The Moon is Not Enough by ThePekingNoodle
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Chapter Three: Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
In which the more our hero digs into things, the more layers he finds…
The next few days passed uneventfully. The date that Max was supposed to appear before immigration was rapidly approaching, but Logan had his attorneys working on postponing the hearing until he could figure out what was going on.
Max stayed at the apartment with him during the days since he was worried about her papers possibly being questioned if she continued her trips around Seattle. By the evenings she was ready to scream from boredom, so the two of them would head out after dark. They visited CRASH a few times since Logan figured it wasn't the kind of place whose habitués would be rushing to cooperate with the authorities. Once Max persuaded him to accompany her up to the top of the Space Needle. Complete with a stop in what they had come to consider "their" restaurant on the way down.
It was mid-morning on the fourth day when he pushed back from his monitor with an expression of frustration on his face.
Max had just wandered into the room and she took one look at him and asked, "What?"
"That's the question of the moment," he said wryly.
"As in?"
"As in, there's something rotten about this whole situation with you." He pointed to the screen. "There's the latest communication from my attorneys. Immigration is refusing to issue you a temporary visa until we can get things straightened out."
"Why?" Max wanted to know.
"No reason given. But that would be okay, because I told my attorney to get hold of a JP so we can get married again and then they can't ship you out of the country."
"That sounds easy enough."
"It should be but it isn't. Suddenly there isn't a single JP in the entire city of Seattle who's willing or able to marry us. The minute my attorney gives our names, they all come up with excuses. Vacations or conventions or emergency surgery."
"So someone is making it impossible for me to stay here if I don't marry you, and they're also making it impossible for me to marry you?"
"So it seems. But there's more. I've checked and double-checked personally on the clown who married us the first time at the airport. He was legal. Someone who's very, very good has altered the records.But I was able to follow his trail and see where the changes were made."
"So we really are married then?" Max asked.
"Yes. But not according to the present official records." He paused and ran a hand through his hair, a familiar gesture that Max had grown to love. "Now you see my frustration."
Max reached down and smoothed his hair, which was sticking up in spikes. "So what do we do?"
Logan was smiling at her and he pulled her down into his lap for a kiss. "I was thinking maybe we ought to take a trip. Out of Seattle," he said when they came up for air.
"The cabin?" Max wanted to know.
"I don't think so. A few people know about it. No, I have a friend who owns a vineyard in Northern California. I thought we might visit him for a few days. He's completely trustworthy and it would get us out of here. I have a bad feeling about Seattle right now. Until I know what's going down, and who's behind it, I think we should leave."
Max smiled. "I like that idea, I'm about to go crazy being cooped up in here. And I love vineyards."
"I already called him this morning. We can leave as soon as you pack."
"What about getting out of Seattle? If what you say is true, won't whoever is behind all this be looking for us to do that?""
Logan smiled smugly and held up a thick envelope. "You see here complete travel papers for Mr. & Mrs. Michael Eastman of Modesto, California. We've been visiting relatives in Seattle and now we're heading back home."
"You think of everything." Max grinned.
Just then the concierge phone shrilled and Logan picked it up. "Thank you. Send it up."
"Send what up?" Max wanted to know.
"They probably have our pictures in case we try to leave. So I ordered some things." The doorbell rang. "Um, Max, you want to let me up so I can answer that?"
Max stuck her tongue out and jumped off of his lap. "I've got it." She headed out and was back in a few moments carrying a fair sized carton. "What is it?"
Logan grinned, "Open it and see."
Max ripped open the flaps and pulled out the packing paper sitting on top of the box. Suddenly she stopped dead and gave Logan a glare. "No. No way."
"Max, you need to look as different as possible."
She pulled out a blonde wig and looked at it sourly. "Blonde? Couldn't you have made me a redhead?"
"I know how much you love blondes," he teased. "Anyway I've always had a soft spot for them."
She threw the wig at him and dug back into the box. He waited for her next reaction. He wasn't disappointed as she let out a squeal of indignation and slowly straightened up, holding a dress in her hands.
"I am NOT wearing this." She informed him darkly.
"Max, it's a disguise." He tried to keep a straight face.
"It's PINK." Her voice dripped disgust.
"Where's your sense of adventure?"
"Where's your sense, period?" she retorted.
"Maybe I like pink?" he said innocently.
Max growled and let the dress drop on the floor as she advance menacingly towards him. "Pink makes you nauseous, remember?"
Logan just looked at her calmly. "All the better disguise then. Since Logan Cale wouldn't be with a woman who wore pink."
"Logan…you…I…" Max sputtered.
"Max, there's no time to get new stuff. I guess you'll just have to make do with this." He reached down and picked up the dress and handed it to her with the wig. "You better get packed and dressed. I want to hit the checkpoints at about five. They'll be really busy then and we have a better chance of slipping by without too many questions.
She glared at him but took the dress and wig without any further words and went to the bedroom to get ready for their trip.
Logan smiled as he watched her stalk away. "Oh, Max?"
She stopped and looked back at him, "What else?"
"You didn't ask what your alias was. Don't you want to know?"
"Let me guess. Fifi?" she said sarcastically.
"Actually that's pretty close. It's Bunny. You know these society families and their names."
"So why isn't yours, Biff?"
He looked at her. "Wow. I should have thought of that. But it's too late to change the paperwork." He gave her a look of mock regret.
"I'm going to leave you alone now. Before I kill you." With that Max resumed her walk to the bedroom.
Logan sat there laughing to himself. It was certainly going to be an interesting trip out of Seattle. If he managed to survive Max.
End of Chapter Three…TBC…