"Blackmailed!"
***
They could no longer assume security with Lydecker looking for them. They could only suspect he knew where they were - that they were being followed. That made Max even more tense. Now they were trapped inside the building, three stories high, with a sick child in her arms. Which meant only one thing; she'd have to trust him. Kind of hard with him staring out the window of the apartment with a look that could shatter anyones confidence.
"The escape stairwell," he said, uneasy with his lips tightening shut into a frown. He opened the window, a heavy breeze hitting Max in the face. Eva's little legs were dangling over her stomach, bare and lifeless, probably instantly chilled. Her little cotton blanket wouldn't keep her very warm out in this, Max worried, no way she could just stop home though. Alec picked up something from the table beside him and stuffed it inside his pocket then added, "Its the only way, but not entirely sturdy."
"Not entirely sturdy?" Max questioned, lifting a brow in dissatisfaction. He quickly shunned his face from her, stuck a foot out onto the escape and pounded it lightly. Max watched in wait.
"Might hold," he said, assuring her with a smile, "but to be safe, I'll go first then you follow after I signal." Max threw back a sudden stare towards the door. Something was hitting it.
"Alec!" she resounded harshly as the pounding grew more intense. Alec's eyes widened. The Devil was at their doorstep.
"Give me Eva," Alec cried insistently, his arms reached out to take her. Max held her closer, shaking. The door was breaking at the seams in the middle. In a matter of moments, they'd be staring eye to eye. "Max, you can't save her in your arms, give her to me." Reluctantly, aided by the sound of the door cracking at its hinges, Max shoved Eva into Alecs hands, her blanket falling to a heap on the floor.
"Just a minute, let me get dressed. I just got out of the shower." Max shouted at the door then turned to look out the window. Alec was almost to the bottom. Knowing she couldn't risk putting more weight on the already unsturdy stairwell, Max had to prepare herself for a fight. Or worse, guns.
"Max!!!" He shouted desperatly. The door had fallen with a strong crack on the cement floor, hitting Alec's strategically placed couch. A man stepped out from the side but before she could see his face, she leaped out the window, completly ignoring the fire escape. She had aimed for the sky. And now she was in a plummet to the ground, falling faster than she expected. Of course, she really didn't anticipate the height in three seconds. But as quickly as she recovered her senses, Max took the first hold she could get on a steel bar, grabbed it and spun hard. The snap of the bolts loosening from the brownstones cement walls was enough to know she'd just taken away the man's way down to them. Max let off her grip and fell down hard on her feet. A strong urge to look up and catch the man powered over her for a moment. If it really was Lydecker, why'd he let them go so easily? Alec shouted urgently at her, bringing her mind away from what had just happened. The two went into a sprint, where and to whom they didn't know. Somewhere safe. Wherever that was....
***
He'd given them time to get away. Without a chase, where would a supposed-dead guy get his kicks? Of course he knew they had no where to go. And of course he knew Logan would get involved, as soon as he got out his drunken stupor. It was fun actually, being ahead of the game. He'd always enjoyed it, even as a child. Now all he had to do was wait for the pieces to fall into his strategically placed puzzleboard. Eva in Manticore hands, Max back in training and testing, Logan dead and 'Alec'...he had a special treat for X5-494.
Killing was such a dull sport. After 30 years, all dead people look the same. Logan's probably wouldn't look any different if he hadn't been planning it all that time in hiding. But that hadn't been all he'd been up to. After all, there was a pregnant X-5 to look after, about to give birth to Manticore progeny, with a Manticore bred male to boot. And even Eyes Only, the great seerer of seerers, didn't catch on. But lies are never fun unless they come out. With patience and the stealth of technology, Donald Lydecker got the truth. And who could have estimated the truth could hold such a weighty ransom?
***
The sound of a hard pound on Logan's front door brought him back to consciousness, but not without first feeling the consequences of the heavy drinks he'd taken. Logan rolled down, face first into his pillow, growling and steadily waking himself up. It was 6 a.m., five hours since he'd passed out. Still it felt like he'd been out for days. Logan slowly moved his legs over with his hands, watching over the side for when they reached his carpet. Taking a firm hold on the bed posts, he looked around in a blurry stare for his wheelchair. Oh yeah, he remembered grumpily, I think I tossed that somewhere across the room. He looked some more, trying to get his eyesight to clear. The knocking at the door stopped and a key was now being jiggled around the lock. He didn't even care to discern who it could be. All he wanted was his head to stop swirling and his legs to start working.
"Logan?" a familair voice called through the air. Logan straightened up and gulped. Asha. Just who he wanted to see him like this- a hungover mess. He struggled quickly around for his eyeglasses and a book to pretend to have been reading. Sliding the glasses on, Logan picked up Max's romance novel beside the bed and placed it in his lap. Asha came in just in time.
"Hey, Logan. You alright?" she asked, moving around uncomfortably,"You didn't answer the door. I was beginning to think you'd forgotten." Logan squinted, nervously avoiding her eyes. He'd called her up last night, right before passing out, asking her to come over the following morning. He really didn't even know why he did it. Lonlieness, maybe.
"I did," he admitted then with a sigh he muttered gingerly, "I had a long night...." Asha nodded and moved closer to his bed, standing at the end posts with her arms crossed over her chest. Her eyes trailed to the book.
"'The Virgin Brides of Macon County'? Logan, I never knew you read those kind of books." she added with a look of shocked surprise on her face. Logan blushed and tossed the book to the floor.
"Boredom." he said with a save, "I can't reach my wheelchair." Before he even had to ask, Asha walked to the corner and picked the fallen chair off of its side, setting it aright and rolling to the bed. Logan took again the bed posts behind him and with all his strength, plopped himself down onto the seat. Asha let out a small sigh.
"So," she began, her blue eyes meeting his seductively, "where's Max?" Logan stopped in thought for a moment, hesistant to answer. He wish he knew. Quickly, though, he shook his head and smiled.
"I never know with her," he said and rolled into the computer room. His head dipped down over the keyboard as he flipped the monitors and processor on. He'd have to pretend everything was alright and do it without flaw. Not like he ever had a problem with putting on a face. He'd doing it all his life. He was such a sham, even he didn't know when he was being fake. "Visiting her family, I think."
"And she didn't ask you to come?" Asha asked immediatly, her eyes prying through his, looking for reasoning and doubtably finding none. "Thats strange." What Asha found strange, Logan found irritating. Suddenly he began asking himself why, even when drunk, he'd thought talking to Asha about any of this would make him feel better. He knew Asha's intentions were. They were transperant - she wanted him. Now came the task of getting her out of his apartment and inherantly, out of his life.
"I really don't see where any of this is your business, Asha." Her expression went blank as her arms unfolded. Even though he knew he'd said what he wanted to say, it still felt hurtful and wrong. He kept his face null of regret though, his body barely showing signs of breath and his arms stiffened to his lap. He felt like a dummy.
"Oh, fine." Asha spoke abruptly and nodded solemnly, "I'm sorry." Logan watched as Asha walked away and shut the door behind her. The sound echoed for a moment and settled inside Logan's mind, telling him he was alone. Maybe for the rest of his life. He didn't have to treat her like that. And why had he even stood up for Max? It wasn't protection for her but for him. Wasn't it? Logan typed in some random words in his mind into his internet search engine and waited. He'd typed in 'Help me'. In about 15 hours of 13,457 search results, he was bound to find something.
He had all the time in the world.......
***
Authors Note:
Ut oh. Review me and maybe my inner muse will stir up the ending. Press the lil purple button......now!
***
They could no longer assume security with Lydecker looking for them. They could only suspect he knew where they were - that they were being followed. That made Max even more tense. Now they were trapped inside the building, three stories high, with a sick child in her arms. Which meant only one thing; she'd have to trust him. Kind of hard with him staring out the window of the apartment with a look that could shatter anyones confidence.
"The escape stairwell," he said, uneasy with his lips tightening shut into a frown. He opened the window, a heavy breeze hitting Max in the face. Eva's little legs were dangling over her stomach, bare and lifeless, probably instantly chilled. Her little cotton blanket wouldn't keep her very warm out in this, Max worried, no way she could just stop home though. Alec picked up something from the table beside him and stuffed it inside his pocket then added, "Its the only way, but not entirely sturdy."
"Not entirely sturdy?" Max questioned, lifting a brow in dissatisfaction. He quickly shunned his face from her, stuck a foot out onto the escape and pounded it lightly. Max watched in wait.
"Might hold," he said, assuring her with a smile, "but to be safe, I'll go first then you follow after I signal." Max threw back a sudden stare towards the door. Something was hitting it.
"Alec!" she resounded harshly as the pounding grew more intense. Alec's eyes widened. The Devil was at their doorstep.
"Give me Eva," Alec cried insistently, his arms reached out to take her. Max held her closer, shaking. The door was breaking at the seams in the middle. In a matter of moments, they'd be staring eye to eye. "Max, you can't save her in your arms, give her to me." Reluctantly, aided by the sound of the door cracking at its hinges, Max shoved Eva into Alecs hands, her blanket falling to a heap on the floor.
"Just a minute, let me get dressed. I just got out of the shower." Max shouted at the door then turned to look out the window. Alec was almost to the bottom. Knowing she couldn't risk putting more weight on the already unsturdy stairwell, Max had to prepare herself for a fight. Or worse, guns.
"Max!!!" He shouted desperatly. The door had fallen with a strong crack on the cement floor, hitting Alec's strategically placed couch. A man stepped out from the side but before she could see his face, she leaped out the window, completly ignoring the fire escape. She had aimed for the sky. And now she was in a plummet to the ground, falling faster than she expected. Of course, she really didn't anticipate the height in three seconds. But as quickly as she recovered her senses, Max took the first hold she could get on a steel bar, grabbed it and spun hard. The snap of the bolts loosening from the brownstones cement walls was enough to know she'd just taken away the man's way down to them. Max let off her grip and fell down hard on her feet. A strong urge to look up and catch the man powered over her for a moment. If it really was Lydecker, why'd he let them go so easily? Alec shouted urgently at her, bringing her mind away from what had just happened. The two went into a sprint, where and to whom they didn't know. Somewhere safe. Wherever that was....
***
He'd given them time to get away. Without a chase, where would a supposed-dead guy get his kicks? Of course he knew they had no where to go. And of course he knew Logan would get involved, as soon as he got out his drunken stupor. It was fun actually, being ahead of the game. He'd always enjoyed it, even as a child. Now all he had to do was wait for the pieces to fall into his strategically placed puzzleboard. Eva in Manticore hands, Max back in training and testing, Logan dead and 'Alec'...he had a special treat for X5-494.
Killing was such a dull sport. After 30 years, all dead people look the same. Logan's probably wouldn't look any different if he hadn't been planning it all that time in hiding. But that hadn't been all he'd been up to. After all, there was a pregnant X-5 to look after, about to give birth to Manticore progeny, with a Manticore bred male to boot. And even Eyes Only, the great seerer of seerers, didn't catch on. But lies are never fun unless they come out. With patience and the stealth of technology, Donald Lydecker got the truth. And who could have estimated the truth could hold such a weighty ransom?
***
The sound of a hard pound on Logan's front door brought him back to consciousness, but not without first feeling the consequences of the heavy drinks he'd taken. Logan rolled down, face first into his pillow, growling and steadily waking himself up. It was 6 a.m., five hours since he'd passed out. Still it felt like he'd been out for days. Logan slowly moved his legs over with his hands, watching over the side for when they reached his carpet. Taking a firm hold on the bed posts, he looked around in a blurry stare for his wheelchair. Oh yeah, he remembered grumpily, I think I tossed that somewhere across the room. He looked some more, trying to get his eyesight to clear. The knocking at the door stopped and a key was now being jiggled around the lock. He didn't even care to discern who it could be. All he wanted was his head to stop swirling and his legs to start working.
"Logan?" a familair voice called through the air. Logan straightened up and gulped. Asha. Just who he wanted to see him like this- a hungover mess. He struggled quickly around for his eyeglasses and a book to pretend to have been reading. Sliding the glasses on, Logan picked up Max's romance novel beside the bed and placed it in his lap. Asha came in just in time.
"Hey, Logan. You alright?" she asked, moving around uncomfortably,"You didn't answer the door. I was beginning to think you'd forgotten." Logan squinted, nervously avoiding her eyes. He'd called her up last night, right before passing out, asking her to come over the following morning. He really didn't even know why he did it. Lonlieness, maybe.
"I did," he admitted then with a sigh he muttered gingerly, "I had a long night...." Asha nodded and moved closer to his bed, standing at the end posts with her arms crossed over her chest. Her eyes trailed to the book.
"'The Virgin Brides of Macon County'? Logan, I never knew you read those kind of books." she added with a look of shocked surprise on her face. Logan blushed and tossed the book to the floor.
"Boredom." he said with a save, "I can't reach my wheelchair." Before he even had to ask, Asha walked to the corner and picked the fallen chair off of its side, setting it aright and rolling to the bed. Logan took again the bed posts behind him and with all his strength, plopped himself down onto the seat. Asha let out a small sigh.
"So," she began, her blue eyes meeting his seductively, "where's Max?" Logan stopped in thought for a moment, hesistant to answer. He wish he knew. Quickly, though, he shook his head and smiled.
"I never know with her," he said and rolled into the computer room. His head dipped down over the keyboard as he flipped the monitors and processor on. He'd have to pretend everything was alright and do it without flaw. Not like he ever had a problem with putting on a face. He'd doing it all his life. He was such a sham, even he didn't know when he was being fake. "Visiting her family, I think."
"And she didn't ask you to come?" Asha asked immediatly, her eyes prying through his, looking for reasoning and doubtably finding none. "Thats strange." What Asha found strange, Logan found irritating. Suddenly he began asking himself why, even when drunk, he'd thought talking to Asha about any of this would make him feel better. He knew Asha's intentions were. They were transperant - she wanted him. Now came the task of getting her out of his apartment and inherantly, out of his life.
"I really don't see where any of this is your business, Asha." Her expression went blank as her arms unfolded. Even though he knew he'd said what he wanted to say, it still felt hurtful and wrong. He kept his face null of regret though, his body barely showing signs of breath and his arms stiffened to his lap. He felt like a dummy.
"Oh, fine." Asha spoke abruptly and nodded solemnly, "I'm sorry." Logan watched as Asha walked away and shut the door behind her. The sound echoed for a moment and settled inside Logan's mind, telling him he was alone. Maybe for the rest of his life. He didn't have to treat her like that. And why had he even stood up for Max? It wasn't protection for her but for him. Wasn't it? Logan typed in some random words in his mind into his internet search engine and waited. He'd typed in 'Help me'. In about 15 hours of 13,457 search results, he was bound to find something.
He had all the time in the world.......
***
Authors Note:
Ut oh. Review me and maybe my inner muse will stir up the ending. Press the lil purple button......now!