Thanks again for the encouraging reviews. You make the long hours at the
computer worthwhile!!!!
My special thanks to my beta Alaidh.
Chapter 12
Logan looked at her.
For once he didn't know what to say.
"Are you sure?" he finally asked her.
Thinking back to what she saw in those moments, she said slowly, "You had your glasses off, looking at Martin. How can I explain it, you had your ... I don't know ... your 'Eyes Only" look, and that's when I saw her staring at you, like she knew."
Max thought back to the episode with frustration. "I shoulda put the smack down on Martin earlier when I had the chance," she ground out.
"I shoulda kept him away from you in the first place," added Logan. "You may have noticed he's quite a bit different than Bennett," he added dryly.
"He doesn't seem to like 'you' much."
"Well, he's had Jonas in his ear most of his adult life."
'More mud,' thought Max with venom.
She watched Logan as he drove, wondering what he was thinking.
"Logan?"
"I gotta talk to her," he said, as if answering a question in his own mind.
"You gotta get out of Seattle," she told him abruptly.
"I need to think this thing through, Max."
"Logan, she could be talking to the police and nailing your ass to the wall right now!"
"She's a friend," he insisted forcefully.
"Yeah, well I think she's the kinda 'friend' who'd sell you to the highest bidder," Max replied scathingly.
"If that's the case, she'll hardly be reporting me to the authorities if she means to make big money out of me," he answered her reasonably.
"I don't like it, Logan. Surely you had a plan for something like this?"
"Destroy the informant net," he told her succinctly.
"And then you just wait around to be gunned down by someone pissed off with you for destroying their scam, or get carted off by the crooked legal system to rot in a jail, or if you're real lucky," and her voice rose with each fresh scenario, "you might mysteriously disappear on your way to your trial?" she suggested sarcastically.
"My situation was a bit different, you might recall, when I started Eyes Only," he told her, trying to stay calm.
"Well, you're whacked if you think I'm gonna stand around and wait for Barbie Girl to make you her ground-breaking news scoop."
"Yeah, well I don't see there's an awful lot I can do about it, unless you want to slit her throat to silence her," he finished bitingly, driving into his apartment building's underground parking garage.
"If it means saving you, then maybe I would!" she flung back, opening the door even though Logan hadn't quite stopped, angrily taking out his wheelchair then depositing it with a thump next to him.
"Tell me why you want to save everyone else's ass, but you're too damned proud to save your own!"
"Because," and his eyes blazed, "I won't save myself at the cost of someone else."
Stopping suddenly, realizing they were hardly in a secure environment, he clamped his mouth shut, transferring to his chair and putting his feet on the footrest with a tense, angry manner.
While waiting for him, Max's eyes scoured the area. She would no longer take anything for granted.
Without another word, Logan pushed himself angrily towards the elevator, and they rode up in silence.
"Mind if I take a shower?" Max asked him, as they entered the apartment.
"Fine," he replied shortly.
*********************************************
Max felt the tension in her body slowly leave as she let the piping hot water cascade over her body.
If only a shower could cure all the worries of the world, she thought, life would be a lot simpler.
With a grim smile, she imagined herself washing Melody Banks down the drain.
Melody Banks.
At the thought of her name the tension in her body returned. To think that someone like her, with no scruples at all, should hold Logan's fate in her hands.
The thought made her sick.
Slipping into her jeans and sweater again, with her hair wrapped in a towel, she went in search of Logan.
"I'm goin' to bed," he told her abruptly when she came out. "I guess you plan on stayin' the night."
Max nodded silently.
"Well, you know where everything is," he said without looking at her, and headed off towards his room.
Max stood in the same position for some moments after he'd gone, her expression a mixture of worry and concern.
Removing the towel from her head, she fluffed her hair out, then turned off most of the lights and lit some candles instead.
She could hear the noise of Logan's shower, but after that, all was quiet, and she assumed he was asleep.
It was nights like this she wished she could sleep, if only to escape the thoughts that kept hammering at her mind.
Eventually she made herself a hot drink and raided Logan's kitchen cupboards for something to eat, hoping that would take her mind off the evening's events.
With her feet up on the couch and a blanket thrown over her, Max had just taken the first bite of her sandwich when she heard a noise.
"I couldn't sleep," said Logan with a wry smile, coming towards her.
Max smiled back. "You wanna join me in a hot drink? I'm havin' tea."
After a pause, Logan said, "Sure."
Max brought the hot drink over to him where he sat in his chair near the couch.
She watched him nurse the drink in his hands, gazing into it blankly as she sipped her own.
"You prefer iced tea?" she tried.
He looked up at her suddenly. "I'm sorry about before."
"No big dealio," she quipped back. "I think I might have let fly with a few things I shouldn't have."
"Is that an apology?" he asked her suspiciously.
Max thought about it. "I don't know if I'd go that far."
"It's funny," said Logan, eyes back on the tea, "I never even considered a scenario like this."
With a short laugh, he continued, "If I thought about it at all, I thought I'd go down in a hail of bullets, or at the hands of someone like Gerhardt Bronck. There's a certain sweet irony to it that Eyes Only would be at the mercy of an old friend."
"Sure, 'sweet'," echoed Max bitterly, not enjoying the topic of conversation. "So, just what sort of an 'old friend' is she?"
"I don't really know," frowned Logan, taking a drink of the rapidly cooling tea.
"I can make you another," suggested Max, cold tea having no appeal for her.
"No, don't bother," replied Logan, putting the mug down on the table, unlocking his brakes, and heading for the window.
Max twisted to face the other way to watch him, her arms on the back of the couch with her chin resting on them. In a perfect world, she reflected, she'd have some smart-ass comment that would instantly solve all his problems, and he wouldn't need to be searching the streets of Seattle for an answer.
The sudden ringing of the phone made them both jump.
With a quick look at Max, Logan wheeled over to pick it up.
Irresistibly drawn, Max followed him, watching his face carefully to try and gauge who it might be.
She didn't have to try too hard. His first word was, "Melody."
Max began to relax a little as she read his body language. He leaned back in his chair as he spoke, his left hand resting on the wheel.
"Yeah."
That didn't sound too tense she thought.
"Now?"
Surprise. His eyes found Max.
"Wait there. I'll send someone to meet you."
At that, he hung up and spun around to face her.
"So, she called to share a hot scoop with you?" asked Max helpfully.
"She wants to 'meet' with me," Logan contradicted.
"She wants to set you up," countered Max immediately.
Logan sighed. "Are you gonna help me on this or not?"
Max looked at him. "What do you want me to do?" she said almost sulkily.
"I said I'd meet with her," he started to explain.
"Not here!" Max said purposefully.
"If I can finish..." he added exasperatedly.
Seeing her more or less nod, he went on, "I'll have to meet her at one of the safe houses. She's possibly being followed. I need you to get her and bring her to me."
"Now?" Seeing him nod, she said grimly, "Gimme the address, and which safe house you're gonna be at."
Reaching across his desk, he scribbled two addresses down for her.
"The first one's her address. The other one's a safe house we haven't used before."
Max looked down at the two addresses he'd given her. "I should be able to meet you there in forty minutes," she told him.
Taking her jacket from where it lay on one of the chairs, she headed out the door, only pausing long enough to say seriously, "I am not liking this, Logan. Watch your back, and stay outta sight 'til you see me. Got it?" she finished tersely, expecting an answer from him.
"I hear you," he replied.
Max frowned as she rode the elevator down. He hadn't exactly given her a 'yes'.
*****************************************
The apartment block where Melody Banks lived was a bit better than most. It would appear her salary kept her in a reasonable lifestyle.
At three in the morning, the foyer was deserted. There was no twenty-four hour security here as there was at Logan's apartment.
With a careful check, she headed up the elevator to the sixth floor, creeping with cat-like stealth until she stood outside apartment 608.
Max listened carefully, then putting her hand to the door, she knocked quietly.
It was obvious she had been expected, because the door opened a crack almost immediately.
"I'm here to collect you," Max told the blonde reporter in a cold voice through the slight opening, the security chain still being in place.
"I'll get my things," Melody said, about to walk away, but Max rasped out, "Open the door first."
Melody looked hesitant at first, then let Max in.
"Have you got L..." Logan, she was about to say, until Max put a hand over her mouth before she had a chance to finish the sentence.
"Don't mention his name here ...ever!" she ground out.
Melody Banks was not a timid woman, but even she quailed under that intense gaze.
Max did a thorough check of the room, checking for bugs or anyone concealed there, but there was no evidence of either.
"Get your things," Max told her.
Melody raced through to the bedroom and picked up her bag and jacket.
Without a word, Max took her bag and emptied it onto the bed, ignoring Melody's outraged comments, as she sifted through the contents carefully, satisfying herself that the bag was clean.
Suddenly there was a noise at the door, and Max spun around, on the alert.
There was definitely someone standing there, listening to their discussion.
Melody, watching her with wide eyes, was amazed to see Max dart forward with incredible speed and grab whoever was in the corridor by the arm.
"No, don't hurt him," Melody cried out, when she saw what Max's intentions were. "He's just a work colleague.
Max had the man in a neck hold, one arm ready to squeeze the life out of him. Already he was gasping for air.
"What?" snapped Max, not willing to let go.
"He works with me. He's just coming by to make sure I'm okay." Melody said desperately.
Max broke her hold on the man, and spun him round to look at Melody. "See, she's okay. Now get outta here, before I change my mind."
The dark haired man looked at Melody. Mixed with fear, was confusion and concern for her.
"I'm fine, Jack. I'm interviewing her for a story. She's a bit tense, that's all," explained Melody, with a coolness that even impressed Max.
The man called 'Jack' looked from Melody to Max uncertainly.
"I'm busy here, all right, Jack!" Melody said, with an edge to her voice.
Jack held up his hands in a gesture of surrender. "Okay. I'll see you tomorrow," he told Melody, with meaning.
Once he'd gone, Max looked at the reporter. "We're wasting time. Get goin'."
Without another word, Melody followed Max out the door, locking it behind her as she went.
With her senses on the alert, Max made her way back to the Ninja, and curtly told Melody to get on.
"Too bad. I didn't have time to go home and get you a helmet," said Max 'regretfully'. "Hope we don't slip on the wet road".
Melody swung her leg over, hiding her trepidation by saying quickly, "Well, we'd both be in the same boat wouldn't we?" her eyes going to Max's own uncovered head.
***************************************
Revving hard, Max roared down the road and on to the safe house where Logan was waiting for her, her eyes constantly checking her rear-view mirror to look for a possible tail.
The first thing Max saw when she arrived at the safe house, which was a small abandoned warehouse, was Logan's Aztek parked out front. She did a precautionary circuit of the block before finally stopping and telling Melody to get off.
The warehouse was situated in a muddy street, busy with the teeming traffic of people who preferred to walk the streets at night, and huddle around makeshift fires because it was too cold and miserable to wait at home for the long night to end.
A shaft of weak light limped into the night as a door in front of them opened outwards.
Max, catching a glimpse of Logan, pushed Melody none too gently through the door.
Logan frowned a little at her action, but wheeling back a little as they came in, simply said, "Mel. Sorry about the cloak an' dagger stuff."
Melody looked at Logan as if she were seeing him for the first time.
"You know why I'm here," she said tonelessly.
"Not really," replied Logan, putting on his leather gloves as he spoke. The night air was freezing, and they could see their breath when they spoke. "Maybe you should tell me."
Max went to the dirty window and looked out, quickly scanning the area, then walked back and stood near Logan, arms folded, where she could watch Melody.
"She's good, Logan," Melody motioned towards Max. "A real asset in your line of work I'd imagine."
"Why don't you cut to the chase and tell us what your game is," snapped Max.
"I think you already know," Melody countered, plunging her hands deep into the pocket of her coat. Now that she was here, she felt curiously reluctant to put her thoughts into words.
Suddenly, she looked at Logan and said abruptly, "'You' are Eyes Only."
Logan felt like he'd been kicked in the face. He had been expecting her to say something like that, but it was a shock nonetheless.
"You can deny it if you like Logan, but I've done the math." She considered him thoughtfully. "Everyone at the station wondered why Eyes Only dropped out of sight for those three months last year."
"He had some 'adjusting' to do," replied Logan, talking about himself in the third person.
Maybe that was the easiest way to separate himself from the memory of those weeks of physical and mental pain, but the shadow of it crossed his face nonetheless, which only gave Max another reason to hate her.
"'Adjusting' has always been one of your talents," Melody answered.
"The question is, what do you intend to do about it?" asked Max, the underlying threat in her words not missed on Melody. "Does Logan become your latest scoop?"
Melody looked from one to the other. "I haven't thought that far ahead," she admitted.
"Well you'd better start thinking, 'cause Logan's got a string o' people after him who want him dead, and the thought of you running around with this information in your pretty blonde head really doesn't do a whole lot for me," was Max's sarcastic reply.
Logan shifted a little in his chair, and said quietly, "Max."
She looked at him for a moment, then with a 'sweet' smile said to Melody, "Just act like I'm not here," stalking to the window to check the street outside.
That left Logan and Melody staring at each other.
"Mind if I smoke?" asked Melody, a token show of politeness as she took a pack of cigarettes and a gold lighter out of her coat pocket, walking over to lean against a huge pile of wooden pallets, left there from the previous owner.
"So, you wanna tell me who paid you to shovel the dirt on Eyes Only in the first place?" asked Logan evenly.
"You make me sound pretty cheap."
"You're a journalist, you prostituted yourself," he accused her.
"It's easy for you to be sanctimonious when you're not having to worry about whether your job will still be there the next day."
He shrugged.
"I got a call. They offered me money. A lot of money," she told him, stubbing out her barely smoked cigarette.
"Who are 'they'?" asked Logan intently.
Melody shook her head. "I never saw them. The money was deposited into my account."
"You must be a real sound sleeper," put in Max, unable to help herself.
Ignoring her comment, Logan asked in amazement, "Didn't you ever wonder who you were dealing with? What sort of people they were?"
"Don't judge me by your standards, Logan," the blonde reporter replied cynically.
Max turned back to the window, in time to see a shiny, black van driving slowly down the street, then stop across the way a few doors down.
She didn't like the look of it.
"Logan, can we get the Aztek in here?" she asked intently.
Logan motioned to the heavy, double sliding doors that would have once been the access to a loading bay. "I have a key for those."
"Give me your car-keys." Seeing Logan's enquiring look she said quietly, "It's possible we have visitors."
Turning to Melody, Max said, "Do you think you can open those doors without breaking a nail?"
"I grew up on a farm. I'm sure I can cope," she snapped back.
Logan gave Max a worried look. "I don't like the idea of you goin' out there if there's trouble."
"Yeah, well I don't like the idea of you getting in the car out in the open. Anyway, there's no trouble, 'yet'," she smiled at him. "Just make sure the doors are open for me."
Without hesitation, Logan went over to the huge padlock and chain, slipping one of the keys into the lock, aware of Max slipping out the door to go to his car.
The first key he tried wouldn't budge. Muttering a curse, he tried the next one.
Melody meanwhile slid back the bolts at the top and bottom of the doors, in readiness to slide them open.
The second key refused to move as well. Logan cast a quick look up at Melody. "Look out the window, and see what's happening."
Careful to reveal as little of herself as possible, she stole a quick look. "Max is in your car, and the black van is still parked opposite, about two buildings down."
Logan began to relax a little. Maybe they were jumping to conclusions.
Just as the key slid smoothly into the lock and turned, Melody called out, "The van's reversing this way!"
Seeing Logan had the door unlocked, Melody sprang forward and began dragging the heavy doors open, thankful they still slid relatively easily.
Max brought the Aztek up to the doors, pulling into the warehouse as soon as Melody had the other side open.
Jumping out, Max called to Logan and Melody, "Get in."
Melody jumped in the back door, feeling the unbearable tension inside her as Max put the wheelchair in the back, and then jumped into the passenger seat next to Logan.
"Let's go. I'll come back for my bike later."
Logan thought Max must be worried if she was willing to leave her Ninja behind, as he reversed the car back out of the warehouse.
The van was still reversing down the narrow road, when it became obvious the occupants had spotted the Aztek and decided they were interested in it.
"Logan," said Max in a warning voice, as the van suddenly accelerated at a fast rate towards them, obviously trying to cut them off.
Logan cut short his reverse, and partially swung the Aztek up on the sidewalk so as not to hit the approaching car.
"Duck!" yelled Max suddenly as she saw the long, dark object sticking through the window of the other car. She winced slightly as she heard the unmistakable sound of bullets hitting metal.
Logan accelerated up the narrow road, desperate to put as much distance between themselves and the van.
Max leaned across and honked the horn as a warning to several people who weren't paying attention, and who nearly stepped out in front of the vehicle.
Melody had completely ducked down behind the seat, her hands over her head.
Doing several quick turns, Logan thought they'd lost them, only to be frustrated to have the van turn up behind them once more.
Max suddenly turned to Melody. "Give me your bag."
Wordlessly, Melody handed it to Max, who promptly opened her window just as an old man on a bike passed from the other direction, an empty plastic crate strapped to the back of his bike.
Without hesitation, Max threw the bag into the crate, and it traveled off in the other direction.
"See if you can lose him now," she told Logan.
Once again, he wound his way through as many turns and side streets as he could, but to their frustration, the van always turned up on their tail again.
Max looked at Logan. "It wasn't the bag."
"Melody, your cigarette lighter, throw it out," said Logan quickly.
Opening her own window this time, Melody tossed out the cigarette lighter, and the cigarettes as well just in case.
Once more, Logan turned into the side streets, doing a series of turns, eventually going back out on the main road. This time the black van did not follow.
"You'd better donate to the 'Keep America Beautiful campaign'," Max told Melody.
**************************************
Melody was quite shaken by the whole affair, the enormity of her actions being brought home to her.
"What do you plan to do?" Max asked Logan.
"We can't take Melody to her apartment. I guess I'll have to take her back to my place."
Max just looked at him.
To her surprise, Melody spoke from the back seat. "Stop the car, Logan," she told him.
He looked at her through the rear-view mirror.
"Please."
With a quick look at Max, he pulled over, and turned around to face her.
Melody spoke with difficulty. "I know Max doesn't want me at your place because I may bring trouble to you. I can't believe how naïve I've been about everything," she added, sounding precariously close to tears.
Max rolled her eyes. "Damn straight on both points," she remarked.
Logan made a sign with his eyes for her to be quiet.
"You're right, Logan. I've sold out on all my ideals for the sake of money." Melody continued with difficulty, "You and Max risked your lives tonight to save me. I'm ashamed to say I don't even think I'm worth it."
Unmoved, Max nodded her head almost imperceptibly, earning another look from Logan.
"Let's not talk about it now," said Logan quietly.
"You wanna take her back to your crib?" asked Max.
Logan nodded.
Max turned to Melody and said, "Strip."
"Pardon?"
"I said 'strip', take your clothes off, undress, get free..."
"Max," said Logan, frowning at her.
"Logan, we're dealing with pros. I've already missed one trace on her tonight. I don't aim to make that mistake again. She wants to stay, she strips," she finished immovably, "and I dump her clothes in that bin over there."
He gave her another side-ways glance. "Max..."
Unexpectedly, Max had support from Melody.
"She's right. I don't know much about these matters, but it seems to make sense. I don't wanna bring trouble to you, Logan."
Max looked at Melody closely for a moment, but could read nothing other than sincerity in her tone.
"Logan, give her your jacket."
"Why do I feel like this is an argument I can't possibly win?" he muttered, undoing his seatbelt and taking off his brown, leather jacket.
Melody at once stripped down to her underwear, Max deeming that should be safe, and pulled Logan's jacket on, while Max got out of the car and deposited her clothing in the nearby dumpster.
"Home, James," she said to Logan.
Deciding it was probably safer to say nothing, he simply drove back to his apartment, wondering what the security guard on duty would think.
****************************************
Max took Melody into the guest room, and gave her a pair of track pants and a sweat shirt that she'd brought with her for her own comfort.
She stood at the door with her arms folded and waited for her to change, her manner very much the manner of a security guard making sure no-one shop lifted.
"I know you don't like me," said Melody, pulling the sweatshirt over her head, "but I don't aim to bring trouble to Logan."
"Well, it's a bit late for this speech, 'cause you've already done that."
"I know there's no excuse for what I've done, but believe me, if I'd known Logan was Eyes Only, I would never have agreed to doing those reports."
"Why so honourable all of a sudden?" Max asked bluntly.
"You care a lot for him, don't you?" said Melody, hugging her knees to herself as she sat on the bed.
"Just because you're doin' your best to get him killed, don't think that means I'm gonna be nice to you," was the 'warm' reply.
Max, having had enough of her company, went in search of Logan, and found him stretched out on the couch, sound asleep.
She smiled down at him for a moment, and then grabbed a blanket, gently throwing it over Logan, so as not to wake him.
Watching her from a distance, Melody shrugged. "Have it your way, but you've got it bad girl," she said in an undertone.
TBC
My special thanks to my beta Alaidh.
Chapter 12
Logan looked at her.
For once he didn't know what to say.
"Are you sure?" he finally asked her.
Thinking back to what she saw in those moments, she said slowly, "You had your glasses off, looking at Martin. How can I explain it, you had your ... I don't know ... your 'Eyes Only" look, and that's when I saw her staring at you, like she knew."
Max thought back to the episode with frustration. "I shoulda put the smack down on Martin earlier when I had the chance," she ground out.
"I shoulda kept him away from you in the first place," added Logan. "You may have noticed he's quite a bit different than Bennett," he added dryly.
"He doesn't seem to like 'you' much."
"Well, he's had Jonas in his ear most of his adult life."
'More mud,' thought Max with venom.
She watched Logan as he drove, wondering what he was thinking.
"Logan?"
"I gotta talk to her," he said, as if answering a question in his own mind.
"You gotta get out of Seattle," she told him abruptly.
"I need to think this thing through, Max."
"Logan, she could be talking to the police and nailing your ass to the wall right now!"
"She's a friend," he insisted forcefully.
"Yeah, well I think she's the kinda 'friend' who'd sell you to the highest bidder," Max replied scathingly.
"If that's the case, she'll hardly be reporting me to the authorities if she means to make big money out of me," he answered her reasonably.
"I don't like it, Logan. Surely you had a plan for something like this?"
"Destroy the informant net," he told her succinctly.
"And then you just wait around to be gunned down by someone pissed off with you for destroying their scam, or get carted off by the crooked legal system to rot in a jail, or if you're real lucky," and her voice rose with each fresh scenario, "you might mysteriously disappear on your way to your trial?" she suggested sarcastically.
"My situation was a bit different, you might recall, when I started Eyes Only," he told her, trying to stay calm.
"Well, you're whacked if you think I'm gonna stand around and wait for Barbie Girl to make you her ground-breaking news scoop."
"Yeah, well I don't see there's an awful lot I can do about it, unless you want to slit her throat to silence her," he finished bitingly, driving into his apartment building's underground parking garage.
"If it means saving you, then maybe I would!" she flung back, opening the door even though Logan hadn't quite stopped, angrily taking out his wheelchair then depositing it with a thump next to him.
"Tell me why you want to save everyone else's ass, but you're too damned proud to save your own!"
"Because," and his eyes blazed, "I won't save myself at the cost of someone else."
Stopping suddenly, realizing they were hardly in a secure environment, he clamped his mouth shut, transferring to his chair and putting his feet on the footrest with a tense, angry manner.
While waiting for him, Max's eyes scoured the area. She would no longer take anything for granted.
Without another word, Logan pushed himself angrily towards the elevator, and they rode up in silence.
"Mind if I take a shower?" Max asked him, as they entered the apartment.
"Fine," he replied shortly.
*********************************************
Max felt the tension in her body slowly leave as she let the piping hot water cascade over her body.
If only a shower could cure all the worries of the world, she thought, life would be a lot simpler.
With a grim smile, she imagined herself washing Melody Banks down the drain.
Melody Banks.
At the thought of her name the tension in her body returned. To think that someone like her, with no scruples at all, should hold Logan's fate in her hands.
The thought made her sick.
Slipping into her jeans and sweater again, with her hair wrapped in a towel, she went in search of Logan.
"I'm goin' to bed," he told her abruptly when she came out. "I guess you plan on stayin' the night."
Max nodded silently.
"Well, you know where everything is," he said without looking at her, and headed off towards his room.
Max stood in the same position for some moments after he'd gone, her expression a mixture of worry and concern.
Removing the towel from her head, she fluffed her hair out, then turned off most of the lights and lit some candles instead.
She could hear the noise of Logan's shower, but after that, all was quiet, and she assumed he was asleep.
It was nights like this she wished she could sleep, if only to escape the thoughts that kept hammering at her mind.
Eventually she made herself a hot drink and raided Logan's kitchen cupboards for something to eat, hoping that would take her mind off the evening's events.
With her feet up on the couch and a blanket thrown over her, Max had just taken the first bite of her sandwich when she heard a noise.
"I couldn't sleep," said Logan with a wry smile, coming towards her.
Max smiled back. "You wanna join me in a hot drink? I'm havin' tea."
After a pause, Logan said, "Sure."
Max brought the hot drink over to him where he sat in his chair near the couch.
She watched him nurse the drink in his hands, gazing into it blankly as she sipped her own.
"You prefer iced tea?" she tried.
He looked up at her suddenly. "I'm sorry about before."
"No big dealio," she quipped back. "I think I might have let fly with a few things I shouldn't have."
"Is that an apology?" he asked her suspiciously.
Max thought about it. "I don't know if I'd go that far."
"It's funny," said Logan, eyes back on the tea, "I never even considered a scenario like this."
With a short laugh, he continued, "If I thought about it at all, I thought I'd go down in a hail of bullets, or at the hands of someone like Gerhardt Bronck. There's a certain sweet irony to it that Eyes Only would be at the mercy of an old friend."
"Sure, 'sweet'," echoed Max bitterly, not enjoying the topic of conversation. "So, just what sort of an 'old friend' is she?"
"I don't really know," frowned Logan, taking a drink of the rapidly cooling tea.
"I can make you another," suggested Max, cold tea having no appeal for her.
"No, don't bother," replied Logan, putting the mug down on the table, unlocking his brakes, and heading for the window.
Max twisted to face the other way to watch him, her arms on the back of the couch with her chin resting on them. In a perfect world, she reflected, she'd have some smart-ass comment that would instantly solve all his problems, and he wouldn't need to be searching the streets of Seattle for an answer.
The sudden ringing of the phone made them both jump.
With a quick look at Max, Logan wheeled over to pick it up.
Irresistibly drawn, Max followed him, watching his face carefully to try and gauge who it might be.
She didn't have to try too hard. His first word was, "Melody."
Max began to relax a little as she read his body language. He leaned back in his chair as he spoke, his left hand resting on the wheel.
"Yeah."
That didn't sound too tense she thought.
"Now?"
Surprise. His eyes found Max.
"Wait there. I'll send someone to meet you."
At that, he hung up and spun around to face her.
"So, she called to share a hot scoop with you?" asked Max helpfully.
"She wants to 'meet' with me," Logan contradicted.
"She wants to set you up," countered Max immediately.
Logan sighed. "Are you gonna help me on this or not?"
Max looked at him. "What do you want me to do?" she said almost sulkily.
"I said I'd meet with her," he started to explain.
"Not here!" Max said purposefully.
"If I can finish..." he added exasperatedly.
Seeing her more or less nod, he went on, "I'll have to meet her at one of the safe houses. She's possibly being followed. I need you to get her and bring her to me."
"Now?" Seeing him nod, she said grimly, "Gimme the address, and which safe house you're gonna be at."
Reaching across his desk, he scribbled two addresses down for her.
"The first one's her address. The other one's a safe house we haven't used before."
Max looked down at the two addresses he'd given her. "I should be able to meet you there in forty minutes," she told him.
Taking her jacket from where it lay on one of the chairs, she headed out the door, only pausing long enough to say seriously, "I am not liking this, Logan. Watch your back, and stay outta sight 'til you see me. Got it?" she finished tersely, expecting an answer from him.
"I hear you," he replied.
Max frowned as she rode the elevator down. He hadn't exactly given her a 'yes'.
*****************************************
The apartment block where Melody Banks lived was a bit better than most. It would appear her salary kept her in a reasonable lifestyle.
At three in the morning, the foyer was deserted. There was no twenty-four hour security here as there was at Logan's apartment.
With a careful check, she headed up the elevator to the sixth floor, creeping with cat-like stealth until she stood outside apartment 608.
Max listened carefully, then putting her hand to the door, she knocked quietly.
It was obvious she had been expected, because the door opened a crack almost immediately.
"I'm here to collect you," Max told the blonde reporter in a cold voice through the slight opening, the security chain still being in place.
"I'll get my things," Melody said, about to walk away, but Max rasped out, "Open the door first."
Melody looked hesitant at first, then let Max in.
"Have you got L..." Logan, she was about to say, until Max put a hand over her mouth before she had a chance to finish the sentence.
"Don't mention his name here ...ever!" she ground out.
Melody Banks was not a timid woman, but even she quailed under that intense gaze.
Max did a thorough check of the room, checking for bugs or anyone concealed there, but there was no evidence of either.
"Get your things," Max told her.
Melody raced through to the bedroom and picked up her bag and jacket.
Without a word, Max took her bag and emptied it onto the bed, ignoring Melody's outraged comments, as she sifted through the contents carefully, satisfying herself that the bag was clean.
Suddenly there was a noise at the door, and Max spun around, on the alert.
There was definitely someone standing there, listening to their discussion.
Melody, watching her with wide eyes, was amazed to see Max dart forward with incredible speed and grab whoever was in the corridor by the arm.
"No, don't hurt him," Melody cried out, when she saw what Max's intentions were. "He's just a work colleague.
Max had the man in a neck hold, one arm ready to squeeze the life out of him. Already he was gasping for air.
"What?" snapped Max, not willing to let go.
"He works with me. He's just coming by to make sure I'm okay." Melody said desperately.
Max broke her hold on the man, and spun him round to look at Melody. "See, she's okay. Now get outta here, before I change my mind."
The dark haired man looked at Melody. Mixed with fear, was confusion and concern for her.
"I'm fine, Jack. I'm interviewing her for a story. She's a bit tense, that's all," explained Melody, with a coolness that even impressed Max.
The man called 'Jack' looked from Melody to Max uncertainly.
"I'm busy here, all right, Jack!" Melody said, with an edge to her voice.
Jack held up his hands in a gesture of surrender. "Okay. I'll see you tomorrow," he told Melody, with meaning.
Once he'd gone, Max looked at the reporter. "We're wasting time. Get goin'."
Without another word, Melody followed Max out the door, locking it behind her as she went.
With her senses on the alert, Max made her way back to the Ninja, and curtly told Melody to get on.
"Too bad. I didn't have time to go home and get you a helmet," said Max 'regretfully'. "Hope we don't slip on the wet road".
Melody swung her leg over, hiding her trepidation by saying quickly, "Well, we'd both be in the same boat wouldn't we?" her eyes going to Max's own uncovered head.
***************************************
Revving hard, Max roared down the road and on to the safe house where Logan was waiting for her, her eyes constantly checking her rear-view mirror to look for a possible tail.
The first thing Max saw when she arrived at the safe house, which was a small abandoned warehouse, was Logan's Aztek parked out front. She did a precautionary circuit of the block before finally stopping and telling Melody to get off.
The warehouse was situated in a muddy street, busy with the teeming traffic of people who preferred to walk the streets at night, and huddle around makeshift fires because it was too cold and miserable to wait at home for the long night to end.
A shaft of weak light limped into the night as a door in front of them opened outwards.
Max, catching a glimpse of Logan, pushed Melody none too gently through the door.
Logan frowned a little at her action, but wheeling back a little as they came in, simply said, "Mel. Sorry about the cloak an' dagger stuff."
Melody looked at Logan as if she were seeing him for the first time.
"You know why I'm here," she said tonelessly.
"Not really," replied Logan, putting on his leather gloves as he spoke. The night air was freezing, and they could see their breath when they spoke. "Maybe you should tell me."
Max went to the dirty window and looked out, quickly scanning the area, then walked back and stood near Logan, arms folded, where she could watch Melody.
"She's good, Logan," Melody motioned towards Max. "A real asset in your line of work I'd imagine."
"Why don't you cut to the chase and tell us what your game is," snapped Max.
"I think you already know," Melody countered, plunging her hands deep into the pocket of her coat. Now that she was here, she felt curiously reluctant to put her thoughts into words.
Suddenly, she looked at Logan and said abruptly, "'You' are Eyes Only."
Logan felt like he'd been kicked in the face. He had been expecting her to say something like that, but it was a shock nonetheless.
"You can deny it if you like Logan, but I've done the math." She considered him thoughtfully. "Everyone at the station wondered why Eyes Only dropped out of sight for those three months last year."
"He had some 'adjusting' to do," replied Logan, talking about himself in the third person.
Maybe that was the easiest way to separate himself from the memory of those weeks of physical and mental pain, but the shadow of it crossed his face nonetheless, which only gave Max another reason to hate her.
"'Adjusting' has always been one of your talents," Melody answered.
"The question is, what do you intend to do about it?" asked Max, the underlying threat in her words not missed on Melody. "Does Logan become your latest scoop?"
Melody looked from one to the other. "I haven't thought that far ahead," she admitted.
"Well you'd better start thinking, 'cause Logan's got a string o' people after him who want him dead, and the thought of you running around with this information in your pretty blonde head really doesn't do a whole lot for me," was Max's sarcastic reply.
Logan shifted a little in his chair, and said quietly, "Max."
She looked at him for a moment, then with a 'sweet' smile said to Melody, "Just act like I'm not here," stalking to the window to check the street outside.
That left Logan and Melody staring at each other.
"Mind if I smoke?" asked Melody, a token show of politeness as she took a pack of cigarettes and a gold lighter out of her coat pocket, walking over to lean against a huge pile of wooden pallets, left there from the previous owner.
"So, you wanna tell me who paid you to shovel the dirt on Eyes Only in the first place?" asked Logan evenly.
"You make me sound pretty cheap."
"You're a journalist, you prostituted yourself," he accused her.
"It's easy for you to be sanctimonious when you're not having to worry about whether your job will still be there the next day."
He shrugged.
"I got a call. They offered me money. A lot of money," she told him, stubbing out her barely smoked cigarette.
"Who are 'they'?" asked Logan intently.
Melody shook her head. "I never saw them. The money was deposited into my account."
"You must be a real sound sleeper," put in Max, unable to help herself.
Ignoring her comment, Logan asked in amazement, "Didn't you ever wonder who you were dealing with? What sort of people they were?"
"Don't judge me by your standards, Logan," the blonde reporter replied cynically.
Max turned back to the window, in time to see a shiny, black van driving slowly down the street, then stop across the way a few doors down.
She didn't like the look of it.
"Logan, can we get the Aztek in here?" she asked intently.
Logan motioned to the heavy, double sliding doors that would have once been the access to a loading bay. "I have a key for those."
"Give me your car-keys." Seeing Logan's enquiring look she said quietly, "It's possible we have visitors."
Turning to Melody, Max said, "Do you think you can open those doors without breaking a nail?"
"I grew up on a farm. I'm sure I can cope," she snapped back.
Logan gave Max a worried look. "I don't like the idea of you goin' out there if there's trouble."
"Yeah, well I don't like the idea of you getting in the car out in the open. Anyway, there's no trouble, 'yet'," she smiled at him. "Just make sure the doors are open for me."
Without hesitation, Logan went over to the huge padlock and chain, slipping one of the keys into the lock, aware of Max slipping out the door to go to his car.
The first key he tried wouldn't budge. Muttering a curse, he tried the next one.
Melody meanwhile slid back the bolts at the top and bottom of the doors, in readiness to slide them open.
The second key refused to move as well. Logan cast a quick look up at Melody. "Look out the window, and see what's happening."
Careful to reveal as little of herself as possible, she stole a quick look. "Max is in your car, and the black van is still parked opposite, about two buildings down."
Logan began to relax a little. Maybe they were jumping to conclusions.
Just as the key slid smoothly into the lock and turned, Melody called out, "The van's reversing this way!"
Seeing Logan had the door unlocked, Melody sprang forward and began dragging the heavy doors open, thankful they still slid relatively easily.
Max brought the Aztek up to the doors, pulling into the warehouse as soon as Melody had the other side open.
Jumping out, Max called to Logan and Melody, "Get in."
Melody jumped in the back door, feeling the unbearable tension inside her as Max put the wheelchair in the back, and then jumped into the passenger seat next to Logan.
"Let's go. I'll come back for my bike later."
Logan thought Max must be worried if she was willing to leave her Ninja behind, as he reversed the car back out of the warehouse.
The van was still reversing down the narrow road, when it became obvious the occupants had spotted the Aztek and decided they were interested in it.
"Logan," said Max in a warning voice, as the van suddenly accelerated at a fast rate towards them, obviously trying to cut them off.
Logan cut short his reverse, and partially swung the Aztek up on the sidewalk so as not to hit the approaching car.
"Duck!" yelled Max suddenly as she saw the long, dark object sticking through the window of the other car. She winced slightly as she heard the unmistakable sound of bullets hitting metal.
Logan accelerated up the narrow road, desperate to put as much distance between themselves and the van.
Max leaned across and honked the horn as a warning to several people who weren't paying attention, and who nearly stepped out in front of the vehicle.
Melody had completely ducked down behind the seat, her hands over her head.
Doing several quick turns, Logan thought they'd lost them, only to be frustrated to have the van turn up behind them once more.
Max suddenly turned to Melody. "Give me your bag."
Wordlessly, Melody handed it to Max, who promptly opened her window just as an old man on a bike passed from the other direction, an empty plastic crate strapped to the back of his bike.
Without hesitation, Max threw the bag into the crate, and it traveled off in the other direction.
"See if you can lose him now," she told Logan.
Once again, he wound his way through as many turns and side streets as he could, but to their frustration, the van always turned up on their tail again.
Max looked at Logan. "It wasn't the bag."
"Melody, your cigarette lighter, throw it out," said Logan quickly.
Opening her own window this time, Melody tossed out the cigarette lighter, and the cigarettes as well just in case.
Once more, Logan turned into the side streets, doing a series of turns, eventually going back out on the main road. This time the black van did not follow.
"You'd better donate to the 'Keep America Beautiful campaign'," Max told Melody.
**************************************
Melody was quite shaken by the whole affair, the enormity of her actions being brought home to her.
"What do you plan to do?" Max asked Logan.
"We can't take Melody to her apartment. I guess I'll have to take her back to my place."
Max just looked at him.
To her surprise, Melody spoke from the back seat. "Stop the car, Logan," she told him.
He looked at her through the rear-view mirror.
"Please."
With a quick look at Max, he pulled over, and turned around to face her.
Melody spoke with difficulty. "I know Max doesn't want me at your place because I may bring trouble to you. I can't believe how naïve I've been about everything," she added, sounding precariously close to tears.
Max rolled her eyes. "Damn straight on both points," she remarked.
Logan made a sign with his eyes for her to be quiet.
"You're right, Logan. I've sold out on all my ideals for the sake of money." Melody continued with difficulty, "You and Max risked your lives tonight to save me. I'm ashamed to say I don't even think I'm worth it."
Unmoved, Max nodded her head almost imperceptibly, earning another look from Logan.
"Let's not talk about it now," said Logan quietly.
"You wanna take her back to your crib?" asked Max.
Logan nodded.
Max turned to Melody and said, "Strip."
"Pardon?"
"I said 'strip', take your clothes off, undress, get free..."
"Max," said Logan, frowning at her.
"Logan, we're dealing with pros. I've already missed one trace on her tonight. I don't aim to make that mistake again. She wants to stay, she strips," she finished immovably, "and I dump her clothes in that bin over there."
He gave her another side-ways glance. "Max..."
Unexpectedly, Max had support from Melody.
"She's right. I don't know much about these matters, but it seems to make sense. I don't wanna bring trouble to you, Logan."
Max looked at Melody closely for a moment, but could read nothing other than sincerity in her tone.
"Logan, give her your jacket."
"Why do I feel like this is an argument I can't possibly win?" he muttered, undoing his seatbelt and taking off his brown, leather jacket.
Melody at once stripped down to her underwear, Max deeming that should be safe, and pulled Logan's jacket on, while Max got out of the car and deposited her clothing in the nearby dumpster.
"Home, James," she said to Logan.
Deciding it was probably safer to say nothing, he simply drove back to his apartment, wondering what the security guard on duty would think.
****************************************
Max took Melody into the guest room, and gave her a pair of track pants and a sweat shirt that she'd brought with her for her own comfort.
She stood at the door with her arms folded and waited for her to change, her manner very much the manner of a security guard making sure no-one shop lifted.
"I know you don't like me," said Melody, pulling the sweatshirt over her head, "but I don't aim to bring trouble to Logan."
"Well, it's a bit late for this speech, 'cause you've already done that."
"I know there's no excuse for what I've done, but believe me, if I'd known Logan was Eyes Only, I would never have agreed to doing those reports."
"Why so honourable all of a sudden?" Max asked bluntly.
"You care a lot for him, don't you?" said Melody, hugging her knees to herself as she sat on the bed.
"Just because you're doin' your best to get him killed, don't think that means I'm gonna be nice to you," was the 'warm' reply.
Max, having had enough of her company, went in search of Logan, and found him stretched out on the couch, sound asleep.
She smiled down at him for a moment, and then grabbed a blanket, gently throwing it over Logan, so as not to wake him.
Watching her from a distance, Melody shrugged. "Have it your way, but you've got it bad girl," she said in an undertone.
TBC