AS208 Pong Chapter Twelve, a dark angel fanfic

AS 2.08 Pong by Star 24

Chapter Twelve

Seattle Sector Eight

True to his word, Logan had somehow obtained a flashy sports car worthy of one of Seattle's less upstanding denizens and he and Max now sat in it outside of a seedy looking warehouse. Logan slipped on a pair of dark glasses that not only disguised his eyes, but also covered a good portion of his face, and turned to Max.

"You'll do." Max let her gaze sweep over Logan who was dressed in clothing she never would have expected to see on his trim frame. He wore a dark blue shirt made of a shiny material that clung to his chest. The top several buttons were opened displaying a light furring of chest hair and a thick gold chain.

His pants were of a black material that similarly clung to his body and the outfit was topped off with one of his leather jackets. On his left wrist he wore a gold link bracelet that matched the chain, and his hands sported several flashy rings. "Wonder what your snooty relatives would say if they saw you dressed like this?"

Logan chuckled, "It would almost be worth it to see their faces." He hadn't missed the way Max's gaze lingered as she looked him up and down, and he struggled to remain impassive as he checked out her outfit in his turn.

Max wore the tiniest excuse for a skirt she had ever put on in her life. Beneath its skintight, minuscule length her shapely legs were encased in black fishnet hose. Her top consisted of a glittery red backless halter made of a clingy material, with a deep V-Neck. Logan had provided her with a blonde wig and makeup, which Original Cindy had helped her apply. Max couldn't stand the feel of the thick foundation and wanted nothing more than to wash it off, but a look from both Cindy and Logan when she had balked at it had made her give up that idea. She wore several cheap bangles on each wrist, long glittery earrings and was chewing a piece of bubble gum. As a final touch Cindy had sprayed her heavily with a cheap perfume that had made her sneeze for several moments.

"Well?" she said impatiently as Logan didn't say anything.

"You'll do." He repeated her words back to her.

Max frowned. "Yeah, if I don't die of toxic shock from this makeup and perfume first. Why couldn't I have been something else?"

Logan grinned devilishly, "Why the better to distract them, my dear. We don't want them thinking any too clearly now, do we?"

Max climbed from the car and walked deliberately around to lean on Logan's open window, swaying her hips as she walked. She leaned in close to him, making sure to give him a good look at her cleavage and said in a sultry voice, "And what about you, big boy?" Feeling distracted?"

Logan gulped and was suddenly uncomfortably aware of exactly how tight his pants were. "I'm feeling like we need to get this done and get out of here ASAP," he answered repressively, managing to hold onto some shreds of composure in the face of Max's deliberate provocation.

Max laughed and brushed a finger tipped with bright red, through his hair and down his cheek. "Hold those thoughts until I get back." Her gaze dropped to his lap making her reference clear and there was a wicked gleam in her eyes as she straightened. "You wanna pop the trunk, baby?" she said, becoming all business.

Logan sighed and complied with her request. He watched as she pulled out the heavy box and then proceeded toward the building. Just before she went in, she turned and blew him a kiss. She tossed her hair and pushed open the door and entered, letting it close behind her.

"Max?" Logan whispered into his concealed throat mike, "does it look okay?"

"This place is a rat hole. Can't believe Vinnie is makin' me do this." Max complained loudly, coming through clearly on Logan's comm unit. "Hey, big boy." Her voice turned into a sultry purr. "I'm lookin' for Mr. Gonzales. I gotta delivery for him."

"Give that to me and stand still." A rough voice said.

"Hey." There was the sound of a slap. "Don't touch the merchandise. If you wanna make a purchase you gotta talk to my old man. He's waitin' for me outside." Max's voice was indignant.

"Vic, stop foolin' around with the babe and bring her and the box in to the man." A third voice chimed in.

After that Logan heard low grumbling and the sound of Max's heels tapping a rhythm on the floor as she accompanied the voices to see the person in charge. He leaned back to wait, unconsciously dropping a hand to the gun that was tucked into the waistband of his pants just in case. Suddenly his earpiece went to static and he swore to himself. He looked at his watch. It was possible that the room Max had entered had steel in its walls that was interfering with their comms. Logan decided to give Max ten minutes to come out and then he would head in after her. He settled back in his seat, forcing himself to wait out the time.

Inside the building Max had followed two rough looking men into another section of the old warehouse.

It looked as if it had once been the receiving and storage section. Tall rows of steel shelving extended up into the shadows of the roof and stretched down long dark aisles. A couple of broken down forklifts sat gathering dust, stripped of their tires and, she guessed, of any mechanical parts of any worth.

"Like it, doll?"

Max turned with a start to face a man who was seated in shadow behind a desk off to her left. She shivered and pulled her arms tight around herself in a show of nervousness. "No. It's creepy here." She let a sulky tone creep into her voice. "My ole man made me come in while he waits outside. He shoulda done this."

"I suspect your 'ole man' is more concerned with his own skin than yours, sweetheart." The man's tones were chill despite the endearment. He turned to the man who had taken the box from Max, dismissing her as no account. "Bring that here, Victor."

Victor complied, placing the box on the desk and then hastily backing off. The man behind the desk flicked on a goose neck lamp, illuminating only the box and leaving his face in shadow. Max chuckled to herself as she focused her night vision and studied his face closely, committing it to her memory.

After a quick examination the man behind the desk signaled with his hand. "Give her the money and show her out."

The man next to Victor pulled an envelope out of his pocket and shoved it at Max. "Come on." He turned and started back the way they had come, not bothering to see if she was following. Max shrugged and followed in his wake. When they reached the front entrance she expected him to let her out but instead he accompanied her toward the car where Logan sat waiting. A chill made it's way down her spine as she detected the slight movement of his hand toward his waist.

In the car Logan breathed a sigh of relief as he saw the door open and Max silhouetted in the anemic glow of a street lamp. He frowned as she exited the building accompanied by a man. His hand went to his gun and he pulled it out and held it ready, out of sight below the car window.

"You don' need to accompany me no further." Max was saying to her escort. "My ole man's right there waitin' for me and he gets real jealous if you know what I mean."

"Maybe I wanna check out the prices." Max's escort said, continuing to walk with her.

Max stopped and gave him a sultry look. "I don't come cheap."

He grunted and grabbed her arm pulling her toward the car. "That's for your pimp to negotiate now ain't it, baby?"

Max stopped dead, forcing the man to stop with her. "You dissin' me? "Cause I don't like that."

"Shuddup bitch." The man was out of patience and he yanked hard on Max's arm.

Logan was out of the car and he stood there holding his gun on the man. "Let her go. Nobody touches

what's mine, least not without paying first," he declared in rough tones.

Things happened swiftly after that. The man went for the gun he was carrying and Max screamed to Logan "Get down."

Logan dropped to the ground as a gun went off. As he watched, Max turned into a whirling dervish of motion. She spun and brought a shapely leg up, disarming the man with a hard kick and continuing her motion, at a speed that was a blur to Logan, to catch him square in the face. Blood spurted and he let out a scream, clutching his hand to his nose. Before he could begin to recover, Max hit him hard in the stomach and he doubled over, making it easy for her to send him flying across the pavement with another well placed foot.

As he moaned and struggled to rise, Max was beside Logan, pulling him up and practically throwing him into the car. He had barely closed his door when she was in the passenger seat yelling at him to get moving. Logan started the car and stepped hard on the accelerator, peeling out and leaving the smell of burned rubber lingering behind them. He continued his speed for several blocks, taking corners recklessly

and nearly running over a wino who stumbled out into the road. Finally, satisfied that they weren't being followed, he slowed the car and looked over at Max.

Max had pulled off her blonde wig and was running her hands through her hair. She looked over at Logan with a grin. "Nice driving."

Logan grinned back, caught up in the exhilaration of the moment, "Nice ass kicking." He laughed, " I should have known you'd get some in."

Max smiled. "Be happy I got some of it out of my system." The meaning behind her words was clear.

Logan chose to ignore it, not wanting to lose the feeling of the moment. "How much did we get?"

Max pulled the envelope of money out of the neckline of her top and opened it up. She riffled through the bills. "Looks like ten thou. Not bad."

"It'll help Mina get a start." Logan said softly.

"Yeah," Max agreed, remembering the young girl waiting at Logan's for them.

Silence fell in the car as Logan headed it toward Fogle Towers. But this time it was a comfortable silence, lacking the recent awkwardness between them. Max leaned back and closed her eyes, wanting only to arrive so she could wash her face of the gunk coating it. When they had to stop in a checkpoint line, Logan glanced at her, letting his eyes briefly roam over her. He couldn't help thinking how beautiful she was despite her sleazy outfit.

Max's eyes opened just then and met his. The two stared at each other.

"Max," Logan said, "we need to talk."

"When?" Max asked.

Logan sighed. "Mina's at my place."

"No one's at mine." Max said in return. "Original Cindy's with Mina, remember."

"You want to do this tonight?" Logan seemed to be a bit startled.

"No time like the present." Max returned, challenging him with a look.

They were through the checkpoint and Logan switched direction, heading towards Max's apartment.

As they drove through the dark and mostly deserted streets, silence once again reigned as each one gathered their thoughts for the coming confrontation.

End of Chapter Twelve