Part Two

Too late for regrets

Doing Jam Pony deliveries had never been so hard on her before. She mostly minded her own business the whole day, looking after her fellow transgenics. Normal seemed to have mellowed a bit. But when she was forced to actually do some deliveries to justify her paycheck, she somehow always seemed to land in sector nine. Logan's sector. Sector police controls had become quite strict lately. Waiting in line to pass, for the first time in a while her mind wandered to the off limits topic she had defined for herself.

It had been two weeks since she had seen him and several days since they had last spoken, six days and seven hours actually. His pitching in with Joshua's and her own rescue from the sewers had helped her feel better about the break-up, she had even been able to draw comfort from his unexpected words: „No matter how things are between us, I'll always have your back". Afterwards she hadn't called him and except for one time he had stopped calling, too. Maybe he had finally understood that it wasn't about Alec or her  feelings for him. Maybe he had noticed the grin plastered on her face as she had discovered him waiting for them in the Aztec. How she had berated herself for that feeling that had invaded her at his sight.

Maybe he had finally forgiven her. Yeah, right! You wish! She was conveniently forgetting their last conversation, or rather full blown fight, on the phone. He had begged her to skip town for a while. She had refused. She was needed here, she couldn't just leave. However, she fully intended to settle matters soon and then finally scram for someplace less dangerous. While trying to convince her, his voice and determination had reminded her of the time she went after Zack in the Manticore woods. He had seemed really nervous, even talking of leaving Eyes Only aside for a few weeks and going to the cabin to let things cool off.

She couldn't help feeling a bit guilty. Eyes Only had been losing a lot of popularity siding with the transgenics. He had been right. He had been involved in this already. And Alec would probably need Logan's help. She couldn't keep going to Eyes Only contacts behind his back for the forged papers. She would have to tell him the truth about Alec one of these days, after all, it wasn't fair to ruin the friendly relationship Alec had with Logan.

Brazenly eyeing the helmeted man who would soon have to see her sector pass, Max caught him suspiciously checking out her bike. She was using the Ninja again, regardless of Normal's bickering. Things were just getting too hot not to have a quick means of transportation. Seeing the way the cop was ogling her baby Max couldn't help a sinking feeling in her stomach: „No, not again! I swear, if they seize my bike again..."

But she didn't have enough time to finish her thoughts of good-will towards the bulky officer in front of her.  The checkpoint shack had the latest news blaring out of a dilapidated TV set. The slight frizz usually accompanying a hack caught her attention. As always in these cases, her heart seemed to skip a beat, her hearing blanking out all the background noise, trying to focus on Logan's voice:

„Do not attempt..."

Damn ! She was next.

„Could I see your papers, please, Miss."

„Jam Pony courier", she blurted out her well used passe-par tout phrase.

„...bulletin. It cannot be traced..."

„ I need to check your backpack as well as your pockets, miss."

Normally she would have protested, but Logan's voice had her enthralled, so that she just let herself be searched. Wasn't he about to skip town ?

„...the only free voice left in the city. Your secret is out, your location has been revealed. Manticore ..."

What the hell was that about? Manticore ?

„Turn around, miss."

She complied, feeling her own pulse in her ears. The voice of a woman interrupted the cable hack and Max unwittingly held her breath.

„That was an Eyes Only cable hack from three months ago. Since then his broadcasts have focussed on the fate of the transgenic escapees from Manticore..."

„Free to go. Next."

„..mass hysteria."

„Move it"

„This morning, Eyes Only, also known as Logan Cale, ..."

„Shit!"