Thank you soo much for the kind reviews, you guys. And I'm so sorry for the long hiatus – I kinda lost inspiration to continue this story, but it's back now, hopefully. Once again, thank you to ML fan for beta-ing. :-)
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A/N: italics are the thoughts of the characters.
The Eyes Only broadcast was taken from the Pilot.
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Chapter 7: Do not attempt to adjust your set.
Max hustled through the tables of customers. Keeping her promise to Max, Original Cindy had managed to convince her boss, Normal to hire Max for the summer. Max knew that she could always count on her best friend.
"Bip Bip Bip. Hamburger and fries to table three, Missy miss!" Normal carefully dropped the plate of food onto Max's arms and whistled her away.
Max rolled her eyes and walked towards her best friend. "Normal is really getting on my nerves."
"Boo, if you want a job nowadays, you'd just have to deal with it, no matter how annoying Normal is."
Max nodded. She dropped down the plate of food onto table three, when a rough hand landed on her hip. Not again. Max groaned to herself.
"Wanna go for a ride, honey?" Max tilted her head to frown at the pervert who had touched her. He winked at her and smirked, making him look even more ugly than he already was. She unsympathetically grabbed his arm and twisted it.
"Arg!" The guy cried out in pain as his friends watched on with fright.
Max bent down to stare at the pervert, who was an inch away from her face. "You better think first before you touch me." She let go of the guy's wrist roughly, turned around and walked towards Original Cindy.
"Nice going, boo. You just lost yourself some more tips for the day, again."
"I'd rather lose some tips than to let some horny teenage guys woo at me like I'm meat." She brushed her curly hair back and looked down at her watch.
"Thank the blue lady it's lunch break." She took off her apron and slammed it down onto an empty chair. "Getting tired of dealing with these idiots... they're worse than Sketchy."
Original Cindy took off her apron as well and strolled towards the boardwalk. "So, boo..." She glanced over at Max knowingly, making sure she'd use the right words to say. "...you never told me what went down between you and Hotboy last night."
Max replied straight away. "Forget him." Then added, "... it won't work." She shook her head dismissively.
Her best friend stared at her apprehensively, and then said, "Whatever you say, boo. Whatever you say."
They approached the ice cream stand and watched as Sketchy bent down on his arms to chat with two of his bikini-clad customers. He smiled and continued nodding at them. Apparently, he didn't really seem to care what they were talking to him about. Original Cindy slapped him on the head. Hard. "Perv! Can't you see you have a whole line waitin' here for your dumbass to serve them?" She pointed at the long line of people waiting impatiently for him to finish talking with the girls.
"That hurt, Cindy!" His hand went to rub the side of his head. "Sorry, girls, I guess I'll have to see you around some other time." He smiled at the girls and they left without a word while Max and Original Cindy were forced to wait for him to finish with the remaining customers.
Together, they walked towards CRASH, a popular hangout on the boardwalk. The sun shone down on them, always bright and illuminating, as they strolled towards the bar to meet up with Herbal Thought.
"... so, she looked up at me and asked me if I wanted to go out with her tonight..."
"Oh, let me guess, you blew her off." Original Cindy interrupted.
"Well, yes and no. Originally, I had said yes, without a doubt. Then she smiled at me..." He paused and a look of disgust flooded his features. "... and then, I saw that that her two front teeth were missing. So I blew her off and told her I already had a girlfriend."
Original Cindy, once again, slapped him on the side of his head. "This is another perfect example why guys are nothing but pervs, that's why Original Cindy goes for ladies. It's must less complicated – as long as we have fun fooling around then it's all good."
"See what I don't get is – why is it always about looks with guys? Can't they just see us for they way we are? Guys are just so... so arrogant sometimes." Max said, more to herself than her friends.
She glanced over at her two friends. "You know what I mean?"
Sketchy and Original Cindy both turned to Max. "What did I tell you about joining my team, boo? You're a perfect candidate."
"Cindy, I'm being serious."
"Not all guys are pervs like Sketchy..."
"I resent that!" Sketchy interrupted.
She ignored him and continued, "What I'm saying is, I'm sure Hotboy will see past whatever 'flaws' you have on the outside and love you for who you are on the inside."
"How'd Logan get into the picture all of a sudden? I wasn't even talking about him!" Max said outrageously.
"It's implied." Her best friend replied knowingly.
"Who's Logan?" Sketchy asked with curiosity.
"Shut up, fool!" Sketchy was slapped on the head again - this time by both Max and Original Cindy.
"Aw!" The two girls slapped hands as Sketchy rubbed both sides of his head in pain. They immediately spotted Herbal Thought and sat down at their respectable stools.
"Alright, my sistahs? And Sketchy, my mon?" Herbal did a handshake with Sketchy and they walked off to get a pitcher of root beer.
"Look at that cute lickety chick over there, boo. Mm, now she's something." Original Cindy's head motioned towards a brunette sitting near the television.
Max smiled and shook her head. Just when she was about to say something to Original Cindy, the television program quickly became replaced by static and then a red and blue banner. The eyes on the hacked TV broadcast somehow looked strangely familiar to Max.
"Do not attempt to adjust your set."
The voice sounded strangely familiar to her, too. That's odd. She thought.
"This is a streaming freedom video bulletin...via the Eyes Only informant net. The cable hack will last exactly 60 seconds. It cannot be traced, it cannot be stopped and it is the only free voice left in the city."
"Yo, check it out!" Someone shouted.
Another one of those freedom fighters. Great. Max scoffed. Max rolled her eyes and watched as everyone's attention became fixated on the man with the red and blue Halloween mask.
"There are certain men who move through the world with impunity. Their actions, no matter how vile are immune from consequence. Edgar Sonrisa is such a man. You've seen him, smiling at political fund-raisers... "
Give me a break. Max watched on as pictures of Edgar Sonrisa moved across the screen.
"He owns shopping centers, a trucking company and the largest medical supply company in the northwest. He also runs drugs and guns up and down the west coast..."
"The man is deep." Sketchy said from behind Max.
Eyes Only continued, "He's obviously very dirty."
"No, you're easy." Max replied.
"Well, I believe him." Sketchy said.
"Then you're too gullible. He's on the hustle, same as everyone else." Max retorted.
"It doesn't mean he's not right." The guy standing next to Sketchy said.
"Journalists who have attempted to expose him have been gunned down in the street. Their blood is the ink of our modern news. Those who've opposed him have vanished. All of that is about to change."
Sure, but you can't change everything, wiseguy. Max gulped down her root beer.
Static sounded once again and the broadcast ended.
"Eyes Only, huh? He seems cool enough to me... the newest crime fighting cyber journalist, how cool does that sound? I wonder who he is." Sketchy said curiously. He seemed to admire this guy. Max, on the other hand, could care less...
"Probably some bored rich kid with nothing better to do with his life then to play around with computers and scare us silly with those lame stories of his."
"But Max, he's trying to hunt down bad guys here."
"Don't believe everything you hear on TV." Max snapped.
"Ah, but Eyes Only seems like a good person. It is all good." Herbal Thought said with his usual Jamaican accent.
She sensed that all her friends were against her so she merely rolled her eyes. "Whatever."
"Chill out, boo. That guy has nice eyes, from a lesbian point of view, that is." Her best friend said.
Max made a disgusted sound and gulped down another mug of root beer. Eyes Only can go screw himself.
The rest of Max's afternoon were spent working for Normal, threatening guys that would try to score a date with her, and losing a big amount of tips. By the end of the day, all she had been able to make from tips was a stingy amount of seven dollars. She wanted to puke – she had worked from 8AM to 6PM and that was all she was able to make out of tips. Surely, working in a post-pulse world was harder than she thought it would be.
Max strolled up to her best friend and asked nonchalantly, "Cindy, how much did you make from tips today?"
Her best friend grinned. "32 dollahs."
"What?!" She asked in disbelief.
"It's all in the way of knowing how, boo." Original Cindy adjusted her strapless tank top and pulled out money from under her bra.
Max sighed in defeat as Original Cindy waved the bills in her face.
"I need a walk."
"Suit yourself." Original Cindy said as she recounted her bills.
Max strolled up towards the edge of the water and sat down on the warm sand. One thing she loved about the beach was that it exudes a sense of calmness. Up until she was nine, everything and everyone around her somehow exuded darkness. In the beach, there was sunshine – in a way, it made her dark world a whole lot brighter. She would sometimes sit by the shore and think to herself – wonder where her other siblings were. Wonder if Jondy had become a fashion designer. Wonder if Zack was okay and still his usual strict self. Wonder if any of them actually escaped at all.
Wonder if the blue lady was real.
She scoffed at the thought. When they were young, they didn't know any better. They were simply made – made to kill and nothing else.
She grew to process the utmost animosity towards Manticore. She hid from it - she hid from them. She hid from Lydecker.
She hated them. She hated what they did to her – hated what that they had made her.
At the moment, she wanted to cry. Until...
"Ow!" A volleyball bounced off her head and immediately, her hand went to rub where she had been hit.
"What the hell!?" Max stood up alarmingly; ready to attack whoever had dared to hit her.
A guy with dirty blonde hair wearing a black tank top stumbled to retrieve the volleyball from underneath her leg. She stared down angrily at him and kicked him carelessly on the stomach.
"Explain! Before I beat the crap out of you!" She shouted with fury.
"I'm so sorry!" He said sincerely. "My lousy friend over there purposely threw this volleyball over here to get your attention."
Max recognized his voice immediately. How could anyone not?
"Logan?!"
Logan stood up abruptly, almost bumping into her chin again. "Max!" He said happily and smiled. "Hey."
Wow, he has beautiful eyes. Stop it, Max!
He motioned towards the hand that was resting on the back of her head. "Are you alright?"
His friends on the volleyball court began hooting and making obnoxious kissing noises. "Will you guys shut up for once? Sung, you were the one who hit her so you should be the one apologizing here, not me." He irritably threw the volleyball back at them and Sung hastily said, "Sorry."
Logan, slightly taken aback, said, "Don't mind him."
She nodded her head mockingly. "Uh huh." Her arms went around her chest. "Explain."
"Explain what? I already did." Logan exclaimed with his hands up in the air.
She leaned her head forward to get a closer look at him. Bad idea, Max. Very bad idea. "WHY...HAVE...YOU...BEEN...FOLLOWING...ME?!" She managed to get out.
Two can play the same game. Logan thought.
He, too, put his arms around his chest. "It's not my fault we just so happen to go to the same beach, just so happen to bump into each other all the time. The question is: why have you been following me?" He asked in the same tone she did.
Max stared up at him in disbelief. Wow, he's tall... I like that in a guy. She abruptly shook the thought away. "Oh, cut the crap, Logan, and get to the main point."
He shrugged and looked innocently at her, "What main point?"
"That you..." She gulped. Like me.
He raised his eyebrow. "That I what?"
She groaned in frustration. "Never mind."
"Fine." He shrugged and looked the other way – towards his friends.
"Fine." She looked towards the ocean.
"Whatever."
"Just forget it."
At that moment, they glared at each other with lust and annoyance.
More like lust than annoyance, really.
Might as well kiss her senseless to shut her up. Logan thought as he continued to glare at her.
Their stare was defiant – hot enough to melt an ice pop.
Max reluctantly broke the stare and pushed him away from her. Shaking her head, she softly said, "Just leave me alone, Logan."
Logan put his hand to where she had just touched him and asked, "Why?"
She glared at him again. "I'm trouble, okay?" Her heart tugged at her and she was trying hard not to walk away from him.
Somehow, he'd understood her and nodded his head to show that he'd accepted her answer. "I don't mind." He said quietly to himself.
Max stopped dead on her tracks. "What did you say?"
He looked up alarmingly at her, shook his head and hastily said, "Um... nothing. It was nothing." He managed a smile. "Well, I guess I'll see you around... Max."
I'm not deaf, Logan She chuckled to herself and walked up to face him, much to Logan's surprise. She gazed up into his eyes and grinned at him. Using both of her hands, she roughly grabbed his head down to her level...
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-------- A/N: Sorry for the cliffhanger. Just wanted to see how many people are actually still reading this story. I've been getting less and less reviews these days so if I get more, I'll update sooner. ;-)
-Jade