Chapter 12: Revelations

The entire city was quiet, sombre in the murky grey of the cloud that hung gloomily overhead. Max lay unmoving in Logan's bath tub. The lightly bubbled water gently massaged her body with its lukewarm touch, easing her heightened senses.

The small bathroom was like an artificial jungle, the steam from the bath water rising and condensing in the humid air leaving little droplets on the cracked blue walls and the small rectangular window that sat above the bath. Max gazed through the frosted glass seeing nothing but the faint outlines of buildings reaching up to the clouded sky.

As Max didn't need to sleep that much, she had waited until Logan drifted off and then quickly slipped out into his compact bathroom situated across the landing from his bedroom. She could still hear the relaxing and re-assuring sound of his snoring. It was like a confirmation of his presence and it helped Max feel at ease knowing that he was there.

Baths were a luxury greatly missed by Max during her stay in Greenough and so she had jumped at the chance to indulge herself. They were a good way for her to relax, the water like a protective barrier that shielded her from her problems, an entity she had in abundance.

Lying upright, Max tilted her head back and rested it on the warm metallic surface. Her long hair was now like on big strand clinging tightly to her back and neck, slicked back from her face. Beads of sweat joined the party of liquid as the humidity of the confined room intensified. Max closed her eyes and tried to focus on the specks of colour that appeared amidst the darkness. She couldn't remember the last time she felt this relaxed. It was as if she had been taken away from existence, the shackled of reality removed from her body allowing her to feel completely free.

It was about seven in the morning by Max's calculation. This meant that she had been bathing for the past hour. She and Logan had been up most of the night discussing travel plans…amongst other activities.

Although Max got the distinct impression that Logan didn't think she was being serious, they did agree they would go visit Joshua in Canada before going on a tour of Europe. It was something to look forward to, to aim for, and Max was eager to see her canine friend again. Logan had promised that they would leave tomorrow and so Max figured today would be spent packing and preparing for the journey. She wanted to contact Alec and inform him of their intentions but she didn't have his number or any idea where he might have gone other than Asha's, and she wasn't answering her phone. Max didn't know whether to take that as a good sign or a bad one. Perhaps it would be best to wait for him to turn up, Max thought, hopefully he would later on today.

"Hey Max are you ok?" Logan's voice sounded hollow through the door. Although she hadn't been sleeping; Max jerked forward as if she had been woken from a pleasant dream. Miniature waves of water drifted across to the other end of the bath as her body's movement rippled the calm surfaces in chorus of splashes.

"Yeah I'm fine, just taking a bath," Max said running her hands across her face wiping away the strands of water. "I'll be out in a minute," she added as she rose from the tub and wrapped a soft white towel around her body.

"Would you like something for breakfast?" he asked. Max's stomach rumbled; all that lying down had given her an appetite.

"Yeah that would be great."

"Ok, you get ready then and I'll have something waiting for you when you come down."

That'd be lovely," Max said listening as Logan trailed away, the stairs groaning as they supported his weight on the way down. Max laughed at herself, the irony of a genetically enhanced killing machine living in peaceful domesticity was not lost on her.

It took Max about half an hour to get ready. She had trawled through her numerous new outfits holding each one against her while standing in font of the mirror that sat inside Logan's tall wardrobe. She finally decided on a pair of tight black jeans and a black top that revealed a flattering amount of her toned stomach. After running a brush through her damp hair, Max was satisfied and proceeded downstairs to the kitchen, her nostrils already picking up the mouth watering smell of bacon and sausages.

Strolling into the small kitchen, Max was surprised to be greeted by Logan and Alec. They both sat at the sandy table cradling steaming cups of coffee. Each had their own brand of concern written on their faces as they looked up at her.

"Hey," Max said taking the seat next to Logan where a mug of coffee waited for her. "What's going on?"

"Bad news Max," Logan said turning to Alec signalling for him to part with the information he had brought with him.

Well," Alec's voice sounded solemn, "that Gray guy is here in Seattle."

The news struck Max like a sledgehammer; of course Gray was here, how else would all her hopes and plans get ruined. The kitchen walls seemed to be closing in on Max as she struggled to regain her composure. She regretted being so dismissive of Gray. How could she have allowed herself to fall into a false sense of security, now she was all setup to be hurt again. Gray would undoubtedly be gunning for her and she had the awful feeling that both Alec and Logan would be caught up in the ensuing violence.

"That's not all," Alec continued, "I believe that he may be a transgenic."

Max bit her lip as she looked from Alec to Logan; both were trying to ascertain her reaction to the news. Their faces alike: eyebrows down turned, eyes searching for clues on her face that would give away her current emotional state. However, Max wasn't entirely sure how to react; her face was blank, her eyes softening as they began to water and sting. It didn't matter if Gray was a transgenic, he was still ridiculously strong and from Max's first impressions of the man, he was also a brutal killer.

"How do you know this?" Max asked a little lost as to what else to say. The joy from the past two days was already beginning to fade from her mind.

Alec paused before answering; he seemed a little embarrassed and upset. "I sort of ran into this girl last night and well…she's a transgenic."

"Ok," Max said slowly encouraging him to go on.

"Her names Jess and apparently she escaped Manticore with Gray two years before you did."

Max's face tensed as she shot Alec a sharp look of disbelief.

"No that can' be, surely we would have known. I mean they would have tightened security, made the training more intense to prevent it from happening again. That's what they did after we escaped…right?" Max spoke quickly; she was visibly flustered; her eyes wide like a cat in shock. Logan put his hand on top of hers in an attempt to calm her down, ease the fear that Gray had stirred up in her. Logan was already dreading running into Gray if this was what mentioning his name did to Max.

"Yeah they did, but if Gray is transgenic then he is unlike any we have encountered before. Jess was very vague but she did say that there were three of them and that they were kept away from everyone else." Alec paused a moment before offering his conclusion: "I think that there is something special about Gray and that was why he was segregated and why his escape was covered up."

"Could be," Logan added giving Max a quick smile.

"Well what about Jess, is she like Gray and what about the third one?" Max asked dreading the prospect of fighting three super charged transgenics.

"No, she's an X-5 like us, I saw her barcode. She didn't really mention the third guy at all; I don't think she keeps in contact with him."

Max sat back in her chair, she felt exhausted as if all the energy had been sucked from her body. She had hoped the whole Gray thing would blow over but now, with him present in Seattle, it seemed confrontation was inevitable. To make things worse he had an accomplice, one Alec had already managed to become entangled with. He'd only been back a couple of days but already Alec was getting into trouble, just like old times.

"Did this Jess find out that you are in any way connected to Max?" Logan asked. Max becoming alert to this new possible threat turned to Alec and anxiously waited for his response.

Alec ran a hand along the back of his neck as he lounged back in his chair, his black jacket creasing and tightening around his body.

"No I don't think so. I only told her about my time in Manticore and about my travels over the past year, excluding my little venture with Doctor Dave. Oh and don't worry, I'm not going to see her again," Alec's voice trailed off. Max could tell something was bothering him.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"It's nothing…"

"You like her don't you?"

Alec's face curled up in theatrical disgust, "no don't be stupid, it was just a bit of fun. I'm just upset that I landed right in the shit…again!"

"I don't know Alec," Logan said, "you managed to gather some pretty useful information. I can try look through Manticore records, see if I can't dig something up."

"That would be good," Max gave Logan a smile and squeezed his hand. Sure they were once again in danger, but it felt good to be working side-by-side with him again.

The kitchen fell silent as the three of them sat in quiet contemplation. Although there was no actual immediate threat, Max felt uneasy about the whole situation. Surely it couldn't be a coincidence that Gray, who had purposefully tracked her down to Greenough, would turn up in the same city as her. He had after all, told her that he had been looking for her when they first met, referring to her as 452. What did he want? The most probable answer, Max thought, was that he wanted to kill. However, he had had the perfect opportunity to do so back in Greenough and for some reason he turned it down. Why then would he follow her back to Seattle? Did he just want to randomly pop up now and then to give her a beating, prove his masculinity or something else just as pathetic and ridiculous?

The silence was interrupted by the fierce crackling of the bacon cooking on the rusty black stove across from the table. Nearly jumping out of his seat, Logan leapt into action. The smell of burning meat filled the room as Logan picked up the pan and inspected the contents. He looked disgusted with himself; angry that he had forgot about breakfast.

"Crap," he said despondently, "anybody want toast?"

Exchanging glances, Max and Alec burst into fits of laughter.

Logan had been sitting at his computer for the past two hours sifting through various Manticore records. He seemed to be in his element, his face showing no signs of strain or stress. It was a picture of deep concentration, his eyes narrowed on the bright screen, his fingers a blur of movement. This was what Logan did best, give him a topic and he would plug away relentlessly until he had acquired all the information he could get his eager hands on. On this occasion, however, his persistence did not seem to be paying off. He hadn't spoken more than two words since he began and when his voice was heard the words were usually, "no luck," or, "still no luck."

Max sat impatiently in one of Logan's comfortable armchairs. She was fiddling with a rubix cube, occasionally growling at the seeming impossibility of the task. Alec stood in the corner musing over the various books that sat proudly in Logan's wire frame bookcase. He kept flicking his attention over to the bottle of scotch that taunted him from the safety of the mantelpiece above the fire.

Infuriated, Max tossed the rubix cube away in defeat. She hadn't been giving it her undivided attention, her mind kept wandering back to the subject of Gray. Max found it hard to believe that Gray was transgenic. She didn't have any basis for this belief but there was just something different about him and it seemed unlikely that if the people at Manticore could make transgenics that strong, then why didn't they do it with all of them? On the other hand, when they clashed in Greenough, she had felt a sick sense of familiarity, a sort of affinity towards Gray. Max didn't know why it happened or what it was but thinking about it made her stomach beg for mercy.

Not wanting to confuse herself anymore, max decided to put her doubts down to professional jealousy. Not only was Gray stronger than her, but he had escaped Manticore first as well. Maybe she couldn't accept that she was no longer top of the transgenic pile. Although these thoughts did not fool her mind for very long, Max accepted that it was pointless deliberating over things she had no answers for. It would be best just to wait and see what Logan could unearth.

Heaving herself from the chair, Max drifted across to where Logan continued to work. He didn't seem to notice her as she perched herself amongst the papers that cluttered his desk.

"How's it going?" she asked.

Thankful for the chance of a break, Logan fell back into his swivel chair turning it so that he was facing her. He put both hands on the back of his head and gave her a look that suggested he had still had no luck, the corner of his mouth and his cheek rising towards his forehead as if pulled by a thread.

"Sorry Max, I can keep going but its all the same old stuff. You have to remember that Manticore and its creations are old news now. Its going to be difficult to dig up anything, especially seeing as all I've got to go on is a name and even that's no use."

"Because he would be referred to by designation," Max said realising their problem.

"Exactly, if Gray is a transgenic then he should have one."

"Yeah but how do we get it?"

Logan looked over to where Alec stood; he now possessed the bottle of scotch and was gleefully pouring himself a glass.

"We could use Alec and his connection with that Jess girl. No doubt she would know Gray's designation."

Max considered this idea a moment, lightly stroking her lips.

"Do you think that would work? Gray would probably recognise Alec if he saw him again and we can't be sure that Jess would even talk to him. For all we know Gray told her all about Greenough and so we'd be sending the poor guy right back into the shit, not even Alec deserves that."

"I know but what else can we do?"

Alec noticed he was the centre of attention as both Max and Logan stared at him, quietly discussing their little plan. They probably didn't know it, but he could hear every word they were saying. Downing his scotch, he marched over to the desk and put both hands on the messy surface.

"I'll do it," he said confidently so as to avoid argument. Seeing that he was resolute in his decision, Max and Logan nodded their approval.

"Ok," Logan said, "do you know how to contact her?"

"Yeah," Alec replied

"Do you think she will still talk to you?" Max asked with one eyebrow raised doubtfully. Alec looked over at her a little offended.

"Yeah, despite what you may have heard Max I do have a certain way with the ladies…they appreciate me you know."

Max and Logan looked at each other in mild disbelief, wry smiles on both their faces. Suddenly feeling a little embarrassed, Alec tried to hurry things along.

"Look, I'll take Jess out tonight, you know to one of those fancy new restaurants and then try and get as much information as possible."

"Using your impossible to resist charm," Max added sarcastically.

"Exactly," Alec retorted with a smile.

"Alright then it's a go," Max said before turning back to Logan, "I think we should go as well. Hang out in the background just in case super boy here gets into trouble."

"That would be a good idea," agreed Logan.

Alec rubbed his hands together in glee, "alright, dinners on Logan."

Logan sighed as he let his head droop. Max leaned over and gave him a playful shove.

"Oh come on, it will be fun. It can be like our first proper date."

"Some date; a surveillance mission with the potential to blow up in our faces." Logan looked sceptical. Max shifted her eyes to the corner of her sockets in an attempt to avoid eye contact.

"Yeah," she tried to sound sincere, "it will be romantic."

The three of them laughed together, the sound of their joy reverberating around the room. On the outside each of them appeared calm and confident but deep inside they were all apprehensive of the coming night. The possibility that it could all go wrong was a very real scenario to all three of them, but they knew it had to be done. They had to find out who Gray was if they wanted a hope of beating him. Tonight they could get the answers they craved or…well none of them wanted to think of the alternative.