The Moon is Not Enough by ThePekingNoodle
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Chapter Thirteen: The Name Game
In which our hero and heroine contemplate what's in a name…
After their wedding "ceremony", Logan drove for a while in the direction of the vineyard. Halfway back he pulled the car off the road into the parking lot of a small restaurant located in what appeared to have once been a private house. They had a relaxing dinner, complete with an excellent wine from a local vineyard, and then climbed back into the car for the rest of the trip back.
Max was leaning back against the seat feeling relaxed and mellow from the wine, when something occurred to her. "Logan, you used my real name in the ceremony. Why?" she wanted to know.
Logan glanced over at her. "I had to, for two reasons. One, no way this guy would have married a foreign national. I doubt he has any jurisdiction without all kinds of federal permits and paperwork. Two, I didn't want the name Maxine Felina setting off any alarms when they checked the paperwork before the ceremony. Whoever set this up had to be smart enough to make sure any computer blocks on that name extended not only to Seattle, but to neighboring states. Otherwise it would be too easy to do what we did. The flaw in his plan was not knowing that you had another identity we could use."
"But isn't it dangerous for me to use that name?" Max wanted to know.
"I'm not planning on publicizing this ceremony unless we have to. My plan is still to get things straight in Seattle, and either have the original ceremony declared valid, or remarry Maxine Felina."
Max was quiet. "So if you aren't planning on using this ceremony…what was the rush?"
Logan's only answer was to stare straight ahead, seemingly concentrating on the road in front of them.
"Logan?" Max looked over at him, waiting for an answer.
Finally he shrugged and said casually, "We had the opportunity, why not take advantage of it? That way our contingency plan is in place."
Max wasn't convinced, but she let it go with a small satisfied smile. "What's our next move?"
"I'm going to do some investigating of Cousin Ryan before we go back to Seattle. That way, we'll know what we're dealing with when we get there. If you're right about him, he's going to have a surprise in store when we get there. If not, I'm not sure. I don't want to take you back there until I'm sure what the deal is."
It was growing later. They were almost back to the vineyards when Logan suddenly pulled the car onto a side road that headed west.
"Logan?"
"You'll see."
He drove for a while, heading steadily west. Suddenly they came over a ridge and Max took a breath. The road wound downward slightly, and then ended about a mile in front of them. Beyond that the Pacific Ocean spread out, seemingly endlessly. The sun was about to set and the light clouds scattered across the sky were brilliant shades of orange, pink and red. They reached the end of the road and Logan stopped the car. He came around to get Max. A white fence stretched across the road ending, and past it was a sheer drop down to the Pacific.
"It's beautiful." Max breathed, as they stood looking over the fence.
Logan smiled at her pleasure in the sight, "I thought you'd like it."
"I do."
There was a silence as they stood there watching the sun dip lower, and then vanish into the sea. Logan's arm was around Max's shoulders, and the two were content in each other's company as they watched nature's spectacular show. When it was over darkness came quickly, and the air temperature dropped.
Max sighed, "I suppose we should go."
"Yeah, we should." Logan made no move to leave. Instead he pulled Max to face him and slowly lowered his head to hers. He took his time kissing her and she made no move to pull away. When he lifted his head he looked at her seriously. "Thank you."
"For what?"
"For today. For marrying me again, even knowing what a jerk I can be."
Max smiled and shrugged. "Yeah well, it comes with the gender I guess," she teased him.
Logan looked startled at her words and then he laughed. "Come on. Let's get back. I want to show you what else comes with the gender." His tone was suggestive as he looked her up and down.
"I already know about that, Logan." Max said smugly.
"You don't know it all yet."
"How would you know?"
"Because it will take years for you to learn it all."
"And I suppose you plan on being my teacher?"
"It's the least I can do."
"And there's no self interest in that I suppose?" Max challenged as she climbed into the car.
"None at all." Logan declared.
They were almost back to the main road when Logan's cell phone began to sound.
"Max, do me a favor and answer that would you?"
Max reached over and pulled the phone from his pocket. "Hello?" She listened for a minute. As she did her face grew more serious. "Are you sure? Okay I'll tell him. Thanks, Sebastian." She snapped the phone closed and put it down on the seat.
"What did Seb want?" Logan asked her.
"He says he has some information for us. About the Colonel. He's on his way back from South Africa."
End of Chapter Thirteen…TBC…