The Moon is Not Enough by ThePekingNoodle
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Chapter Seventeen: Long Lost Sister
In which our hero and heroine wonder if their guest is friend or foe…
They reached the cabin in less than four hours. The roads were clear, and no further military activities forced them to pull over. Jondy was still unconscious when they arrived, although she had stirred a few times and let out some soft moans.
Logan came around to the back door of the SUV and reached in to pick up Jondy, while Max went ahead and opened up the cabin. She quickly made sure it hadn't been compromised since their last stay.
"I'm going to put her in the guest room," Logan said as he carried Jondy in. "Maybe you can watch her, while I boot up my laptop and see if I can find out anything."
Max nodded and followed him into the room. He laid Jondy gently down on the bed and looked at Max, "You got it under control from here?"
Max was already slipping Jondy's boots off of her feet. "Go see what you can find out."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
An hour later Logan was still engrossed on his laptop and Jondy was beginning to stir. She tossed restlessly and muttered some unintelligible words as Max sat vigil. Finally her eyes fluttered open, and she stared at Max.
"Where am I?" she asked. "Who are you?"
"Who are you?" Max hedged, not wanting to reveal anything until they knew more about Jondy.
"I'm…not sure." Jondy muttered. "How did I get here?"
"We found you unconscious on the side of the road." Max said.
"Where am I?" Jondy asked again.
"At a cabin my husband and I own. We were on our way here when we found you." Max saw no reason to let Jondy know that she and Logan were from Seattle. Not until they knew more about her. "Are you hungry?"
"I could use something to drink. And maybe something for my head. I have a bitch of a headache." Jondy glanced around. "Is there a…?"
Max guessed that she needed to use the bathroom. "It's through there. Let me give you a hand."
Jondy sat up shakily and allowed Max to help her into the bathroom. Max stood outside the door, listening to make sure that Jondy didn't attempt to leave by way of the window, but Jondy emerged within a few minutes and seemed happy to get back into the bed.
"Let me get you something to drink and maybe some light food." Max told her.
"Don't forget the painkillers as well." Jondy sighed, laying down and closing her eyes once again.
When Max returned with a glass of juice and some bread and butter, Jondy appeared to be asleep. Max put the tray she carried on a table next to the bed and stood for a few minutes listening to Jondy's breathing patterns. When she was satisfied that Jondy was indeed sleeping, she left the room and went to see what Logan had found out.
"Hey," she said softly as she came up behind him. "Find out anything?"
Logan sat back with a sigh. "It appears that Manticore troops were in pursuit of a fugitive south of Seattle. Unsuccessfully I might add. The communications are encrypted and I haven't broken the code completely yet, but I have a feeling that Jondy is the one they were after. The location fits. But that isn't the most interesting thing." He paused.
"What is?"
"The Colonel is back in the country."
"Is he now?" Max said slowly. "Has he tried to contact you?"
"No, and that's the strange thing. He's pulled his guy off of the microchip project and cancelled the contract."
Max stared at Logan. "Any reason given?"
"Just that it's no longer needed."
"That is strange. Do you think it has anything to do with his trip to South Africa?"
"I'm almost positive that it does. I'm working on that angle now."
"So what do we have?" Max asked.
"We have Jondy, who may or may not be a fugitive from Manticore, we have the Colonel back from his trip to South Africa and suddenly uninterested in me, and we have a phony cousin of yours in Seattle." Logan enumerated.
"Do you think they all fit together?"
"Too soon to tell." He ran a hand through his hair. "How's our guest anyway?"
"Sleeping."
"Did she tell you anything?"
"No."
Logan rose and stretched. "I need a break from this. You hungry?"
Max smiled. "I'm starving. Are you cooking?"
Logan grinned at her. "Unless you want to?"
"That's okay." Max quickly said. "You can take care of it. Anyway I better check on our guest."
"Don't be long." Logan said to her.
Max looked in briefly on Jondy but she was still asleep, so she headed out to the kitchen. Logan tossed her a head of lettuce and some vegetables.
"You can make the salad."
"You mean I have to work at this meal?" Max teased.
Logan gave her a mock frown. "Gotta pull your weight around here."
He was busy at the stove, and in a short time a delicious aroma began to fill the cabin.
"Mmmm, what is that?" Max wanted to know.
"Beef burgundy. Quick and easy and filling. It'll be ready in a little while."
Max had poured them some wine and she handed Logan a glass. He took it from her and walked into the living area. "Might was well relax until the timer goes off," he said seating himself on the couch.
Max followed and sat down next to him. The two sipped their wine in a comfortable silence as they relaxed and waited for the meal to be ready.
"What do we do about our guest tonight?" Max wanted to know. "I could sit up and watch her I suppose."
"I hate to leave her unguarded until we know more about her." Logan thought a moment. "Think she's going to want something to eat?"
"Probably. What are you thinking?" Max wanted to know.
"Maybe we should slip something into it to help her sleep tonight. By tomorrow morning, Sebastian may have some more info for us – he's working on decrypting the code."
Max looked at him for a moment. "That's sneaky…but it might not be a bad idea. I can't say I really want to sit watching her all night. Do you have anything?"
"This place is well stocked. I'm sure there's something here that would work." Logan said.
"Let's do it then. I'd rather not talk more to her until we have a better idea if she's friend or foe." Max decided.
Just then the timer went off, and the two rose and went to the kitchen for their meal.
End of Chapter Seventeen…TBC…