Disclaimer see chapter 1
A/N: Sorry it took me that long already again, but real life is kinda more important right now. I hope you guys can understand that!
Reviews telling me to get my a movin' are greatly appreciated! All others as well obviously!
Chapter 10
Arriving on the fourth floor, Max slowly opened the door to the staircase. She could hear voices in the distance immediately. Checking thoroughly that she had stayed undetected, she silently sneaked closer.
"I'll get you Eyes Only!" Were the first words she could understand.
"Damn it, Logan," she cursed, louder than she should have. Biting her lower lip and feeling her heart beat faster, she jumped into an empty room, waiting a moment to make sure nobody had noticed her. 'Why do you always have to play the knight in shining armour? This really isn't the time for your old-fashioned chivalry,' she directed her anger towards Logan.
Brad looked at Logan, hate blazing in his eyes. He didn't seem to doubt the truth of Logan's words for a single second. Then a dangerous smile started to play around his lips. "You know what? I'll kill her if you don't tell me. What do you think about that?" He aimed the gun at Juna. "I'm listening."
"Brad, this won't solve anything. Even if Randy lives, you will spend the rest of your life in jail. What good would that do? How do you think Randy would feel, knowing that you gave up your freedom to save his life?"
"Shut up! You get me Eyes Only or she's dead!" he clicked the safety off. "Tell me!"
"I…I'm Eyes Only!" Logan felt like he had just signed his own death warrant. He had said it out loud. Everything he had protected so fiercely, sacrificed so much for as worth nothing anymore.
"What the hell?" Brad looked at him, a mixture of hate and disbelief on his face.
As the gun was still touching Juna's temple, Logan continued. "I was the one who delivered the cable hack. I was the one who took away Randy's last chance. It's not fair that innocent people have to give their lives for this!"
"You bastard!" Brad turned the gun at Logan. "You son of a bitch!"
Logan could see Brad's finger compressing the trigger and he knew instantly that he would not be able to move fast enough to avoid the bullet. This was it. The second bullet would do the job and kill him. 'Well, this is certainly better than what the first one did to me!' He thought sarcastically. If Max had heard that she would have kicked his ass.
Max! He couldn't do that to her! He had seen the look in her eyes when she had thrown herself into his lap after THE incident.
"No!" Juna reacted in a split second. She threw herself at Brad and struggled to get a grip on the gun as they both landed hard on the floor. She heard the sound of the gun being fired and she could only pray that she had been fast enough, that the bullet was directed somewhere other than Logan's heart or head.
Suddenly there was an odd sound and when she looked down she could see a green light blinking on the bomb that was still strapped tightly around Brad's upper body.
For a moment, Juna was distracted, her concentration on the new threat rather than on the guy lying beneath her, struggling to win the fight of his life. Her distractedness, combined with the adrenaline and despair cursing through his body, allowed him to deliver a hard punch to her jaw.
For a moment she thought she was going to lose consciousness, she felt herself slip towards the darkness, but then she collected all her strength and fury and continued trying to wrestle the gun from Brad's tight grip. Suddenly another shot went off and Brad's body turned limb under her hands.
"Logan! Juna!" Max had heard the commotion and had decided that this was the moment to risk exposure.
"Max! The bomb!" Juna tried to unstrap the belt with trembling fingers, but in her haste was unable to do so. "Oh my God! It's gonna explode! It's gonna explode!" she yelled, panic clear in her voice.
Max suddenly found herself back in Manticore, a 7-year old kid, and saw herself as she stood over a bomb, much bigger than this one with the time ticking away. She was all alone in a huge building, the sound of the timer echoing in the vastness. But no matter how clear the picture got, she couldn't remember the slightest feeling of panic. They were trained to stay calm, to analyze the situation and then solve the issue. The way Juna reacted was not very Manticore-like.
Then again, Zack had accused her of becoming too weak and sentimental. Who could blame Juna?
Max knelt down next to her, realizing that the other transgenic wasn't exaggerating. Her eyes instinctively looked at Logan who was lying on the floor, his chest rising and falling quickly as he tried to regain his breath. She wouldn't let him die! With all the force she possessed she tore the belt from Brad's chest. She looked down at the device she held in her hands. The beeping had increased constantly and had now reached an almost continuous sound that wore at her nerves. That much about always staying in control- well, maybe if Logan wasn't lying helplessly on the floor a few feet away…But he was there, he always was, if not in person, in her mind. Zack had been right. She had let her guards down and now she lost control. But did she really care?
She cursed, chasing away the thoughts she wouldn't find answers for anyway, as she realized that there was no time left to even try and disarm the bomb. Not hesitating another second she came to a decision.
With enhanced speed she ran down the corridor and simply threw the deadly package through an open window.
She leaned outside, watching as the bomb fell towards the lake. She certainly hoped the water was deep enough.
Moments later the water bubbled and huge waves washed towards the shore. 'Damn, that was close.'
"Logan?" Juna and the young male nurse were leaning over him, worried expressions on their faces when Max returned.
"He okay?" Max felt her breath catch in the throat, an invisible force strangling her, robbing her of all air.
And eternity passed before the young nurse sat up straighter and smiled at her encouragingly. "He's okay, the bullet just grazed him." His face became paler by the second, the events of the past few hours apparently catching up with him. "Excuse-me," he mumbled while struggling to stand and then hurrying towards the bathroom, the entire stress of the past few hours apparently caught up with him.
"I'll call down and let the police know it's over and that we are okay," Juna said tiredly.
Max only managed to nod, her eyes fixed on the man lying on the floor. She slowly knelt down next to him in the spot the male nurse had vacated.
Logan was clutching his arm, his pupils dilated, his face pale. He still managed to smile at her a little. "Thanks," he whispered.
Max shrugged, desperately needing to have an air of normalcy. "That's what I'm here for." She got up again after gently touching his hand, if just for a split second.
She leaned over Brad and checked for a pulse. "He's dead," she stated emotionlessly. "Good."
"Max!"
"What? He didn't exactly act like a nice guy today. Besides, what would you have done if he had told the police about you, huh?" She felt the anger she had suppressed earlier surface again. "How could you have told him? Are you completely crazy?"
"What was I supposed to do? He would have killed everybody."
"You could have waited for me," Max snapped back.
"I hate to tell you, but you took an awfully long time today," he hissed when a new wave of pain followed his words.
"Whatever." Max rolled her eyes. "Anyway, what are we gonna do about Juna, she knows, too."
"Don't worry," a voice came from behind her. "Your secret's safe with me. Manticore kids have to stick together, right?" She winked at Max. "And now excuse me, I have to see how my husband's doing. Where have you left Mackenzie anyway?"
"Thank you." Max said gratefully. "She is safely with the police."
Max returned to Logan's side and scrutinized him closely. "That was a close call, you know."
Logan sighed. "Yeah, it was."
THE END
(There is gonna be an epilogue though!)
A/N: Sorry it took me that long already again, but real life is kinda more important right now. I hope you guys can understand that!
Reviews telling me to get my a movin' are greatly appreciated! All others as well obviously!
Chapter 10
Arriving on the fourth floor, Max slowly opened the door to the staircase. She could hear voices in the distance immediately. Checking thoroughly that she had stayed undetected, she silently sneaked closer.
"I'll get you Eyes Only!" Were the first words she could understand.
"Damn it, Logan," she cursed, louder than she should have. Biting her lower lip and feeling her heart beat faster, she jumped into an empty room, waiting a moment to make sure nobody had noticed her. 'Why do you always have to play the knight in shining armour? This really isn't the time for your old-fashioned chivalry,' she directed her anger towards Logan.
Brad looked at Logan, hate blazing in his eyes. He didn't seem to doubt the truth of Logan's words for a single second. Then a dangerous smile started to play around his lips. "You know what? I'll kill her if you don't tell me. What do you think about that?" He aimed the gun at Juna. "I'm listening."
"Brad, this won't solve anything. Even if Randy lives, you will spend the rest of your life in jail. What good would that do? How do you think Randy would feel, knowing that you gave up your freedom to save his life?"
"Shut up! You get me Eyes Only or she's dead!" he clicked the safety off. "Tell me!"
"I…I'm Eyes Only!" Logan felt like he had just signed his own death warrant. He had said it out loud. Everything he had protected so fiercely, sacrificed so much for as worth nothing anymore.
"What the hell?" Brad looked at him, a mixture of hate and disbelief on his face.
As the gun was still touching Juna's temple, Logan continued. "I was the one who delivered the cable hack. I was the one who took away Randy's last chance. It's not fair that innocent people have to give their lives for this!"
"You bastard!" Brad turned the gun at Logan. "You son of a bitch!"
Logan could see Brad's finger compressing the trigger and he knew instantly that he would not be able to move fast enough to avoid the bullet. This was it. The second bullet would do the job and kill him. 'Well, this is certainly better than what the first one did to me!' He thought sarcastically. If Max had heard that she would have kicked his ass.
Max! He couldn't do that to her! He had seen the look in her eyes when she had thrown herself into his lap after THE incident.
"No!" Juna reacted in a split second. She threw herself at Brad and struggled to get a grip on the gun as they both landed hard on the floor. She heard the sound of the gun being fired and she could only pray that she had been fast enough, that the bullet was directed somewhere other than Logan's heart or head.
Suddenly there was an odd sound and when she looked down she could see a green light blinking on the bomb that was still strapped tightly around Brad's upper body.
For a moment, Juna was distracted, her concentration on the new threat rather than on the guy lying beneath her, struggling to win the fight of his life. Her distractedness, combined with the adrenaline and despair cursing through his body, allowed him to deliver a hard punch to her jaw.
For a moment she thought she was going to lose consciousness, she felt herself slip towards the darkness, but then she collected all her strength and fury and continued trying to wrestle the gun from Brad's tight grip. Suddenly another shot went off and Brad's body turned limb under her hands.
"Logan! Juna!" Max had heard the commotion and had decided that this was the moment to risk exposure.
"Max! The bomb!" Juna tried to unstrap the belt with trembling fingers, but in her haste was unable to do so. "Oh my God! It's gonna explode! It's gonna explode!" she yelled, panic clear in her voice.
Max suddenly found herself back in Manticore, a 7-year old kid, and saw herself as she stood over a bomb, much bigger than this one with the time ticking away. She was all alone in a huge building, the sound of the timer echoing in the vastness. But no matter how clear the picture got, she couldn't remember the slightest feeling of panic. They were trained to stay calm, to analyze the situation and then solve the issue. The way Juna reacted was not very Manticore-like.
Then again, Zack had accused her of becoming too weak and sentimental. Who could blame Juna?
Max knelt down next to her, realizing that the other transgenic wasn't exaggerating. Her eyes instinctively looked at Logan who was lying on the floor, his chest rising and falling quickly as he tried to regain his breath. She wouldn't let him die! With all the force she possessed she tore the belt from Brad's chest. She looked down at the device she held in her hands. The beeping had increased constantly and had now reached an almost continuous sound that wore at her nerves. That much about always staying in control- well, maybe if Logan wasn't lying helplessly on the floor a few feet away…But he was there, he always was, if not in person, in her mind. Zack had been right. She had let her guards down and now she lost control. But did she really care?
She cursed, chasing away the thoughts she wouldn't find answers for anyway, as she realized that there was no time left to even try and disarm the bomb. Not hesitating another second she came to a decision.
With enhanced speed she ran down the corridor and simply threw the deadly package through an open window.
She leaned outside, watching as the bomb fell towards the lake. She certainly hoped the water was deep enough.
Moments later the water bubbled and huge waves washed towards the shore. 'Damn, that was close.'
"Logan?" Juna and the young male nurse were leaning over him, worried expressions on their faces when Max returned.
"He okay?" Max felt her breath catch in the throat, an invisible force strangling her, robbing her of all air.
And eternity passed before the young nurse sat up straighter and smiled at her encouragingly. "He's okay, the bullet just grazed him." His face became paler by the second, the events of the past few hours apparently catching up with him. "Excuse-me," he mumbled while struggling to stand and then hurrying towards the bathroom, the entire stress of the past few hours apparently caught up with him.
"I'll call down and let the police know it's over and that we are okay," Juna said tiredly.
Max only managed to nod, her eyes fixed on the man lying on the floor. She slowly knelt down next to him in the spot the male nurse had vacated.
Logan was clutching his arm, his pupils dilated, his face pale. He still managed to smile at her a little. "Thanks," he whispered.
Max shrugged, desperately needing to have an air of normalcy. "That's what I'm here for." She got up again after gently touching his hand, if just for a split second.
She leaned over Brad and checked for a pulse. "He's dead," she stated emotionlessly. "Good."
"Max!"
"What? He didn't exactly act like a nice guy today. Besides, what would you have done if he had told the police about you, huh?" She felt the anger she had suppressed earlier surface again. "How could you have told him? Are you completely crazy?"
"What was I supposed to do? He would have killed everybody."
"You could have waited for me," Max snapped back.
"I hate to tell you, but you took an awfully long time today," he hissed when a new wave of pain followed his words.
"Whatever." Max rolled her eyes. "Anyway, what are we gonna do about Juna, she knows, too."
"Don't worry," a voice came from behind her. "Your secret's safe with me. Manticore kids have to stick together, right?" She winked at Max. "And now excuse me, I have to see how my husband's doing. Where have you left Mackenzie anyway?"
"Thank you." Max said gratefully. "She is safely with the police."
Max returned to Logan's side and scrutinized him closely. "That was a close call, you know."
Logan sighed. "Yeah, it was."
THE END
(There is gonna be an epilogue though!)