Ok, this is the next chapter. Sorry it took us some time, but we have plenty of chapters done already- reviews might encourage us to post faster:-)
Read and enjoy!!
***
"Are you ok?" Logan worriedly looked at Max.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Just a little shaky and I have to admit I didn't quite expect you to have so much friendly company." Her usual sarcastic tone was back in her slightly trembling voice as Logan noticed relieved.
"Believe me, I didn't invite them over." He smiled weakly. "Where to?"
"I don't know...my place? They didn't seem to know me, so we might be safe there for a while."
Logan nodded, he was still too shocked to think about anything but four safe walls around him right now. Then again, how could he be sure any walls would be safe?
They rode the rest of the way in silence, Max still worn out from her fight and her seizure, Logan in shock.
Finally he parked in front of Max's building.
"Keep on driving, there is a little side street about 400 meters up the road, we shouldn't park your car that obviously in front of our hiding place!"
Logan did as he was told, then parked the car and cut the engine.
"There is a wheelchair in the back. Could you please get it for me?"
Max nodded, relieved. She had already worried about Logan's mobility. He would need it as it seemed, he wouldn't let her carry him around, and right now she honestly didn't feel like putting up with his weight and his ego.
By the time Logan was ready, Max had already made sure no suspicious people were creeping around.
***
"Cindy!" Max yelled out, when they entered the apartment.
"Hey Boo. Have you kicked rich boy's ass?"
Cindy came over to the living area and looked down at Logan, who was grinning boyishly despite the seriousness of the situation. He knew Cindy and knew she didn't mean to offend him, but he thought it was fun to see her embarrassed.
She blushed despite her usual attitude. For a split second he forgot why he was here.
"Oops. Sorry," she muttered
"Nice to know how Max's friends see me," Logan said with an ironic smile.
"I..." Cindy was at a loss of words- something she wasn't used to. But Max came to her rescue.
"You have to leave. Now! Could you stay with Kendra for a few days?" She urged her homegirl.
"Why? Doesn't your guy have a more decent place to hang out?"
"He is not my...anyway, this is serious! You might be in danger here, I can't explain it right now. Trust me!" Max tried to sound calm but determined.
Original Cindy knew the look in Max's eyes and knew that this was no time to mess with her.
"Aiight Boo. I hope you know what you are doing." She reluctantly walked towards her room to gather her things.
"I do." Max didn't sound very convinced, much to Logan's dismay.
**
Logan waited in the living room while Original Cindy quickly packed her most important belongings and Max called Kendra to let her know she was going to have a roommate for a couple of days.
For the first time he got to think about what had happened. How on earth had those guys tracked him down? And how could it be that not even Max had been able to fight them? What was it that had affected her that badly? And most importantly, how were they going to get out of that mess?
He would have to call Bling and ask him to get him the contents of a bank safe which included copies of his most important files, some money, credit cards and an ID. He had made sure to keep those things in a safe place for a situation like this. Only he had never really thought that he would ever need them. Bling also had a second key for the Aztec which would come in handy now.
"Logan?" Max stood right in front of him, for how long she had already been standing there, he couldn't tell, he had been to engrossed in his thoughts.
"What?" He looked up at her, confused.
"Are you OK? Your shoulder seemed to hurt."
"No big deal." He tried to sound casual, but he knew Max was hard to fool.
"Let me have a look, OK? If we need to run again, you have to be able to do so." Her voice was soft.
"Do you think they'll be coming after us again?" He knew the question was stupid, but he would have loved to hear that he got it all wrong.
"I don't think this was just the three of them, otherwise we could have dealt with them there. No, the way they seemed to be trained, they must be part of something bigger, and whoever is the boss has enough power to track us down."
While talking, she helped him undress his shirt and then had a look at his shoulder. It looked strangely out of shape and the muscles seemed to be caving in a little, compared to the left side. When Max tried to move his arm, Logan hissed in pain. He seized his right wrist with the other hand and held it against his stomach. "Don't touch it!" He breathed out between his teeth.
Max sat back on her heels and looked up at him worriedly.
"God, Logan! Your shoulder must be dislocated or something. You have to see a doctor."
Logan, shook his head. "Probably, yeah, but obviously that's not an option right now. We have to get out of this mess first. I can call Sam later."
Max didn't like that at all, but he was right. With those guys out there they had much more to worry about.
She got up and went to the bathroom to come back with some ointment.
"Maybe this will at least relieve the pain" she said. "Has some analgesic in it.. Cindy once got it for a wrenched ankle."
Feeling the stabbing pain in his shoulder Logan doubted that some ointment would make much of a difference, but he didn't want to scare Max, so he kept quiet. He tried to relax a little, while she applied the cool gel onto his shoulder.
"Thanks." he said, when she was finished. " What about you? Why did you suddenly start to seize so badly?"
Max sat down on the sofa. "I don't know, there was this spray and then everything went so fast, before I knew the seizure hit me out of the blue."
Logan frowned then looked at the young woman. "And now?"
"You certainly can't stay here. If they have something that can knock me out, I'm not sure I can help you the next time."
"Ok, that means I've gotta find a place to go. ...The cabin?" he pondered.
"Too risky." Max stood up and started to pace the tiny living room. "Nah, we should get you out of the country....Maybe across the border into Canada.."
Logan shook his head. " If those guys were working for that drug dealer ring, Canada is not the place to go either. To my knowledge they have built a real tight net there, too. They'd track me down easily."
Max thought for a second "How about down South? Mexico?".
Logan shook his head." Mexico is a thousand kilometres away-or even more..."
"Doesn't have to be Mexico then! At least you have to get out of the city-and put some distance between those guys and yourself." She was already busy making plans and checking what would have to be arranged in her head.
Logan sighed. "I hate to tell you Max, but I'm not exactly Mr. Perfect for a chase!"
"That's why I'm coming." Max said determinedly. She suddenly knew what she had to do. She wouldn't allow those guys to hurt Logan, and if that meant running with him, that be it.
"No way. This has nothing to do with you." He exclaimened defiantly.
"It has, they nearly killed me a couple of minutes ago."
"They are after me, that is Eyes Only. Not you, Max! You just happened to be there. I'm not gonna put you into any more danger."
"Logan, shut up. I'm coming with you, you are not trained for that kind of stuff. Besides you are injured." With a look at the chair she swallowed down a remark that she would have regretted. She didn't want to hurt him. "... You just can't do that alone."
There was something about the way she said it that made Logan realize that he wouldn't be able to change her mind, and to be honest, he was relieved that she would be with him. It had scared the shit out of him, thinking about having to do that by himself.
"Thank you," he accepted.
Max just nodded. "We have to make a plan. We need money, passports, gas..."
"I'm gonna call Bling." Max tossed him the phone and went to her own room. When Logan had finished explaining the situation to his trusty friend, she returned, carrying a black traveller bag.
"Bling is gonna take care of everything and will be here first thing in the morning, but tonight there isn't much he can do. We'll have to wait."
Max nodded. "Right, then I guess we should get some sleep. You can have my room."
„Thanks." He sheepishly smiled, trying to hide his discomfort behind it.
"No big dealio." She cast a look at his shoulder. "Do you need some help?"
Logan carefully grabbed the rims of his wheelchair, braced himself against the pain, and moved. He was about to reject, but Max could read in his face how much it hurt. She wasn't easy to fool.
"I'll do it, no need to strain your shoulder." She got hold of the back of his chair and wheeled him towards the bathroom. "I don't have an extra tooth brush, and I'm afraid we don't even own real tooth paste. But under the circumstances..." She held up a toothbrush, obviously her own, and nodded towards a cup resting on the sink. Logan glared at it. It was filled with something white. "Help yourself."
Max made sure Logan could manage and then left him alone. No matter what, she knew he wouldn't want her in there, though Max had no clue how he was going to use the toilet in his condition. She stayed in the kitchen, close enough to hear him fall or scream. But all she could make out were muffled groans and curses. Finally the toilet flushed and a few minutes later he opened the door. Max pretended to search something in the cabinet, but looked up when she heard him.
"Ready for bed?"
"Yeah, Mom." He was pale and sweat stood on his forehead. If he intended to keep his privacy in the bathroom, he was going to suffer, so much for sure. But Max understood his need for it, and knew him well enough not to press.
She gently helped him transfer into her bed, then covered him with her blanket. Logan in her bed!! Under different circumstances that would have been a dream coming true.
"Do you need anything?"
"I'm fine." He smiled weakly. "Thanks, Max. For everything."
"That's what friends are for." She smiled back at him warmly, then stood up. "Try to get some rest."
"Night."
***
Max knew she would have to try and catch some sleep tonight, too, but right now she didn't feel tired, so she stayed in the living room, curled up on the sofa.
She had been on the run most of her life, and she knew what she was up to. But Logan made it so much more difficult. Not because he was in a wheelchair, as he would interpret that, but just because she cared for him and wanted to protect him. Usually, she wasn't responsible for anybody but herself. The thought that someone relied on her was new, and especially a mere human, no trained super soldier with the abilities to take care of himself.
With her enhanced hearing she could make out Logan's breathing in the next room. It wasn't as calm and frequent as it would be if he was asleep, so she decided to check on him.
"Logan? Are you OK? If you are cold, I can get you an extra blanket." She knew Logan tended to freeze easily.
"Can't sleep."
"Tell me about it." She gently smiled. Hesitantly she moved closer, not quite sure what had driven her to come over in the first place. "Are you scared?"
He tried to make out her face in the flickering light a damaged street lamp offered. "I don't know. I guess I haven't really processed what happened."
"Any idea why they showed up? Or who they might work for?"
"Must be that organization of junkies I mentioned earlier. That's the only huge case I've been working on lately." He sat up and moved so he could lean against the headboard of the bed. "I met Matt Sung yesterday to give him some material. Maybe they followed him, he mentioned something like that." Logan vividly remembered the conversation.
"Max?" He looked up like a little boy would look up to his mom when something scared him.
"You think we're gonna get away?"
„Of course. Don't worry."
"How, Max?" He tried to sit up straighter, but dismissed the idea when a sharp pain cursed through his entire upper body. Frustrated, he sank back. "I can't run. Look at me, even without the injured shoulder, I'd be too slow"
"No, that's not true. I asked you to run with me before and..."
"...and I told you I'd only slow you down." He stared down at the blanket to avoid her eyes. "And that's true," he continued wearily.
Max sighed "Funny that you never seem to hear me. Like I said before: I don't care! We are in this together, we'll deal with your disability, with my seizures and with whatever else might be thrown in our way!" She managed to catch his eyes. "I promise that everything's gonna be fine," she continued softly. "I'm the master of running, remember? Plenty of practice after all."
She grinned at him encouragingly. "Get some rest now."
"Night, Max."
"Night."
But she didn't move from her place near his bed. He didn't make a move either.
"What is it?"
"What if I hadn't come over earlier?" She looked directly at him, fear and confusion in her deep black eyes.
"I don't know." He took a deep breath, he'd been asking himself the exact same question for hours now. And he had only come to one conclusion: he would be dead. And he would have taken down all his sources with him. Nobody would have been able to safe the data on his computers from those freaks. "All I know is that it was a close call, and I'm glad you came."
"Me too. Bye." With that she turned on her heels and left the room. Logan got more comfortable again and after a few minutes he gave in to his body's need for rest.
***
TBC...
Read and enjoy!!
***
"Are you ok?" Logan worriedly looked at Max.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Just a little shaky and I have to admit I didn't quite expect you to have so much friendly company." Her usual sarcastic tone was back in her slightly trembling voice as Logan noticed relieved.
"Believe me, I didn't invite them over." He smiled weakly. "Where to?"
"I don't know...my place? They didn't seem to know me, so we might be safe there for a while."
Logan nodded, he was still too shocked to think about anything but four safe walls around him right now. Then again, how could he be sure any walls would be safe?
They rode the rest of the way in silence, Max still worn out from her fight and her seizure, Logan in shock.
Finally he parked in front of Max's building.
"Keep on driving, there is a little side street about 400 meters up the road, we shouldn't park your car that obviously in front of our hiding place!"
Logan did as he was told, then parked the car and cut the engine.
"There is a wheelchair in the back. Could you please get it for me?"
Max nodded, relieved. She had already worried about Logan's mobility. He would need it as it seemed, he wouldn't let her carry him around, and right now she honestly didn't feel like putting up with his weight and his ego.
By the time Logan was ready, Max had already made sure no suspicious people were creeping around.
***
"Cindy!" Max yelled out, when they entered the apartment.
"Hey Boo. Have you kicked rich boy's ass?"
Cindy came over to the living area and looked down at Logan, who was grinning boyishly despite the seriousness of the situation. He knew Cindy and knew she didn't mean to offend him, but he thought it was fun to see her embarrassed.
She blushed despite her usual attitude. For a split second he forgot why he was here.
"Oops. Sorry," she muttered
"Nice to know how Max's friends see me," Logan said with an ironic smile.
"I..." Cindy was at a loss of words- something she wasn't used to. But Max came to her rescue.
"You have to leave. Now! Could you stay with Kendra for a few days?" She urged her homegirl.
"Why? Doesn't your guy have a more decent place to hang out?"
"He is not my...anyway, this is serious! You might be in danger here, I can't explain it right now. Trust me!" Max tried to sound calm but determined.
Original Cindy knew the look in Max's eyes and knew that this was no time to mess with her.
"Aiight Boo. I hope you know what you are doing." She reluctantly walked towards her room to gather her things.
"I do." Max didn't sound very convinced, much to Logan's dismay.
**
Logan waited in the living room while Original Cindy quickly packed her most important belongings and Max called Kendra to let her know she was going to have a roommate for a couple of days.
For the first time he got to think about what had happened. How on earth had those guys tracked him down? And how could it be that not even Max had been able to fight them? What was it that had affected her that badly? And most importantly, how were they going to get out of that mess?
He would have to call Bling and ask him to get him the contents of a bank safe which included copies of his most important files, some money, credit cards and an ID. He had made sure to keep those things in a safe place for a situation like this. Only he had never really thought that he would ever need them. Bling also had a second key for the Aztec which would come in handy now.
"Logan?" Max stood right in front of him, for how long she had already been standing there, he couldn't tell, he had been to engrossed in his thoughts.
"What?" He looked up at her, confused.
"Are you OK? Your shoulder seemed to hurt."
"No big deal." He tried to sound casual, but he knew Max was hard to fool.
"Let me have a look, OK? If we need to run again, you have to be able to do so." Her voice was soft.
"Do you think they'll be coming after us again?" He knew the question was stupid, but he would have loved to hear that he got it all wrong.
"I don't think this was just the three of them, otherwise we could have dealt with them there. No, the way they seemed to be trained, they must be part of something bigger, and whoever is the boss has enough power to track us down."
While talking, she helped him undress his shirt and then had a look at his shoulder. It looked strangely out of shape and the muscles seemed to be caving in a little, compared to the left side. When Max tried to move his arm, Logan hissed in pain. He seized his right wrist with the other hand and held it against his stomach. "Don't touch it!" He breathed out between his teeth.
Max sat back on her heels and looked up at him worriedly.
"God, Logan! Your shoulder must be dislocated or something. You have to see a doctor."
Logan, shook his head. "Probably, yeah, but obviously that's not an option right now. We have to get out of this mess first. I can call Sam later."
Max didn't like that at all, but he was right. With those guys out there they had much more to worry about.
She got up and went to the bathroom to come back with some ointment.
"Maybe this will at least relieve the pain" she said. "Has some analgesic in it.. Cindy once got it for a wrenched ankle."
Feeling the stabbing pain in his shoulder Logan doubted that some ointment would make much of a difference, but he didn't want to scare Max, so he kept quiet. He tried to relax a little, while she applied the cool gel onto his shoulder.
"Thanks." he said, when she was finished. " What about you? Why did you suddenly start to seize so badly?"
Max sat down on the sofa. "I don't know, there was this spray and then everything went so fast, before I knew the seizure hit me out of the blue."
Logan frowned then looked at the young woman. "And now?"
"You certainly can't stay here. If they have something that can knock me out, I'm not sure I can help you the next time."
"Ok, that means I've gotta find a place to go. ...The cabin?" he pondered.
"Too risky." Max stood up and started to pace the tiny living room. "Nah, we should get you out of the country....Maybe across the border into Canada.."
Logan shook his head. " If those guys were working for that drug dealer ring, Canada is not the place to go either. To my knowledge they have built a real tight net there, too. They'd track me down easily."
Max thought for a second "How about down South? Mexico?".
Logan shook his head." Mexico is a thousand kilometres away-or even more..."
"Doesn't have to be Mexico then! At least you have to get out of the city-and put some distance between those guys and yourself." She was already busy making plans and checking what would have to be arranged in her head.
Logan sighed. "I hate to tell you Max, but I'm not exactly Mr. Perfect for a chase!"
"That's why I'm coming." Max said determinedly. She suddenly knew what she had to do. She wouldn't allow those guys to hurt Logan, and if that meant running with him, that be it.
"No way. This has nothing to do with you." He exclaimened defiantly.
"It has, they nearly killed me a couple of minutes ago."
"They are after me, that is Eyes Only. Not you, Max! You just happened to be there. I'm not gonna put you into any more danger."
"Logan, shut up. I'm coming with you, you are not trained for that kind of stuff. Besides you are injured." With a look at the chair she swallowed down a remark that she would have regretted. She didn't want to hurt him. "... You just can't do that alone."
There was something about the way she said it that made Logan realize that he wouldn't be able to change her mind, and to be honest, he was relieved that she would be with him. It had scared the shit out of him, thinking about having to do that by himself.
"Thank you," he accepted.
Max just nodded. "We have to make a plan. We need money, passports, gas..."
"I'm gonna call Bling." Max tossed him the phone and went to her own room. When Logan had finished explaining the situation to his trusty friend, she returned, carrying a black traveller bag.
"Bling is gonna take care of everything and will be here first thing in the morning, but tonight there isn't much he can do. We'll have to wait."
Max nodded. "Right, then I guess we should get some sleep. You can have my room."
„Thanks." He sheepishly smiled, trying to hide his discomfort behind it.
"No big dealio." She cast a look at his shoulder. "Do you need some help?"
Logan carefully grabbed the rims of his wheelchair, braced himself against the pain, and moved. He was about to reject, but Max could read in his face how much it hurt. She wasn't easy to fool.
"I'll do it, no need to strain your shoulder." She got hold of the back of his chair and wheeled him towards the bathroom. "I don't have an extra tooth brush, and I'm afraid we don't even own real tooth paste. But under the circumstances..." She held up a toothbrush, obviously her own, and nodded towards a cup resting on the sink. Logan glared at it. It was filled with something white. "Help yourself."
Max made sure Logan could manage and then left him alone. No matter what, she knew he wouldn't want her in there, though Max had no clue how he was going to use the toilet in his condition. She stayed in the kitchen, close enough to hear him fall or scream. But all she could make out were muffled groans and curses. Finally the toilet flushed and a few minutes later he opened the door. Max pretended to search something in the cabinet, but looked up when she heard him.
"Ready for bed?"
"Yeah, Mom." He was pale and sweat stood on his forehead. If he intended to keep his privacy in the bathroom, he was going to suffer, so much for sure. But Max understood his need for it, and knew him well enough not to press.
She gently helped him transfer into her bed, then covered him with her blanket. Logan in her bed!! Under different circumstances that would have been a dream coming true.
"Do you need anything?"
"I'm fine." He smiled weakly. "Thanks, Max. For everything."
"That's what friends are for." She smiled back at him warmly, then stood up. "Try to get some rest."
"Night."
***
Max knew she would have to try and catch some sleep tonight, too, but right now she didn't feel tired, so she stayed in the living room, curled up on the sofa.
She had been on the run most of her life, and she knew what she was up to. But Logan made it so much more difficult. Not because he was in a wheelchair, as he would interpret that, but just because she cared for him and wanted to protect him. Usually, she wasn't responsible for anybody but herself. The thought that someone relied on her was new, and especially a mere human, no trained super soldier with the abilities to take care of himself.
With her enhanced hearing she could make out Logan's breathing in the next room. It wasn't as calm and frequent as it would be if he was asleep, so she decided to check on him.
"Logan? Are you OK? If you are cold, I can get you an extra blanket." She knew Logan tended to freeze easily.
"Can't sleep."
"Tell me about it." She gently smiled. Hesitantly she moved closer, not quite sure what had driven her to come over in the first place. "Are you scared?"
He tried to make out her face in the flickering light a damaged street lamp offered. "I don't know. I guess I haven't really processed what happened."
"Any idea why they showed up? Or who they might work for?"
"Must be that organization of junkies I mentioned earlier. That's the only huge case I've been working on lately." He sat up and moved so he could lean against the headboard of the bed. "I met Matt Sung yesterday to give him some material. Maybe they followed him, he mentioned something like that." Logan vividly remembered the conversation.
"Max?" He looked up like a little boy would look up to his mom when something scared him.
"You think we're gonna get away?"
„Of course. Don't worry."
"How, Max?" He tried to sit up straighter, but dismissed the idea when a sharp pain cursed through his entire upper body. Frustrated, he sank back. "I can't run. Look at me, even without the injured shoulder, I'd be too slow"
"No, that's not true. I asked you to run with me before and..."
"...and I told you I'd only slow you down." He stared down at the blanket to avoid her eyes. "And that's true," he continued wearily.
Max sighed "Funny that you never seem to hear me. Like I said before: I don't care! We are in this together, we'll deal with your disability, with my seizures and with whatever else might be thrown in our way!" She managed to catch his eyes. "I promise that everything's gonna be fine," she continued softly. "I'm the master of running, remember? Plenty of practice after all."
She grinned at him encouragingly. "Get some rest now."
"Night, Max."
"Night."
But she didn't move from her place near his bed. He didn't make a move either.
"What is it?"
"What if I hadn't come over earlier?" She looked directly at him, fear and confusion in her deep black eyes.
"I don't know." He took a deep breath, he'd been asking himself the exact same question for hours now. And he had only come to one conclusion: he would be dead. And he would have taken down all his sources with him. Nobody would have been able to safe the data on his computers from those freaks. "All I know is that it was a close call, and I'm glad you came."
"Me too. Bye." With that she turned on her heels and left the room. Logan got more comfortable again and after a few minutes he gave in to his body's need for rest.
***
TBC...