AS 2.08 Pong by Star24

Disclaimer: Dark Angel and its characters are copyright 2001-2002 Twentieth Century Fox Studios and James Cameron and Charles Eglee. This original story is copyright 2003 Star24.

Chapter Five

Outside of Kent, WA

Logan was feeling more relaxed than he had in months. James had proven to be a sympathetic listener, even though he had refused to offer Logan any real advice on how to deal with his situation with Max, saying only that he would like to know more about how Max saw things before he made any suggestions.

That in itself had given Logan food for thought, making him wonder if perhaps he had jumped too quickly to a conclusion about her motives and behavior. If James, who didn't even know her, was advocating caution in judgement, in the face of what on the surface was damning evidence, he began to wonder about his own motives for judging her so harshly. At the end of their talk, James had said to him, "Logan, you know your father wasn't always right about everything," and refused to elaborate any further.

He had spent the last several days taking long walks, both to build up his long unused leg muscles, and to do some hard thinking. While the first goal had been well served, Logan wasn't so sure he had accomplished much for the second. His thoughts kept veering wildly. One moment he was lost in reliving how right it had felt to finally consummate his physical relationship with Max, and the next he was caught up in the horror of realizing that she had traded her skills as an assassin for a restoration of his ability to walk.

James hadn't alluded to the subject again, even though Logan knew that if he wanted to talk more, the door was open. He guessed that James had told Anna something, going by the way she was treating him with extra care, even though he knew that James wouldn't have betrayed any of the details about Max or Manticore that he had revealed.

"Logan, you have a call." Anna called out to him as he came in sight of the farmhouse.

"Be right there," he waved to her. He was surprised that the call hadn't come in on his cell until he remembered he had deliberately left it in his room, not wanting any disturbances while he walked. When he reached the house, Anna held his cell out to him and he took it from her with a smile and a thank you. He sat on one of the rockers and put the phone to his ear.

"Hey."

"Hey, Logan it's Bling. How are you, man?"

"Believe it or not I'm doing okay. I'm not there yet but things are trying to come clear."

Logan told him honestly. "Why did you call?"

"Max came over to your place the other day." Bling said.

Logan was silent for a moment. "How is she?" he asked finally.

"She's hurting. Logan, I'm worried about her and about you. Not telling her where you are was about the hardest thing I've ever done."

"I know, Bling. Me too." Logan answered softly.

"Anyway, if she asks again what should I tell her? You ready to talk to her yet?" Bling wanted to know.

"I don't know." Logan's confusion was evident in his tone of voice.

"Do you know when you're coming back?" Bling asked.

"When I know the answer to your first question," Logan laughed bitterly. "Give me a few more days. I'm working on it and I think I'm making progress. Anything up with Eyes Only?" He said the last softly after checking to be sure there were no listening ears.

"It's been quiet." Bling said, not aware of the email Max had intercepted.

"Well, if anything blows up, hit me and I'll head straight back." Logan instructed him.

"Take care man." Bling paused, "For what it's worth, I think you need to talk to Max.I told her and I'm telling you, that I've never seen two people more meant for each other. You owe her, and yourself, a chance to work things out."

Logan was silent.

"If you change your mind about Max knowing where you are, hit me back." Bling continued. "Maybe that fresh country air would do the both of you good."

The call disconnected, and Logan sat there staring unseeingly at the sunset that was spreading rays of orange and pink across the horizon. He hesitated and then he reached into his pants pocket and pulled out his wallet. He slid a square of cardboard out of a hidden compartment and turned it over. Max stared up at him from a photo that had clearly seen much handling. Logan sat there gazing into the dark eyes that looked up at him seriously, as the sun dropped below the horizon and darkness fell over the fields in front of him.

Harbor Lights Hospital

Dr. Beverly Shankar looked up from her paperwork to see the chief internist standing in her office doorway.

"Dr. Wilson, how can I help you?" she asked in surprise.

Dr. Wilson entered the small office and sat down facing Beverly. "I wanted to let you know that your John Doe just died."

"We expected that." Beverly said. "I appreciate your telling me, but I'm surprised you took the time personally. I know how overworked everyone is here."

"He didn't die from his condition." Dr. Wilson said grimly. "He was murdered. Someone injected air into his IV tube. We wouldn't have picked it up if they hadn't dropped the empty syringe they used on their way out. One of the nurses made rounds early and we think she almost caught the murderer in the act. The police are investigating but I doubt they'll spend much time on an unknown derelict. They'll probably be by to see you eventually."

"There isn't much I can tell them." Beverly observed, trying to hide her shock and concern.

"No there isn't. I didn't want you to be surprised. We appreciate your assistance here, Dr. Shankar, and I wouldn't want to lose it over something like this." Dr. Wilson said.

"No fear of that. It had nothing to do with me after all." Beverly assured him.

Dr. Wilson nodded and rose from the chair. "Good night then."

"Good night, Doctor." Beverly answered. As soon as he left and she thought that enough time had elapsed, she picked up her phone and dialed a number. "Max, this is Beverly. I wanted to confirm where we were meeting for coffee tonight. Give me a call back." She kept her tone bright and breezy for any possible listening ears. After leaving her message, Beverly hung up the phone and sat back in her chair as she waited impatiently for Max to call her back.

End of Chapter Five