Disclaimer: um…blah
Author's Note: Thank you too all those who have been reviewing for every chapter, you make me feel special. Yippy. I'm alittle on the out of it side today, for some reason my father decided to call me at 7:30 in the morning when I didn't have to be up until 10 o'clock. The reason you ask? Because he wanted to tell me 'hi' and that he misses me. Sweet, huh? It was, but I couldn't get back to sleep so I stayed up and wrote some. The thing that gets me is it was 7:30 here but it was 6:30 there. Why the heck would he want to call me at 6 in the morning? Anyways, we know where I get my personality.
Review or I'll never write again…ok so maybe that's a bit drastic.
Comin' to Get You
Chapter 7: Well, ya see, he's a baboon
"Guess what I found!" Jondy called out when she entered her apartment with Max in tow.
"I'm afraid to ask." Was the answer from Zane's room, and then suddenly his dark head came into view as he peeked into the living room. "Uh, J, you do realize that that's the woman from the pent house, right?"
Jondy's eyes went wide and she blinked, "Oh my God, I didn't even realize." She turned to Max with her mouth wide open. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"I thought you knew?"
Jondy started laughing as she turned back to Zane, doing her best impression of a little girl, "I got…I got a surprise for you."
His eyes narrowed when he looked from Max to Jondy not certain what to think, "what kind of surprise?"
"The good kind…where you find one of your long lost sister…or I find her and bring her to you." She pointed a finger at him and wiggled her eyebrows. "Guess who was at the penthouse that we held at gunpoint?"
He blinked, his eyes glued to Max's face as she smiled at him shyly. "Max?" his voice was small as a smile tugged at the corner of his lips.
"Show him what he's won!" Jondy flounced over to him and tugged at his arm. "Well, get with the huggin'!" She turned to smile at Max, "Well, go on, I know you wanna."
Max couldn't control the laugh as she threw herself at Zane. He wrapped his arms around her waist and lifting her off her feet swung her around. "You realize this means you're gonna spend the rest of the day telling us about yourself?"
"I would…but I have to get back to work before Normal cans my ass." She smiled up at him before turning to Jondy who was bouncing on the balls of her feet. "We can meet up tonight and talk. If you want?"
"Yes!" Jondy clapped her hands happily. "He promised we'd get to go clubbin' tonight. You can come!"
"Well, I usually go and hang out at the Crash after work, if you want to meet me there that'll work."
"Hey, I know that place…" Zane started but Jondy butted in.
"Is your friend gonna be there?"
"My friend?" Max looked blankly at her while Zane nodded his head, apparently finding it easier to tune into the wave length that was Jondy's brain,
"The Ben look alike…" She smiled shyly at Max. "We were kind of curious about him."
"Alec? He's Ben's twin, actually."
"His twin…" Jondy stared off into the distance for a moment, her eyes not focusing on anything. "Imagine that." She shook her head and smiled at Max and waved her to follow her. "Zane go get a Band-Aid."
"Yeah, I was gonna ask." He turned to Max with a raised eyebrow, "How'd you get the scratch on your cheek?"
"Jondy threw me into a wall."
"J!"
"Z!" Jondy threw her hands up and put on her most innocent puppy-dog face; "she started it!"
"That is no excuse…"
"I didn't know it was my long lost sister from military school! You would have done the same thing if she'd been following you!"
"Ok, maybe I would…"
"That's what I thought." She pointed at his room her lips twitching, "Band-Aid, now." He grumbled but left to find his first aid kit.
Max laughed, "he just does whatever you tell him?"
"No, not whatever…but just about." She bit her tongue and walked into the kitchen.
"So…" Max started uncomfortably, "you recognized Alec but not me?"
Jondy laughed, "don't take any offense or anything," she opened the refrigerator and brought out a jug. "I…knew him. We met up…kind of…about three years ago. It's a long story…" Jondy swallowed past a lump in her throat looking down at the jug in her hands sadly.
Max opened her mouth to say something, but closed it quickly not knowing what to say about a brother that she had killed. Luckily Zane came back in waving a box of Band-Aids. "Thanks."
"Yeah, well, you have to have them handy whenever Jondy's around," he raised an eyebrow at her after she smacked his arm.
"I can't help that I'm accident prone…" Jondy started.
"Yes, you can, you can stop pulling stupid stunts."
"But they're so much fun," she whined tugging on his sleeve.
Max looked back and forth between them, a smile tugging on her lips, the two seemed completely at ease with each other; something she hadn't actually thought possible with people from Manticore. As she put the Band-Aid on her cheek she grimaced trying to figure out how she was going to explain the scratch. Zane turned to Max laughing, "Welcome back into the family…it's the most dysfunctional one you could ever join."
"But so full of love," Jondy finished for him, while making kissing noises in his ear.
"You're a tease," he informed her with a laugh.
"And you love it."
"Dysfunctional or not I'm happy…I never thought I'd find you guys again, I just wish I knew where everyone else was."
Jondy blinked and turned to Zane, "I don't think she's caught on."
"Neither do I."
"Caught on to what?" Max asked her eyes narrowing, but she couldn't help the smile spreading her lips.
"We know where just about everyone is, darlin'."
"Really?"
"Uh huh." Jondy laughed at the star struck expression that had suddenly swept across Max's face. "We're working on two at the moment, but we know where the rest are."
Max had trouble not smiling, even as she left the apartment with the promise that they would see her at crash that night still ringing in her ears.
~*~
Crash was loud and crowded and Zane had the sudden urge to tug on Jondy's sleeve just so he could tell if it was just as bad for her. She turned to him and rolled her eyes, "how much meaningful conversation do you think we'll be able to have?" she asked before sticking her tongue out playfully.
"Maybe that's what she's afraid of…" he started.
"Meaningful conversation?" She pretended to think about it for a minute before beaming at him. "If I was faced with talking to me I wouldn't be afraid, it's almost impossible."
He laughed down at her before putting a light hand on the small of her back, "come on, I see her."
"Isn't that special?" She swung her hair over her shoulder and let his hand guide her. She ran into Alec before they could reach Max. Jondy danced away from a drunken man right into Alec, who spluttered at her for a full two seconds before she started laughing, "what? Max didn't tell you we'd be here?"
"No…why are you here?" He raised an eyebrow at her; a flick of his eyes the only acknowledgment of Zane.
"We were invited!" She grinned at him and bit her lip sweetly. "Aren't happy to see me?"
"I wouldn't say that…" he smirked down at her and almost fell over as Zane brushed past him one hand clamping down on Jondy's arm. "Hey!" Alec followed behind them an irritated expression plastered across his face.
"Sorry…he gets grumpy sometimes for no apparent reason," Jondy threw over her shoulder not bothering too resist Zane's pulling on her hand. "I swear you should be a little dwarf with a pick axe." Zane scowled at her but otherwise kept his course steady.
Sitting at a round table with another woman was Max, laughing softly at something. Max looked up and saw them, her smile widening as she waved at them. "I almost gave up on you guys," she said with a glint in her eyes.
"You seem to do that a lot, huh?" Jondy grinned and slid into a chair as Alec and Zane slipped into the chairs beside her. She looked up and saw two familiar figures coming towards them. "Logan and the squeak toy!"
"Her names Asha," Alec informed her laughing behind his mug of beer.
"But I like squeak toy better."
Zane poured a beer for Jondy and himself and looked at Alec with a smirk, "she'll be squeak toy until she comes up with something else she likes."
Max was laughing happily at the new nick name and nodded her head at her friend, "this is Original Cindy…OC these are Zane and Jondy."
"From military school," Jondy said with a giggle and let her head fall to Zane's well-muscled shoulder.
"You're her brother and sister?" Cindy asked raising her brows.
"The not so one and onlies."
Alec's head shot up and he turned to them with raised brows, "You're escapees from '09?"
"It would seem so," Zane answered before Jondy could even open her mouth, so she glared at him.
"Why are they sitting over there?" Max asked suddenly, her eyes turned to slits as she watched Logan and Asha sit at a table across the crowded floor.
"Why wouldn't they?" Jondy raised and eyebrow at the two but couldn't find anything that would be out of place.
Alec laughed into his beer, "Max is jealous, since she can't touch him."
Jondy and Zane nodded their heads but didn't bother to ask why they couldn't do such a simple thing as touch. "I don't know why you'd want him…" Jondy started with a laugh.
"No one but her does," Alec laughed into her ear. "Oww." He turned to Max, rubbing his arm, with a scowl; "It's true!" He picked up the ice that had been lobbed at him and tossed it back at her.
"So, Alec, you're Ben's twin? How's that for ya?" Jondy laughed, ignoring Zane's scowl that seemed to have fallen in place the second Alec had shown up.
"It's not much fun." He admitted taking a swig of beer. He leaned over his mouth centimeters from her ear as he whispered, "I think Max holds it against me."
Jondy's brows rose as he looked at him and then over to Max who was talking quietly with Zane. "Why?"
"I don't know. She doesn't exactly talk to me about things like that."
"She just spends her time yelling at you?"
"How'd you know?"
"Everyone has a gun pointed at them and she wastes her time telling you to 'shut up.'" She shook her head and made a tisking noise as she sneered at her beer. "You want it?" she pointed at the offending mug.
"Sure," he slid it infront of him and rolled his eyes. "Logan has moved on and she's not accepting it."
For a second Jondy didn't know what he was talking about until he nodded in Max's direction. "Oh. Well, I'm sure he was worthy of such devotion at one point."
Alec shook his head with a laugh, "not really. She gets captured and he moved on within a month. I know cause I've talked to Asha, though she denies doing anything with him recently."
Jondy snorted, "so what was it between them?" She watched through lowered lashes as Logan and Asha laughed quietly.
"Max and Logan were apparently 'never like that' and she came back to find she has a virus in her blood that'll kill him…which she falsely blames on me!" Jondy snickered as she saw the unhappy grimace on his face; "She blames everything on me."
"And that bothers you?"
"Kind of, I've saved her ass a couple times."
"For which I thank you, heartily." Jondy patted his shoulder as he stared at her for a moment, blinking slowly. "What?"
"I'm trying to remember if anyone's actually thanked me before."
"That's so sad." She stood and tugged on his sleeve as an evil grin suddenly spread across her face, "come on."
"Where are we going?" He laughed, looking up at her. He had to wonder why he was even talking to her; it wasn't like he was used to handing out secrets to people, even if they happened to be beautiful girls that seemed to spark memories that he'd never had.
"I bet Max didn't tell Logan we're the good guys…bet I could scare the piss out of him." She bit her tongue on a laugh and wiggled her eyebrows. "Wanna help?"
"Love to."
He stood up with her when a hand caught her sleeve. "I know that smile, that's a bad smile…what destruction are you planning?" Green eyes met blue and she wondered briefly what had Zane so angry before she smiled sweetly down at him.
"I'm going to get your dog out of the apartment so I can blow it up."
"Not again!"
"What? Pyrotechnics are fun!"
"Not on our apartment."
"But I've only blown up an apartment one time, and it was so pretty!"
"No…"
"Fine," she pouted but then her face brightened. "Then I'll go dancing!" She led Alec away by the arm laughing.
"I think he might be jealous…" Alec started quietly.
"Why would he be jealous?"
"Maybe he likes you…"
"Then he'll be happy when he sees me playing with Logan's head."
"Ri-ight."
"Shush…" She put a finger to her lips, "you'll ruin the surprise." She angled her approach so that Logan and Asha couldn't see her, and when she was close enough she landed two hands down on their shoulders and put her face between them. "Hi, kiddies…having a fun night?"
Asha squeaked loudly and watched her with wide blue eyes, as Logan watched her trying to look calm, "what are you doing here?"
"I'm a girl, I just wanna have fun…what does it look like?" She smiled sweetly, flashing fangs.
"I don't know," Logan's eyes were darting around, looking for a way from the woman standing behind him, looking like a cat that had just caught the canary. He suddenly spotted Alec walking casually by, "Alec!"
He turned surprise written on his face, "I thought you didn't like me. Why are you talking to me?"
"A little help, please?" Logan's eyes shifted to Jondy who was gazing at Alec with narrowed eyes and a sexy smile.
Alec smirked and held up his hands backing away, "Not a chance, she kicked Max's ass. I don't think I'll face much better against the psycho."
"See, I've had a fun day already." She whispered into his ear, and laughed when she heard the sudden gulp as Logan swallowed past a lump in his throat.
"Anything I can do for you?" he asked calmly, blinking at her slowly.
"Not really…" She bit her lip and looked from Asha to him. "You're the boy who tried to get with my sister…" She said softly glancing again at Asha, "and you're settling for the squeak toy?"
"Your sister?" Logan's eyes went wide.
She smiled at him and straightened, "Yeah, Maxie. Couldn't see the family resemblance?" She laughed and shook her head walking away with Alec, who threw a smirk over his shoulder at Logan.
"What did you do?" Zane asked, with narrowed eyes, as they sat back down.
"I went over to say 'hi.'" She smiled innocently at her sister, "how was I supposed to know that you hadn't told him I was your sister?"
Zane rolled his eyes and ran a hand through his black hair, knowing her too well to believe the innocence ploy. Max's eyes, however, went wide as she looked at Logan, who was now walking their way.
Jondy stood up suddenly, "I'm gonna go play pool. Anyone want to come?"
"Original Cindy'll go with ya." She said with a smirk watching Logan too.
"Me too," Alec spoke up stifling a laugh.
"So you talk in third person, that sounds like fun." Jondy said as she walked away with Cindy and Alec following behind them.
"Why didn't you tell me?" Logan asked Max quietly looking at Zane with narrowed eyes.
"I was going to…but you weren't answering your phone this afternoon." She answered with a sigh, her eyes slipping over to where Alec stood with a cue stick in hand, talking with Cindy and Jondy. "This is Zane, by the way." She pointed, and watched as Zane nodded not really looking at the other man.
"I think I'm gonna go play pool with them," he nodded over at the pool table and turned to Max. "Wanna come?"
"Sure," she looked at Logan who was watching her unhappily. "I'll talk to you later."