting for. He turned his head to bite her neck and his ear came within inches of her mouth. She screamed as loudly as she could, directly into his ear. At the same time she concentrated all of her strength and managed to bring her knee up into his crotch. The combination of her ear splitting scream and the blow had him rolling off of her onto the floor, moaning in pain.
Max was working on pure adrenaline as she managed to roll off of the cot and grab the gun he had dropped. With one last effort she brought it up and hit him hard on the back of his head. He stopped moaning and slumped unconscious.
She tried to get to her feet but the drugs were still working on her body. All she was able to do was to drag herself across the room. Her head was spinning and she felt like she was about to black out again. Gritting her teeth she managed to get to the doorway, but as she started to crawl out into the hallway, blackness came up in a wave and she slipped back into unconsciousness.
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Logan almost tripped over Max as he started into the dark storeroom. With a muttered exclamation he bent down over her still form. He felt for a pulse and was felt a rush of relief when he found it. She stirred and mumbled as he lifted her into his arms.
"Logan?" she said, opening an eye.
"It's okay, I've got you. What did they do to you? Are you injured?" Even as he spoke he was striding rapidly to the exit from the warehouse.
"They sprayed me with a drug. I think one of them said it was a stronger version of roofies." Max muttered.
"I found one of them dead in the office. What happened to the other one?"
"Screamed in his ear, kicked him in the balls, and hit him over the head with his gun." Max managed a weak smile.
Logan grinned in spite of the seriousness of the situation. "All that, while you were doped up. Lucky for him you weren't your normal self."
"Girls kick ass you know." Max's words were soft as she fought the drug's lingering effects. Now that Logan was there she felt an urge to just give in and slip into the sleep that beckoned so invitingly.
They had reached the front door of the warehouse and Logan glanced out. The street was empty. Wasting no time, he almost ran to where he had left his vehicle. When he got there he settled Max in the passenger seat. Within moments they were on their way away from the warehouse. Instead of heading for the Sector checkpoint though he went deeper into the warehouse district, towards the docks.
"Sebastian I need transport from the dock area. I have Max but I don't want to risk going through the sector checkpoint again." He spoke into his throat mike.
"Head for Pier 66. I'll send some friends to pick you up."
"Thanks, Seb. Give us about ten minutes."
"Hurry, Logan. I think company is on its way."
"I hear you."
Max was quiet in the passenger seat, asleep or unconscious he didn't know. They passed under a streetlight and he gasped when he saw her dress gaping open in the front. Rage surged through him as he wished he could go back and deal with Max's assailant. Just as he reached the dock area he heard the sound of a helicopter. He killed the vehicle's lights and pulled to the side under the overhanging canopy of an old warehouse building. Moments later a military helicopter passed overhead, heading in the direction they had just come from.
"Sebastian are you there?" Logan whispered into his throat mike.
"I'm with you."
"Is the boat nearby?"
"They're at the dock in front of you."
Logan climbed out of his car and went around to the passenger side. "Max?"
"Ummm." she muttered.
With a smile he reached in and scooped her into his arms once more. He carried her out to the dock. Halfway down it he heard a voice whisper, "Here."
He looked down and saw a small powerboat containing two men tied to one of the pier's pillars.
"Hand her down." The man reached up and took Max from Logan. Once she was safely in the boat, Logan jumped down into it himself.
The second man turned to him and held out a hand. "Give me your car keys. Our friend asked me to take care of it."
"Right." Logan reached into his pocket and handed the man the keys. Without another word the man reached up and pulled himself onto the pier.
"Get out of here," he said before he vanished into the night.
Logan settled down on the bench seat that the man had placed Max on. He lifter her so that her head was resting in his lap, and then he sat there gently stroking her hair. The second man started the engine and the boat pulled away from the pier.
End of Chapter Ninety-Four…TBC…
