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Sketchy slumped down into a seat beside Original Cindy. "I've been thinking, maybe I'm not meant to be anything better than a Jam Pony bike messenger." Original Cindy rolled her eyes. "Your first problem was when you started thinking. We are all meant for bigger and better things then this place. You just try and make the big bucks in the wrong business'." She nudged her friend. "Remember when Max and I had to win all that money to pay off those gangsters you were working for?" Sketchy grinned. "Yeah. It's just I thought working for the paper would get me noticed in a good way. Instead it's just even bigger news that I'm a failure." Herbal patted his friends shoulder. "You're not a failure man. You just haven't found the profession you are destined for. The all high has big plans for you." "Yeah? Well I wish he'd let me in on them." Sketchy went back to slumping in his eat. "Has anyone heard from Max?" Original Cindy nodded. "She called me last night. She and Logan are trying to work out how they can stay together. It's not going to be easy with Logan unable to stay inside Terminal City for long and our girl targeted every time she sets foot outside Terminal City." "I hear ya my sister." Herbal nodded in sympathy. "There has to be a way around it. What about that guy White? Is he still out there?" "Last I heard Joshua broke that freak's back." Original Cindy shrugged her shoulders. "I figure he'll be out of action for a little while at least." "Did I hear you talking about our Transgenic friends?" Nobody was more surprised about Normal's change of heart towards the Transgenics, than Normal himself. "How is my old buddy Alec?" "He's fine. Why you asking?" Original Cindy looked up at Normal from where she was sitting. "Just interested." Normal pulled up a chair. "Now how about we organize a romantic dinner for Max and Logan? We humans can stay in Terminal City or an hour or so, right?" "Yeah." Sketchy eyed Normal suspiciously. "But why would you go out of your way to help Max make a love connection?" This wasn't Normal's usual attitude towards his employees, former or present. Herbal grinned. "The man wants to visit Alec. He knows there's no way he's going to be allowed to just walk into Terminal City." Normal pretended to be offended by Herbal's comment. "What? I can't just do something nice for Max?" He took a step back when the threesome issued a joint "NO!" at him. "Fine. You want to do this for Max and Logan, or not?" Original Cindy rolled her eyes. "Let's hear your plan then we'll tell you if we're in or not." Normal shrugged his shoulders. "Fair enough. First we're going to have to get hold of Alec." He paused for a moment when everyone groaned. "Well we need someone to get us inside. Not to mention, we need someone other than Max to get Logan over to Terminal City." Original Cindy stopped Normal. "I gotta warn you Normal, my Boo don't like surprises." Sketchy chuckled. "Not even if they come in the shape of Logan? Even you have to admit O.C, Normal's idea is starting to sound promising." "Alright Normal." Original Cindy let her boss continue. "Let's hear the rest of this plan. Just don't blame me if Max drop kicks your sorry ass across the room." Alec slumped down beside Max who was feeling sorry for herself. "So, I was thinking about calling Jondy to see how she's doing. Got any messages?" Max shook her head. "Nah. I spoke to her yesterday. She's sure everything is going to turn out fine and me and Logan will do the happily ever after thing." Alec put his arm around Max's shoulder. "She's never been wrong before." He handed her his cell phone. "Why don't you give Logan a call. See what he's up to." Max managed a small smile and took the cell phone. "Thanks. I'll be back in a few minutes." She headed for another part of Terminal City so that she could get some privacy. She had never been more aware then she was now, of how different she and Logan were. Max dialed Logan's cell and waited for him to pick up the phone. She smiled at the sound of his voice, yet saddened by how much she missed him. "Hey you. Whatcha up to?" Logan grinned to himself at the sound of Max's voice. "You know, the usual. Hacking into files, reading Sandeman's books, trying to keep busy so I won't miss you so much." "Is it working?" Max leaned against the wall. She could almost, if she closed her eyes, see him standing in the living room of Sandeman's house talking to her. "The keeping busy thing, I mean." "Not really." Logan wished he could at least reach out and hold her hand. In some ways, this was worse than the love bug virus. "It works until I try to get some sleep. Every time I close my eyes, you're there waiting for me." "I miss you too." Max finally got brave enough to say the words. "Gotta say though, you've just given me a reason to try and sleep." She teased him. "So what do I do when you close your eyes and see me?" Logan chuckled. "Well, let's just say you are very creative." He could almost envision Max blushing. "Not to mention very flexible." "You're making that up." Max could feel her face go bright red. "Well, I'll tell you what." Logan was already running the layout of Terminal City through his head. "If you can find us somewhere that we can be alone, we can find out exactly how good my imagination really is." Max giggled. "That sounds as though it could take some time. I'd have to find somewhere that you wouldn't get sick if you stayed for too long." "I'll let you know if I can think of anywhere myself." Logan heard someone walking up the front steps to the porch. "I've gotta go. Somebody's at the door. I love you." "I love you too." Max hung up the cell phone and stared at it in her hand for a moment. There had to be somewhere in Terminal City that wouldn't be too toxic for Logan. Thinking to herself, Max headed back to Alec and gave him his cell phone back. Alec dialed Jondy's number but stayed watching Max. "You and Logan didn't have a fight did you?" He was confused when Max shook her head. He would never understand Max and Logan's relationship. If they hadn't had a fight, why did Max still look so down. At that moment Jondy answered her phone. "Hey Jondy. How's everything going?" Alec beamed at the sound of Jondy's voice. "Yeah, we're all fine. Nice and cozy in a toxic dump." He chatted to his favorite redhead for a few moments before handing Joshua the phone so that he could speak to Jondy as well. Sitting down beside Max, Alec started to wonder how Max and Logan had stayed together this long. "So if the reason for that depressed look on your face, isn't because you and Logan had a fight, what's the problem?" Max shrugged her shoulders. "I just miss him, that's all. I was kinda getting used to getting breakfast in bed on Sundays. It's sorta nice cuddling up to Logan at night, even though I don't need much sleep. I was even getting good at the whole relationship thing." Alec gave her a one armed hug. "I'm sure things are going to get better." He heard his name being called. "Cheer up. Joshua is starting to worry about you." He walked over to Joshua to fetch his phone. "It's Normal." Joshua whispered. "He wants to do something nice for Max and Logan. Maybe it will cheer little fella up." Alec put the phone to his ear. "Hey Normal. What's the plan?" As Normal relayed his plan over the phone, Alec had to admit he was impressed. His former boss had thought of everything. "Sounds good. We need a couple of extra things as well. Mind dropping them off as well when you arrive?" Logan tried to focus on his latest 'Eyes Only' case, but it was no use. He couldn't believe how much he missed Max. Even sleeping was becoming difficult. He had become so used to falling asleep with Max in his arms that he had trouble sleeping without her warm body curled up against his. When he finally did fall asleep, his dreams were filled with Max and he found himself waking disappointed that the real Max wasn't there. Things had always been complicated between he and Max, but finding out White was Sandeman's son hadn't helped. Logan had contacted the old man to let him know where CJ was and that White had changed his last name to stop his own father. Sandeman had been devastated by his older sons actions, especially the obsession White had with Jondy. The only thing that had calmed the old man was Logan's promise to try and get CJ back to his father. But it would take time and with Max in danger if she left Terminal City, it made the mission that much more difficult. A knock at the door dragged Logan from his thoughts. "Not more people preaching against Transgenics." He muttered to himself. He was surprised to find Original Cindy standing outside. "Hi. Anything wrong?" "No Boo. Just gonna need you to come with me." Original Cindy grabbed Logan's hand and dragged him down the steps to a waiting car. "Whose car?" Logan climbed into the passenger seat, completely bewildered . So much so that he didn't see Original Cindy signal some one by the side of the road. "Normal's." Original Cindy started the car and headed towards Terminal City. "Don't even think about asking me any more questions, cause it's a surprise. A damn good surprise." Logan knew Max's friend well enough to trust her. He relaxed as Original Cindy drove through the streets. He realized a few minutes later that they were heading to Terminal City. He was going to get to see Max. Even a few minutes alone with her was better than constantly being distanced from her. Back at Sandeman's house, Alec directed an group of X5's and X6's to start unloading the removal van. "Come on people. We don't want to be out here for too long." He stood aside as Logan's king sized bed from his apartment at Foggle Towers was carried into the house. "Bedroom's in the back." Several other items that hadn't been destroyed in Logan's apartment had been discreetly removed and brought to the house. Although Alec would never admit it out loud, he felt he owed Max and Logan a lot. They had been there for him when he hadn't given them any good reason to stick around. He kept an eye out for any trouble on the street and then locked the house up once everything had been moved in. "OK folks. Let's go see if Normal's plan worked." Max was surprised to see Sketchy inside Terminal City. "Hey Sketch." She gave her friend a hug. "Normal's gonna bust your ass if he finds out you're here visiting me instead of working." "Nah, Normal knows I'm here." Sketchy gave her a lop sided grin. "It was his idea." Max frowned. "What was his idea?" She was beginning to get worried. "What's going on?" She didn't need anymore trouble than she already had. "This." Sketchy opened the door to what used to be a lab. "Believe it or not, this was Normal's idea." Sketchy still couldn't believe the extent of Normal's kindness himself. Max's jaw dropped as she looked into the lab. Normal had spent most of the afternoon scrubbing the room clean. Alec had actually managed to get hold of a suit used for cleaning up chemical spills and an oxygen mask so that Normal would be able to work inside Terminal City for a long period of time. One of the work benches had been covered with a red and white table cloth and two scented candles were burning in the center. The work bench had been set up for two people and a small vase of flowers sat between the two candles. The whole room was bathed in a warm glow. It was the most romantic scene Max had seen in a long time. Max recovered from the surprise quickly. "Normal did this? Why?" Sketchy shrugged his shoulders. "Don't know. I guess he feels bad for the way he's treated you in the past." He turned and walked back out the door. "Enjoy." A few minutes later Logan was shoved through the door and left standing in the candlelit room with a completely confused Max. "Well, this is nice, but do you have any idea what's going on?" Logan took a step closer to Max. He smiled to himself. Max shrugged her shoulders. "Sketch said something about this all being Normal's idea. I guess Alec must have found a way to get him in here." She noticed Logan's smile. "What are you grinning at?" Logan's smile widened as he took another step closer. "I was just thinking how you are so much more beautiful in real life than you are in my dreams." Max blushed. "So are you." She took a step closer to Logan so that they were now only a breath away from each other. "I don't think you've said hello properly to me yet." "I'd better fix that then." Logan bent down slightly and brushed Max's lips with his. "Hi." Max wrapped her arms around Logan's neck and pulled him closer. "Hi yourself." She deepened their kiss and showed Logan how much she had missed him. When they finally pulled back due to lack of oxygen, Max noticed the smell of food was in the air. On the tablecloth sat two plates heaped with food. Normal was standing beside the set up bench with a bottle of wine in his hand. "I thought you two might enjoy having dinner together." He looked a little nervous as he poured the wine. "Enjoy the meal." He left the bottle of wine on the bench and left the way he had come in. Max looked up at Logan. "I don't know if I like Normal being nice to us. It doesn't seem natural." Logan wrapped his arms around Max's waist. "Maybe he feels bad about how he treated you before. It would be a shame to waste this food." He pulled a stool out for Max to sit on. "Shall we?" Max smiled up at him. "May as well." Max ate silently for a few minutes just enjoying being in the same room as Logan. "So any news on White? I'd sort of like a heads up on when to expect his next attempt to get us out of the way." Logan shrugged his shoulders. "He was in the hospital for a couple of weeks. Joshua did a pretty good job on him. He disappeared after leaving the hospital. I can't find any trace of him. Gotta think his familiar pals aren't that happy with him either. After all, he's had plenty of opportunities to catch you and he keeps failing." Max raised an eyebrow. "When did I stop being a problem and become an opportunity?" "Probably around the same time White got a crush on your sister." Logan replied. "You know, this meal is great." He knew that he didn't have much time to spend with Max and he didn't want to waste it talking about White. Max nodded in agreement. "It's not bad. Not as good as your cooking but not bad." Max was starting to feel guilty about being spoilt. "You know the others are probably going to resent me getting special treatment." Normal reappeared as Max spoke. "That's probably why Alec asked me to bring some extra supplies. I don't quite understand why he wanted cigars." Logan chuckled. "I do. What do we owe you Normal?" He realized Alec had thought in advance which of the Transgenics would complain first and had organized the cigars for him. Normal shook his head. "Nothing. Alec took care of the extras and I wanted to do this to sort of say I was sorry. I made a rash judgment without knowing all of the facts." Max couldn't believe how touched she was by Normal's little speech. "Thanks. Have you seen how much the baby girl you helped deliver has grown?" Normal's face lit up. "Yeah. She's going to be a real stunner when she grows up. Her mother let me hold her." He quickly placed the dessert on the table and left. Max chuckled. "I never thought I'd see the day when Normal went soft. I guess hell must have frozen over." Logan couldn't stop staring at Max. Despite everything she had gone through in her life, she still looked so sweet and innocent. "Yeah, well I guess finding out that half your staff is transgenic doesn't happen everyday. Once he got over the shock, Normal probably remembered how you saved his life when you were supposed to be enjoying yourself at my cousin's wedding." "Maybe." Max's face shone as she remembered that night. "Considering you spent most of the night talking to your ex, I doubt I would have enjoyed myself much even if I hadn't been tracking down a stolen painting." Logan shot her a sheepish look. "I don't think I ever apologized for that. I'm really sorry. In my defense, I wasn't totally ignoring you. I did notice you were the most beautiful woman there." Max giggled. "That has to be the most sorry excuse for an apology that I have ever heard. Lucky for you, I am in a very forgiving mood." She got up from her seat and moved around the workbench to stand in front of Logan. "Besides, I'm sure you'll make it up to me." Logan's arms snaked around her waist pulling her close. "I can but try." He whispered in her ear before nibbling his way down her neck. Original Cindy stood between Sketchy and Normal watching the monitor before them. "What is that man's problem? You would have thought he'd lay off after Joshua almost broke his back for him. The man needs to lighten up and get laid." She saw Alec turn pale at her last comment. "Oh yeah, right." Sketchy frowned, confused. "Yeah, right, what? What did we miss?" He glanced over at Alec, who was looking decidingly uncomfortable. Normal also noticed Alec's expression. "This guy White has a thing for Max, doesn't he?" He had always thought that Max and Alec bickered too much for there to be nothing going on between them. Alec shook his head, his gaze still on the monitor. "Not Max. He's has a thing for her sister, Jondy. She sort of has that affect on most men." "Which one's Jondy?" Sketchy whispered to Original Cindy, who promptly punched him in the arm. "You know her as Jessica." Original Cindy had noticed that Alec hadn't been chasing anything in a skirt as he usually did, for quite a while. "How long have you had feelings for her, Boo?" Alec was shocked by Cindy's question. He thought he had been covering his feelings well. "Can we discuss this some other time? It looks as though White is trying to get back into his breeding cult buddies good books." "You want me to go and get Max and Logan?" Normal made a move to leave. "I don't think you want to disturb them." Joshua pointed to his ear. "Max and Logan getting busy." He grinned at Original Cindy. "Well, then we'll leave them to it." Original Cindy patted the dog man's hand. "You stop listening in doggie dog." She turned to Alec. "What do you need us to do?" Alec reached into a drawer and pulled out a set of coms. "You guys stay here and keep an eye on the monitors. We need to know what White's doing, every move he makes." He plugged a set of coms into his ear and handed Original Cindy, Sketchy and Normal a set of coms each. "Mole! We have a visitor. Want to be part of the welcoming committee?" The cigar smoking Transgenic appeared in the doorway, shouldering a rifle. "Sure. Why not. I'm in a hospitable mood. Who's the visitor?" "White." Alec stormed towards the door. Herbal walked into the room as Alec and Mole walked out. "What's wrong?" Original Cindy pointed to the monitor. "That's wrong. What sort of moron breaks into a transgenic community wearing a suit and tie and expects not to get sprung." "One who thinks he can win a losing battle." Joshua suggested before he walked out the door. "So Alec has the hots for Max's sister." Sketchy muttered. Original Cindy smacked him across the back of the head. "Shut up Fool." Ames White crept through the darkening city. All he had to do was find Terminal City's water supply and he could wipe most of the world's Transgenic community out. The human's would be thanking him for saving their pitiful lives and then he could finish preparing for the coming. Of course he would keep X5 452 long enough to tell him where his son was and where X5 210 could be found. Ames was so busy patting himself on the back that he didn't notice he was being watched. He opened the vial he had been carrying in his pocket and emptied it into the water tower that he had climbed up. The transgenics wouldn't know what had hit them. Word would be leaked out that the transgenics were diseased and before long, humans would be standing in line to exterminate the vermin. Alec signaled Joshua to cut off the water supply. Once the water had been cut off, he positioned himself to get an accurate shot. Nudging Mole, he pointed to where he intended White to fall. Aiming carefully, knowing he only had one shot at this, Alec fired his weapon. White fell straight to the ground. As he moved to stand up, he found a rifle aimed at his head. Before he could even attempt to escape, Mole slapped a set of handcuffs on him. "What do you want to do with him now? You know there's some transgenics in the northern sector that are part piranha." "I called Clemente to pick him up." Max appeared from the shadows. "Logan is leaking the story of how White just tried to contaminate Seattle's water supply to the news van outside the fence." "They'll never believe you." White snarled. "As far as everyone outside that fence knows, you can't even get water and electricity in here." Max grinned. "Well, that's progress for you. With the help of a generator, there is actually footage of you doing your evil deeds." She crossed her arms over her chest. "Gotta figure when the conclave see the footage on the six o'clock news, they'll probably revoke your cult membership. Good luck surviving without your moron cult buddies." Mole shoved White ahead of him. "You know, for a supposedly superior race, you're really stupid." He gave White another shove. "Come on, there's a nice little paddy wagon waiting for you." Alec and a few others followed Mole incase White tried to escape. Joshua stayed with Max. "You knew White was here little fella?" Max nodded. "Yeah big fella. White sure knows how to ruin a romantic moment. My cat sense sure kicks in at the wrong moments." Joshua gently patted her head. "You'll get other chances to be with Logan. Max and Logan together. That's the plan." "It sure is." Logan walked up to them and put his arms around Max. "Just not today. Alec thinks the police are probably going to tighten security around Terminal City any minute. I've gotta go." Max reluctantly nodded. "Call me when you get home. There's a lot of freaks out there, you know." Logan chuckled. "I know." He kissed Max good-bye, not wanting to leave, but knowing he had to. "I love you." "I love you too." Max let go of Logan and watched as he shook hands with Joshua and walked away. Joshua hugged Max. "You have good friends, little fella. You watch. Things will work out in the end. You and Logan will get the storybook ending." "You think so?" Max looked up at her canine friend. "I know so." Joshua kissed the top of her head. Logan walked into the old house and noticed immediately that something was different. Most of his furniture from his apartment had been moved from Foggle Towers to Sandeman's house. Logan immediately dialed Alec's cell phone. "Hey, who do I get to thank for the furniture?" Alec chuckled. "Figured it was the least we could do, considering all the supplies you've been sneaking into us." "Thanks." Logan hadn't considered that he was doing anything out of the ordinary when he had organized the supplies. "Is Max around?" "Yeah. She's right here." Alec handed Max his phone. He signaled to the other Transgenics to leave the room so that Max could have some privacy. "Hey you." Max couldn't help the smile that broke across her face. "So I guess you got home alright." "Safe and sound." Logan sat down on his sofa. "It appears Alec and his transgenic elves were busy while I was at Terminal City. All of my furniture from the apartment is here." "So that's where they disappeared to." Max had to admit, it was a pretty nice thing for Alec to do. "The National Guard just arrived to secure the area. I guess it'll be a while before we can visit again." She could see Alec trying to get her attention out of the corner of her eye. "What?" Alec pointed to a number of cartons of bottle water. "Tell Logan thanks for this. Herbal and Sketchy managed to drop it off before the National Guard locked us in." Max nodded. "So I see you did some shopping on the way home."' She knew Logan would never steal now that he had the funds to pay for what they needed. "Thanks." "No problem." Logan took a guess that Herbal and Sketchy had done what he had asked, not to mention paid them to do. "Alec got me a sample of the water in the water tower. I'm going to get it to Sebastian in the morning. See if we can find out what White put in the water. Maybe it can be neutralized so that the water can still be used." "Sounds like a plan." Max sighed. "I gotta go. Talk to you soon. Sweet dreams." Logan chuckled. "As long as you're in them, they will be." He said goodbye and hung up the phone. He took the vial of water out of his pocket and looked at it. "This time you're not going to get away with hurting my family, White." He muttered to himself. The new High Priestess faced the members of the conclave council. "It is the unanimous decision, following the latest failure of brother White to destroy the transgenics, that brother White be relieved of his position in the conclave. There will be no further association with Ames White. Failure to keep with this decision endangers us all." The response to her announcement was deafening. They spoke as one voice. "So be it." Ames White sat in his cell glaring at Detective Clemente through the bars. "I won't be staying long. I'll be out and home before breakfast." Clemente smiled and shook his head. "I don't think so Special Agent White. Everyone including the Mayor have washed their hands of you. Make yourself comfortable. You're here for a long stay."
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