AS2.06: Paper Caper by Star24

Disclaimer: Dark Angel and its characters are property and copyright Twentieth Century Fox and James Cameron and Charles Eglee. This original story is copyright 2003 Star24.

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Chapter Four

Jam Pony, Next Day

It was a gray day and Seattle's normal drizzle had turned into a downpour. Max could feel the water dripping off of the front of her rubber hood as she pulled her bike up outside of Jam Pony. She hopped off and walked the bike inside. She was glad to get out of the rain, even if it was only for a few minutes.

"Hey, hey, hey, Missy, stop right there." Normal's strident tones greeted her, and she sighed.

"Now what?" she drawled, continuing to walk her bike inside. Water poured off of it in small streams, leaving a growing puddle in the entrance.

"Unless you want to be on the mop up detail, I suggest you leave that bike outside." Normal glared at her.

"And then you're gonna be charging me for rust-o-leum or somethin' to get rid of the rust." Max leaned the bike against the wall, and ducked away from the mop Normal was holding out to her. She ignored his grumbling as she walked over to drop onto the bench in front of her locker. She sighed, pushed back her hood, and let her rain slicker fall back off of her shoulders. The bottoms of her pants were soaked and uncomfortable, but there wasn't much she could do about them.

"Now don't you look like somethin' the cat dragged in." Original Cindy's voice broke into her gloom.

Max looked her over critically, noting her dry hair and pants. "So how'd you manage to stay out of the deluge?"

Cindy grinned. "Normal got in a large order of some kinda china knick knacky things to ship out. Flower didn't show up for work, and Original Cindy volunteered to be the one to pack 'em all up so they wouldn't break. It just happens it's gonna take her all day to do it."

"Why didn't you let me in on this project?" Max frowned at her.

"Maybe if you was here on time, instead of knockin' boots with a certain hot boy this mornin', she would of. Once Normal let me into that packin' room, Original Cindy wasn't comin' out again, or he would've had me out in the rain with the rest of you."

"The knockin' boots part didn't quite happen last night." Max confessed ruefully.

Original Cindy gave her a look. "Girl, I thought you decided you were done with them lame ass games when you went over there last night. Or was it hot boy who was holdin' back this time?"

"I did…we did…we were gonna…" Max protested. "We kinda got interrupted."

"This better be good." Cindy rolled her eyes. "Let me guess, some save the world mission came up? That boy needs to get his priorities straight."

"No. His sixteen-year-old cousin showed up at the door at midnight. She ran away from home or something.'"

"So of course, you two couldn't put her in a cab and send her home to Mommy and Daddy. Then at least you coulda been enjoyin' something today, before you came in to this pit. But who am I to say."

Before Max could respond, a dripping wet Sketchy arrived. He pulled off his yellow slicker and flung it down, sending a shower of water over the two girls.

"Sketchy, you wanna die young?" Original Cindy snarled, starting to advance on him.

"Huh? What'd I do now?" Sketchy was oblivious to the drops of water dripping from Cindy's hair.

"You almost ruined two hours worth of showerin' and blow dryin', not to mention $20 worth of hair products. This do has gotta hold up for my date tonight. Why'd you think I been spendin' my day stuffin' popcorn around little Chinese dragons and Buddhas and stuff, riskin' my manicure?" Original Cindy picked up the wet slicker in two fingers and dropped it over Sketchy, making sure the wet side landed on him.

Max snickered as Sketchy made his way out of the yellow plastic.

When he emerged, his attention was on Original Cindy's mention of a date. "So you hookin' up with some hot chick tonight?"

"Put your tongue back in your mouth. It ain't any of your business, and you ain't gonna get any details from me, now or ever."

"Man. How come you guys never give out with any girl talk? I thought chicks liked to share the details with each other," he grumbled.

"And if we did, that would affect you how?" Max asked narrowly. "You wouldn't be trying to eavesdrop on stuff we might happen to share in the ladies, say?"

Sketchy gave them a look of complete innocence. "Would I do that?"

"Yes." Max and Original Cindy said in unison.

"Well anyway, I gotta tell you guys. I think I finally got my big break." Sketchy lowered his voice and leaned close to them. "I might be getting out of this hell hole in the very near future."

"What, the mental testing lab finally figured out where you escaped to, and they're comin' to take you back?" Cindy drawled.

Sketchy ignored her sarcasm. "I've been submitting stuff to the New World Weekly. Freelance pieces. Turns out they liked the last one I did, and they said if I expand it, they'll run it and pay me."

"Which one would that be? My mother is an alien and I'm a complete idiot?" Max asked.

"I did a short piece on the Russian mob, based on my experience with them last year. The paper said if I get some pics of the gambling club and make it longer, they'll run it."

"Have you completely lost what mind you have?" Original Cindy looked at him in disbelief. "You forgettin' about bein' hung up naked in an alley last time you tried to mess with those boys?"

"They can't touch a legitimate journalist. Freedom of the press and all."

Max and Cindy doubled over with laughter, while Sketchy glared at them.

"Tell that to the journalists who're wearin' cement boots at the bottom of Elliott Bay." Max suggested when she stopped laughing. "Look, you wanna be a fool, don't come to me this time to bail you out. I've got other things to deal with right now. And rescuing you from some Slavic slinging gang bangers isn't on my list."

Beep…beep…beep…

Max's pager went off. She glanced down at it. "Gotta blaze." She headed to where she had left her bike. "Normal, you got any packages for Sector Nine?" she called out as she passed the cage. Normal grunted and reached down and tossed her two boxes, which she caught neatly without breaking her stride. She stowed them in her backpack, pulled her slicker hood over her head, and was on her way.

End of Chapter Four