Chapter 5- "Click"
A/N: now that I'm done with my papers, go me, I have more time for fanfic. I titled this chapter what it is because people say when you establish a connection with something there is something that "clicks" inside..so it fit.
*****
LOS ANGELOS, CALIFORNIA
"Okay guys, wrap it up. The point of no return has already passed" Sam walked around the desk of her students. Sam looked at each one, examining it with a precise eye that came from years of teaching, but more from who she was, before Sam. The identity that she really was. No Sam Locke even existed.
"Ahh come one Ms. Sam!" Derek, another student of hers complained. "I need more time to perfect my skills"
/"Jondy!" Zack yelled at her from his spot hidden in the brush. His breath was visible in the cold winter air. "Move!" his eyes scanned over to Max who was still regaining her bearings from falling in the ice.
Jondy didn't even get to look at Max again before she took off in a sprint./
"Boy you'd need the whole year to get past stick figure stage" she threw him a joke, he was a big boy, wore big boy pants, he could take it.
Her students shared a laugh at that while putting together their things. "See ya Monday guys, have a good weekend" she watched each of her students pass her desk, including Jade
"Your sis coming by to pick you up after school?"
"Yeah" Jade replied
"Must be nice to have a big sister like that" Jondy stated
"Great" Jade replied "What about you Ms. Sam?" she adjusted the strap on her messenger bag "You never told us if you had any brothers or sisters"
/Ben made shadow puppets on the wall above Max's bunk. She and Jondy were sitting together on the floor smiling silently watching Ben's hands. Tinga watched from her bunk with Syl. And Zack, ever the protector was watching the door to make sure no guards were coming./
"I have a few"
"Brothers?" Jade wanted to know "Or sisters?"
"Both" Jondy answered back "Was tight just like you with one sistah in particular, we were almost the same age-"
/Max and Jondy laughed between themselves watching the imaginative patterns Ben was creating with his hands on the wall/
"Was?" Jade was confused "You don't see her anymore?"
"It's been a while"
This was something that Jade could understand. She had just gotten to see Cree after three years of thinking she was dead, she knew that feeling very well. "My sister went missing three years ago-"
Jondy's eyes got bigger "You don't hafta tell me Jade-"
"It's okay" Jade told her "Her old boyfriend kidnapped her, sold her off somewhere. But she's home now, takin' it one day at a time-" she looked up to Jondy "Hope you didn't go through something like that Ms. Sam"
"No" Jondy replied "Not that bad, we just haven't met up in while-"
/"Will we ever meet up again Zack?" Jondy finally caught up with him
He turned to her quickly "We can't. It will compromise safety." He ran ahead of her then, without saying anything more./
*The lights go out and I can't be saved
Tides that I tried to swim against
Have brought me down upon my knees
Oh I beg, I beg and I plead*
"Miss her the same though?" Jade asked, in more of a statement then a question.
"Yeah-" Jondy told her honestly. Screw Manticore, she was going to feel things.
*Come out of the things unsaid
Shoot an apple off my head
And a trouble that can't be named
A tiger's waiting to be tamed*
"Go see her sometime Ms. Sam" Jade told her teacher straight out "Speaking from experience, it hurts like a bitch to be apart for so long with someone you're close to"
"Take it into consideration" Jondy answered back, forcing a smile "Have a good weekend girl"
"You too," Jade smiled back and headed towards the door.
*Confusion that never stops
The closing walls and the ticking clocks
Gonna come back and take you home
I could not stop, that you now know
Singing come out upon my seas
Cursed missed opportunities
Am I a part of the cure
Or am I part of the disease*
Jondy turned and stared at the image she painted of the forest surrounding Manticore. She had no picture to work off of. They spend so much time there she could walk through it blindfolded without missing a step. Sometimes she and Max would sneak away after bunk checks, and just sit out there looking at the stars, thinking, about life, genetics, whatever they could cram into fifteen minutes before they had to slip back or risk interrogation and discipline the next morning.
She sat on top of her desk, just staring at the picture.
"Maxie.."
*Singing
You are, you are
You are, you are
You are, you are
You are, you are
And nothing else compares
And nothing else compares
And nothing else compares
And nothing else compares
You are, you are
Home, home where I wanted to go
Home, home where I wanted to go*
*****
LOS ANGELOS POLICE DEPARTMENT
45TH PRECINCT
NARCOTICS DIVISION
"This can't be Cree" Detective Max DeLuca, the once green, but still handsome cop looked at Cree in amazement. He had last seen her three, almost four ago, when she was fourteen. She had been a nice kid, funny, smart, confident like most teens. But now, she still was young but she had grown up. She now caught the Detective's eyes on more then just the idea of her being a cute kid. He would never act on it, he was married, and he thought of Cree as a baby sister. But she sparked something in him now that he was sure she got from other men. There was also something in her eyes, a hardness that made her look older then her years, more wise, but someone who had to suffer to become that way. It was her gaze, her eyes that Detective DeLuca noticed the most. She wasn't a girl anymore.
DeLuca smiled warmly and embraced Cree "Girl you grew up on me"
"You did too Max" Cree pulled back from the hug "See they let you out of diapers"
DeLuca laughed at that "Yeah I got my official big boy underwear after that drug raid." He looked over at Ming who was listening to the conversation from the other side of the detective's oak desk.
Cree observed him as he sat on the edge of his desk, almost like an over paid actor on some cop show who would act all ass kicking tough in front of the cameras but would send his stunt double for the chase scenes, not be like ACUTAL cops who couldn't just pull a body double out of their bag of tricks to do their job for them. The analogy stopped short of that promise land though, DeLuca was the real, gritty, compassionate ass kicking deal. He was also handsome. He had filled out from the last time she had scene him, more upper body muscle. Like Cree guessed was under all those designer shirts Logan always wore judging by what she saw beneath the cotton.
"You're married?" Cree asked a rhetorical question. She had seen the gold band on his left hand. It was just a way to get him to talk about it.
"Yeah" DeLuca took the bait "Stella, she's great. I met her at a shop of 52ND Ave. She repairs bikes, regular ones like ten speed, mountain kind. Went in there to get my chain guard replaced and was never the same"
"You have any kids?"
"Not yet. Stella has four god children and two nephews though, so we don't miss out much." He paused "But enough with me." He looked at her differently this time "How've you been?"
"Strivin' for the good days" she answered him honestly. She could see concern on the detective's face "But I've had more and more good days"
"Guess you're not seeing that boyfriend anymore" he was careful and hesitant in his words. Ming had filled him on the police report version of Cree's ordeal for the past three years. He had done dozens of domestic violence calls, but he couldn't even imagine what living what she went through was like.
"Deciding that dumping his ass was the thing to do after he got his money's worth from me" her words were hard, but not cold, letting DeLuca know that it was okay for him to inquire about the subject. "Seein' someone else though" the words came tumbling out. He didn't ask, but she decided to go on that way, play catch up. A lot had changed since they last met. "His name's Ty"
"Cool." DeLuca tried to hide the tone in his voice under his words. He protected Cree like a little sister, and as a pseudo big brother he didn't want her to be hurt by shit boys again with open ended, half assed promises of love and devotion. "What's he do?" if he had a job he could be more easily watched, deadbeats had more shadow coverage.
"He's a fireman"
DeLuca had to admit to himself that was impressive. There were some crooked guys in every department, but most men in those kinds of jobs were on the level. "Here in LA?"
"No" Cree corrected "Seattle"
"Seattle?"
"Yeah" Cree started to elaborate more "After my-" a hesitant pause "ordeal, this girl and her friend took me in, set me up with a job. Mom found me about a month afterwards. They got to be my friends, and Ty-" she was in love with him, and it showed in her voice. "I met him one night and, that was it" she smiled at the hidden meaning of her words.
DeLuca smiled back, getting it. His eyes glanced over to Ming, who was still listening. "You give him the once over officer?"
Ming smiled too "On the ball detective. Twenty-three. One night in juvy when he was twelve for being with a group of kids who threw rocks at an old lady's window. No major convictions. Smart, hard worker, down to earth."
"Got a copy of that profile for Max to sign mom?"
"She can't help being a cop Cree" DeLuca informed
"Or a mom" Ming added
Cree checked her watch "Damn, I gotta go Max" she looked again to the man in front of her. /He turned out nice after all, but he has a wife, and I have Ty/ "I'm picking up Jade from school."
"It was great seein' you again sweetie" DeLuca pulled Cree into a hug "Don't be a stranger okay?"
"I won't Detective" she pulled back and turned around, leaving the small area DeLuca claimed as his own.
"Hey Max" another officer approached DeLuca "Who was that?"
"Amston's oldest daughter" DeLuca responded
"Cree?" the other cop sounded amazed, watching the retreating figure of a fellow officer and her daughter. "When did she grow up?"
"She went through hell for the past three years Steve" DeLuca reminded "She kinda had too"
Steve's expression changed "Yeah, bad rap for her, don't know how she managed to live through it. But I can't help it man, she still looks nice"
"Hey, that's my baby sister you're talking about Steve" DeLuca reminded
"You can still claim her as your pseudo sister DeLuca" Steve told him "But she's not a baby anymore"
"She has a boyfriend Steve, so you should tone it down."
"Fine" Steve finally agreed "Guess it's back to the grind, and me to the singles bars"
"You'll find someone man" DeLuca analyzed "You just gotta look around more"
"Stella have any sisters?"
"Forget it man" DeLuca joked "I can barely stand you at work, I don't want you and I to also be related"
Steve laughed "Get back to the grind yourself Detective DeLuca. This ain't no cake walk" he turned, heading back to his own desk.
*****
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON
MAX AND CINDY'S APARTMENT
7:54 PM
"Set to go?" Max poked her head into the bathroom she and Cindy shared.
"Gotta give me one more second suga" Cindy continued lining her eyes in black liner "Not all of us are blessed with being a revved up super fine momma who don't need to primp that much" she finished her task and replaced the lid on the liner.
Cindy turned to look at Max "Nice boo, real nice"
"Thanks" Max stated, she had on a red tank top over her velvet pants and leather jacket. "Your dishin' it out as well" she admired Cindy's leather pants and dark black halter top.
"Appreciate it boo" Cindy set down the liner she had been using. She smiled "Cree left this here, she could do great things with smoky eyes."
Max smiled too. "Hope she's doin' okay"
"They say no news is good news" Cindy informed "Figure she needs time to recoup. No girl gets outta a hell like the one she escaped from and is all ideal in the aftermath." She paused for a moment "still miss her though"
"Me too" Max informed, "Say we party in her honor?"
"Down with me girl" Cindy agreed, stepping out of the bathroom "Speaking of down, you had a good time with your man last night?"
"Yeah loads" Max lied "seizures make for the best evening"
"Boo O.C. don't like to see you down and out, but it sho' is nice to know that you were with a man who knows how to take care of a woman, sick or jivin' "
"And you didn't like him at first" Max reminded
"How was I suppose to know?" Cindy returned the fire, "I wouldn't be talkin' Ms. "I don't understand those women who say they need a man to make themselves feel complete"
Max's expression changed, she had been caught. She was in an uncertain place there, I mean more uncertain then normal.
"But its all good boo" Cindy went on "I'm not into the boys, but glad you shacked up with one who seems to know what he's doing."
"Some times" Max joined in the conversation. "No man knows completely what a woman wants."
*You could buy me diamonds
You could buy me pearls
Take me on a cruise around the world
Baby you know I'm worth it*
"Least he tries boo" Cindy informed "Hard. Specially with you as the woman" she smiled again "But somethin' tells me he's up for it"
*Dinner lit by candles
Run my bubble bath
Make love tenderly to last, to last
Cause baby you know I'm worth it
Wanna please wanna keep wanna treat your woman right
Not just dough but to show that you know she is worth your time
You will lose if you chose to refuse to put her first
She will if she can find a man who knows her worth*
Max smiled at this "Should get going"
"Yep, can't keep Logan waitin'" Cindy walked past her friend, ignoring her expression.
*Mmm
Cause a real man, knows a real woman when he sees her
And a real woman knows a real man ain't afraid to please her
And a real woman knows a real man always comes first
And a real man just can't deny a woman's worth*
*****
CRASH
Max heard Logan come up behind her, but her sense of touch got the treat when she felt him kiss the exposed side of her neck.
"I'll accept that as a greeting" Max turned to him, smelling the clean, manly fragrant smell that accompanied Logan everywhere he went.
"I'm glad" he smiled at her "Cause it was non refundable" he kissed her again, this time on the mouth. Her smell was like that of ripe peaches in the summer time. Her mouth tasted of coffee creamer. Peaches and cream, a sense tingling combination.
*Let me tell you what I wanna do
Let me show you that I'm feelin' you
Wanna sex, wanna ride with you
Wanna taste, wanna put my lips all over you
Can't get enough of you
Always taken of you
So sweet, so very wet
So good, girl you make me sweat
Girl I'm talkin' 'bout
Peaches and cream
I need it cause you know that I'm a fiend
Gettin' freaky in my Bentley limousine
It's even better when it's with ice cream
Know what I mean
Peaches and cream*
"Gotta give each other a chance to breathe ya'll" Cindy made them break apart, but slowly. She had a smiled plastered across her entire face. "Wanna sit down Logan?" she patted an empty bar stool next to her.
Logan didn't say a word, sliding into the empty seat.
"Doin' aiight boo?" the smile on Cindy's face was still there. "Even though I can kinda already tell"
This time Logan smiled too. "I'm good Cindy" he turned to her "You?"
"Can't complain. I'll go round us up a pitcher."
"I'll do that" Max stood back up and went to go grab the beer.
"You and my girl Logan" Cindy told him after Max was gone "Nice thing"
"Yeah" Logan looked over at her waiting for her pitcher, his eyes went from her long brown hair down to her toned torso underneath her tank top, lower to her ass and down her shapely legs.
"Check out time?" Cindy couldn't help but smile.
Logan looked at her sheepishly.
"Hey honey" a man leaned over the bar, looking at Max "How bout a free round for me?"
Max ignored him.
"Come on baby" he grabbed her arm.
/Oh HELLL NO/ "You wanna retract that" she shoved him back, picking up her pitcher.
"Baby you no you want it" he pulled something out of his pocket.
Max felt something prick the skin on her exposed shoulder. It surprised her so much that she dropped the pitcher, shattering it to pieces on the floor. It felt like a mosquito bit her, but it couldn't be they were inside, and it was too cold for them now.
"Hey man, what's with the lady?"
"She just had too much-" the man was now holding onto Max, claiming her being drunk to the bar keep.
The sound of the pitcher breaking drew Logan's attention. "What the hell?" he was out of his seat when Cindy looked as well
"Max-" she stood up also.
"Hey!" Logan shoved by a few unhappy bar patrons. He grabbed a hold of the guy who was leaning over Max, shoving him away.
"Max" he leaned over her, touching her neck, feeling for a pulse. Cindy pushed her way through the crowd, and knelt down. She wasn't responding to anything. He noticed a tiny red mark above her shoulder "She's been injected with something" he rubbed the spot with his finger.
"Like some kind of rape sleeper drug?" Cindy's voice was pissed.
Logan whirled around to the man he had pushed away "What the hell did you give her?"
"Nothing man" the man played innocent "she just had one too many-" he made the motion of someone drinking a bottle with his right hand. Logan grabbed him in one fast movement and slammed him into the bar, punching him square on the face. He left him alone then, and knelt back down next to Max. "Let's take her back to my place" he told Cindy, picking up the unconscious form of his girlfriend "I'll call Sam from there. I don't know what affects these things have on her genes"
He pushed his way through the crowd with Max in his arms and Cindy following behind. The people broke apart like the Red Sea with Moses.
*****
LOS ANGELOUS
Jondy got a sudden jolt through her, like she had been punched by Deck. She almost lost her grip on the coffee cup, causing some of it to spill on the booth's table.
"Sam you all right?" the waitress hovered above Jondy with a refill for her coffee. She was a regular at the small diner on the way to her job and coming home.
"Yeah" she looked up to the woman "Just one of those days"
"Sorry girl" Sara, the waitress informed, "Refill?"
Jondy nodded, watching as her cup was filled again with black coffee.
"Thanks" she smiled to Sara who responded in kind and left.
Something felt wrong. Ever since meeting Jade's sister Jondy was getting all these feelings. Something she hadn't had since Manticore, the feeling she got when Max was in trouble. Manticore had no twins in its creations, no direct monozygotic or dizygotic babies given birth at once by one woman during a single labour. They were all born one at a time. But with Max, she didn't know if it was because she had been created from the same woman's ova, but she felt a connection with her more then the others. They were inseparable as children, and could sense when the other was in trouble the way identical twins could. Jondy and Max earned the nickname of "twins" in their unit because of their seemingly psychic ability to tell when something was wrong with the other. It was that feeling that led Jondy to discover Max had fallen through the ice that night.
She reached around the back of her neck and ran her fingers over the barcode printed there.
/"X5-210!" her drill instructor shouted right at her "Confirm the location of 452"
"Unknown Sir" Jondy answered crisply "Presumed she would be here"
"Well it was a wrong presumption soldier!" the drill sergeant barked at her. "She has thirty minutes to make it here or spend the remaining day in the VC unit"/
/"Zack!" Jondy hugged him, and looked him over. He had grown so much. At 21 he was far different then the boy she remembered.
Zack didn't return the hug "Were you followed?"
Jondy shook her head "I was careful." She tried to contain her excitement at seeing him after all these years. "Have you found any of the others? Do you know where they are? Where Maxie is?"
Zack shook his head "I can't contact the whole fucking world Jondy, or they would be sought out"
"You found me" Jondy informed
"Only because you sought me out Jondy"/
"Sam-SAM!"
Jondy snapped out of her thoughts.
"You sure you're okay?" Sara was looking at her concerned.
"I'm good" Jondy informed, "Just wiped out, need to head home."
"All right" Sara didn't sound too convinced, but she went along anyway.
Jondy paid for her coffee and left, waving goodbye to Sara, who waved back.
******
BANGKOK CHINA
She woke up from her dream, it was so real, she had escaped and had been taken away, to the States by her brother who lived there. When she woke though, she was still in chains.
It was darker now, and her son was long gone. He had been taken while she slept, bastards. His tears had dried on her bare chest.
She jerked her arms angrily at her situation. A loud creak was heard. After years of neglect the bed she was chained to gave way. In a flurry of movements she yanked herself free, the cuffs and chains still dangling from her wrists.
The door opened, the noise had attracted attention. "BITCH!"
She freed her legs, and ran with everything she had. She made it to the outside. Shots were fired at her from a .22, the same one that killed her other son. A bullet hit her neck. She dropped, but only for an instant, and kept running. She screamed for her son who appeared to her from a second story window.
"Mama!"
She stopped "Baby jump! I'll catch you!" he was pulled inside by another man.
She called out to him, but heard the gun go off again. She ran, she wanted to go back for her son. But if she was killed there would be no one to protect him. So she ran, to save his life, not even knowing if it would work.
*I don't know, only God knows where the story ends for me But I know where the story begins, its up to us to choose Whether we win or lose And I choose to win*
The bullets kept coming, she fell into a filthy puddle on the street, picked herself up and kept running. Ahead of her lay an open livestock trailer with chickens inside She ran as fast as she could and lifted her body inside. The chickens squawked, she quietly lowered herself behind a cage, praying that the driver didn't hear them or see her in there.
*No more pain (no more pain)
No more game (tired of your playin' game with my mind)
No drama (no more drama in my life)
No more, no more, No more, no more
No more tears (no more tears, no more cryin every night)
No more fears (no more waking be up in the morning, with those disturbing
phone calls. Leave me alone go ahead. Hey-ay-yeah)
No more in my life*
The door to the trailer was hitched and the engine started, moving the truck forward. She bumped along in the back tears running down her face, splashing right into the chicken mess that was on the floor of the truck under her bare feet. She had no idea how far she would go, how far away she would be taken away from her son. Her neck ached terribly from the gunshot wound She looked out the slats in the trailer, trying to remember each thing they passed so she would be able to find him again.
*Oh no, no more, no no more, no more drama, No more drama, in my, in my life..*
*****
SEATTLE WASHINGTON LOGAN'S APARTMENT
Sam checked the pulse of the unconsciousness woman on Logan's bed. It was still sluggish from the drugs in her system. Her breathing had slowed down too, but it wasn't in a deeply dangerous range. He removed the stethoscope piece from her chest. Looking up he could see Logan watching him from the doorway.
Sam took out the ear pieces of the stethoscope and walked over to Logan, seeing Cindy standing near them listening in the living room.
"You were right about the drugs Logan." Sam told him "I found residue of Rohypnol near the injection site on her shoulder."
"I thought it was only created in pill form"
"In most cases yes" Sam agreed "But there is a liquid form that unfortunately more and more rapers use because of the faster affect it has due to it being able to be directly injected into a blood vessel. I can't say exactly, but there must have been about 2 cc's inside the syringe device. On cc of this stuff could put a woman out for at least eight hours. Two could send her into a drug induced coma"
"Will she be okay then?" Logan broke in, completely concerned. He didn't like Sam's words.
"Her body metabolizes substances different then ours, so it most like counter attacked the drug from reaching that point. Her reflex responses, heart rate and breathing aren't in the comatose range, they are slow, but more like someone whose under sedation in an OR or took a sleeping pill. So she should come out of it by early tomorrow morning I suspect. Someone just needs to watch her tonight to make sure her breathing doesn't change."
"Don't worry about that Sam" Cindy told him
Sam touched Logan on the shoulder "She'll be fine. Just stay with her tonight to give both of you piece of mind."
After Sam left Cindy came inside the bedroom, observing Max, who appeared just to be sleeping on the bed. But it bothered her, Max didn't sleep that much, and she was never that serene in real life.
"So she'll be okay?" Cindy asked, not sure
"Sam said it would be fine" Logan was trying to convince himself of that as well. He sat on the bed and held one of her hands. He looked over to Cindy "Go home, you look like you need the sleep. I'll call you if anything happens."
Cindy looked hesitant for a moment "Kay, the SECOND something goes down Logan give me a ring" she walked over to Max and kissed her cheek "later boo"
Logan turned to Max after Cindy left, and touched her forehead with one hand. She looked so peaceful, but he knew it was an false induced peace. She didn't ask for it. "I'm so sorry this happened" he kissed her forehead. She didn't move. Like before he removed her shoes and covered her with the comforter.
*I know I can be afraid
but I'm alive
And I hope that you trust this heart
behind my tired eyes*
He shut off all the lights but one small beside lamp and climbed in beside her. Gently lifting her up he laid her head on his chest and laid back against the cushions, putting one hand on her collarbone to keep tabs on her breathing during the night.
*I know I'm not around each night
and I know I always think I'm right
I can believe that you might look around*
He lightly rubbed the injection mark on her shoulder "I'll get the shit back for what he did to you" he kissed the top of her head, preparing to wait until she opened her eyes again.
*I'm no angel, but please don't think that I won't try and try
I'm no angel, but does that mean that I can't live my life?
I'm no angel, but please don't think that I can't cry
I'm no angel, but does that mean that I won't fly?*
*****
long chapter for ya. That part at the end was done for my M/L side, since I didn't have that much of it in the last chapter. Also it was to draw awareness to Rohypnol, a date rape drug. It comes in pill form and can be dissolved into a drink when a girl leaves it alone. This is a warning to all girls and women to be careful when they go out clubbing. NEVER leave your drink unattended, it's a simple thing that could very well save your dignity and your life.
The woman in China's escaped..I didn't have her run with her child..that would be ideal, and it don't always work out that way.
And Jondy's psychic thing. She and Max have been made up as the close siblings, almost like twins, and this is a phenomenon that happens with twins.
Finally the songs that I used are (used a lot this time)
Jade talking to Jondy scene- "Clocks" (Cold Play)
Cindy talking to Max about Logan "A Woman's Worth" (Alicia Keys)
Logan kissing Max at Crash- "Peaches and Cream" (112)
Woman running from her pimp in Bangkok "No More Drama" (Mary J. Blige)
Logan taking care of Max in last scene-"No Angel" (Dido)
R/R please
I'll pump out more later...
~mystic
A/N: now that I'm done with my papers, go me, I have more time for fanfic. I titled this chapter what it is because people say when you establish a connection with something there is something that "clicks" inside..so it fit.
*****
LOS ANGELOS, CALIFORNIA
"Okay guys, wrap it up. The point of no return has already passed" Sam walked around the desk of her students. Sam looked at each one, examining it with a precise eye that came from years of teaching, but more from who she was, before Sam. The identity that she really was. No Sam Locke even existed.
"Ahh come one Ms. Sam!" Derek, another student of hers complained. "I need more time to perfect my skills"
/"Jondy!" Zack yelled at her from his spot hidden in the brush. His breath was visible in the cold winter air. "Move!" his eyes scanned over to Max who was still regaining her bearings from falling in the ice.
Jondy didn't even get to look at Max again before she took off in a sprint./
"Boy you'd need the whole year to get past stick figure stage" she threw him a joke, he was a big boy, wore big boy pants, he could take it.
Her students shared a laugh at that while putting together their things. "See ya Monday guys, have a good weekend" she watched each of her students pass her desk, including Jade
"Your sis coming by to pick you up after school?"
"Yeah" Jade replied
"Must be nice to have a big sister like that" Jondy stated
"Great" Jade replied "What about you Ms. Sam?" she adjusted the strap on her messenger bag "You never told us if you had any brothers or sisters"
/Ben made shadow puppets on the wall above Max's bunk. She and Jondy were sitting together on the floor smiling silently watching Ben's hands. Tinga watched from her bunk with Syl. And Zack, ever the protector was watching the door to make sure no guards were coming./
"I have a few"
"Brothers?" Jade wanted to know "Or sisters?"
"Both" Jondy answered back "Was tight just like you with one sistah in particular, we were almost the same age-"
/Max and Jondy laughed between themselves watching the imaginative patterns Ben was creating with his hands on the wall/
"Was?" Jade was confused "You don't see her anymore?"
"It's been a while"
This was something that Jade could understand. She had just gotten to see Cree after three years of thinking she was dead, she knew that feeling very well. "My sister went missing three years ago-"
Jondy's eyes got bigger "You don't hafta tell me Jade-"
"It's okay" Jade told her "Her old boyfriend kidnapped her, sold her off somewhere. But she's home now, takin' it one day at a time-" she looked up to Jondy "Hope you didn't go through something like that Ms. Sam"
"No" Jondy replied "Not that bad, we just haven't met up in while-"
/"Will we ever meet up again Zack?" Jondy finally caught up with him
He turned to her quickly "We can't. It will compromise safety." He ran ahead of her then, without saying anything more./
*The lights go out and I can't be saved
Tides that I tried to swim against
Have brought me down upon my knees
Oh I beg, I beg and I plead*
"Miss her the same though?" Jade asked, in more of a statement then a question.
"Yeah-" Jondy told her honestly. Screw Manticore, she was going to feel things.
*Come out of the things unsaid
Shoot an apple off my head
And a trouble that can't be named
A tiger's waiting to be tamed*
"Go see her sometime Ms. Sam" Jade told her teacher straight out "Speaking from experience, it hurts like a bitch to be apart for so long with someone you're close to"
"Take it into consideration" Jondy answered back, forcing a smile "Have a good weekend girl"
"You too," Jade smiled back and headed towards the door.
*Confusion that never stops
The closing walls and the ticking clocks
Gonna come back and take you home
I could not stop, that you now know
Singing come out upon my seas
Cursed missed opportunities
Am I a part of the cure
Or am I part of the disease*
Jondy turned and stared at the image she painted of the forest surrounding Manticore. She had no picture to work off of. They spend so much time there she could walk through it blindfolded without missing a step. Sometimes she and Max would sneak away after bunk checks, and just sit out there looking at the stars, thinking, about life, genetics, whatever they could cram into fifteen minutes before they had to slip back or risk interrogation and discipline the next morning.
She sat on top of her desk, just staring at the picture.
"Maxie.."
*Singing
You are, you are
You are, you are
You are, you are
You are, you are
And nothing else compares
And nothing else compares
And nothing else compares
And nothing else compares
You are, you are
Home, home where I wanted to go
Home, home where I wanted to go*
*****
LOS ANGELOS POLICE DEPARTMENT
45TH PRECINCT
NARCOTICS DIVISION
"This can't be Cree" Detective Max DeLuca, the once green, but still handsome cop looked at Cree in amazement. He had last seen her three, almost four ago, when she was fourteen. She had been a nice kid, funny, smart, confident like most teens. But now, she still was young but she had grown up. She now caught the Detective's eyes on more then just the idea of her being a cute kid. He would never act on it, he was married, and he thought of Cree as a baby sister. But she sparked something in him now that he was sure she got from other men. There was also something in her eyes, a hardness that made her look older then her years, more wise, but someone who had to suffer to become that way. It was her gaze, her eyes that Detective DeLuca noticed the most. She wasn't a girl anymore.
DeLuca smiled warmly and embraced Cree "Girl you grew up on me"
"You did too Max" Cree pulled back from the hug "See they let you out of diapers"
DeLuca laughed at that "Yeah I got my official big boy underwear after that drug raid." He looked over at Ming who was listening to the conversation from the other side of the detective's oak desk.
Cree observed him as he sat on the edge of his desk, almost like an over paid actor on some cop show who would act all ass kicking tough in front of the cameras but would send his stunt double for the chase scenes, not be like ACUTAL cops who couldn't just pull a body double out of their bag of tricks to do their job for them. The analogy stopped short of that promise land though, DeLuca was the real, gritty, compassionate ass kicking deal. He was also handsome. He had filled out from the last time she had scene him, more upper body muscle. Like Cree guessed was under all those designer shirts Logan always wore judging by what she saw beneath the cotton.
"You're married?" Cree asked a rhetorical question. She had seen the gold band on his left hand. It was just a way to get him to talk about it.
"Yeah" DeLuca took the bait "Stella, she's great. I met her at a shop of 52ND Ave. She repairs bikes, regular ones like ten speed, mountain kind. Went in there to get my chain guard replaced and was never the same"
"You have any kids?"
"Not yet. Stella has four god children and two nephews though, so we don't miss out much." He paused "But enough with me." He looked at her differently this time "How've you been?"
"Strivin' for the good days" she answered him honestly. She could see concern on the detective's face "But I've had more and more good days"
"Guess you're not seeing that boyfriend anymore" he was careful and hesitant in his words. Ming had filled him on the police report version of Cree's ordeal for the past three years. He had done dozens of domestic violence calls, but he couldn't even imagine what living what she went through was like.
"Deciding that dumping his ass was the thing to do after he got his money's worth from me" her words were hard, but not cold, letting DeLuca know that it was okay for him to inquire about the subject. "Seein' someone else though" the words came tumbling out. He didn't ask, but she decided to go on that way, play catch up. A lot had changed since they last met. "His name's Ty"
"Cool." DeLuca tried to hide the tone in his voice under his words. He protected Cree like a little sister, and as a pseudo big brother he didn't want her to be hurt by shit boys again with open ended, half assed promises of love and devotion. "What's he do?" if he had a job he could be more easily watched, deadbeats had more shadow coverage.
"He's a fireman"
DeLuca had to admit to himself that was impressive. There were some crooked guys in every department, but most men in those kinds of jobs were on the level. "Here in LA?"
"No" Cree corrected "Seattle"
"Seattle?"
"Yeah" Cree started to elaborate more "After my-" a hesitant pause "ordeal, this girl and her friend took me in, set me up with a job. Mom found me about a month afterwards. They got to be my friends, and Ty-" she was in love with him, and it showed in her voice. "I met him one night and, that was it" she smiled at the hidden meaning of her words.
DeLuca smiled back, getting it. His eyes glanced over to Ming, who was still listening. "You give him the once over officer?"
Ming smiled too "On the ball detective. Twenty-three. One night in juvy when he was twelve for being with a group of kids who threw rocks at an old lady's window. No major convictions. Smart, hard worker, down to earth."
"Got a copy of that profile for Max to sign mom?"
"She can't help being a cop Cree" DeLuca informed
"Or a mom" Ming added
Cree checked her watch "Damn, I gotta go Max" she looked again to the man in front of her. /He turned out nice after all, but he has a wife, and I have Ty/ "I'm picking up Jade from school."
"It was great seein' you again sweetie" DeLuca pulled Cree into a hug "Don't be a stranger okay?"
"I won't Detective" she pulled back and turned around, leaving the small area DeLuca claimed as his own.
"Hey Max" another officer approached DeLuca "Who was that?"
"Amston's oldest daughter" DeLuca responded
"Cree?" the other cop sounded amazed, watching the retreating figure of a fellow officer and her daughter. "When did she grow up?"
"She went through hell for the past three years Steve" DeLuca reminded "She kinda had too"
Steve's expression changed "Yeah, bad rap for her, don't know how she managed to live through it. But I can't help it man, she still looks nice"
"Hey, that's my baby sister you're talking about Steve" DeLuca reminded
"You can still claim her as your pseudo sister DeLuca" Steve told him "But she's not a baby anymore"
"She has a boyfriend Steve, so you should tone it down."
"Fine" Steve finally agreed "Guess it's back to the grind, and me to the singles bars"
"You'll find someone man" DeLuca analyzed "You just gotta look around more"
"Stella have any sisters?"
"Forget it man" DeLuca joked "I can barely stand you at work, I don't want you and I to also be related"
Steve laughed "Get back to the grind yourself Detective DeLuca. This ain't no cake walk" he turned, heading back to his own desk.
*****
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON
MAX AND CINDY'S APARTMENT
7:54 PM
"Set to go?" Max poked her head into the bathroom she and Cindy shared.
"Gotta give me one more second suga" Cindy continued lining her eyes in black liner "Not all of us are blessed with being a revved up super fine momma who don't need to primp that much" she finished her task and replaced the lid on the liner.
Cindy turned to look at Max "Nice boo, real nice"
"Thanks" Max stated, she had on a red tank top over her velvet pants and leather jacket. "Your dishin' it out as well" she admired Cindy's leather pants and dark black halter top.
"Appreciate it boo" Cindy set down the liner she had been using. She smiled "Cree left this here, she could do great things with smoky eyes."
Max smiled too. "Hope she's doin' okay"
"They say no news is good news" Cindy informed "Figure she needs time to recoup. No girl gets outta a hell like the one she escaped from and is all ideal in the aftermath." She paused for a moment "still miss her though"
"Me too" Max informed, "Say we party in her honor?"
"Down with me girl" Cindy agreed, stepping out of the bathroom "Speaking of down, you had a good time with your man last night?"
"Yeah loads" Max lied "seizures make for the best evening"
"Boo O.C. don't like to see you down and out, but it sho' is nice to know that you were with a man who knows how to take care of a woman, sick or jivin' "
"And you didn't like him at first" Max reminded
"How was I suppose to know?" Cindy returned the fire, "I wouldn't be talkin' Ms. "I don't understand those women who say they need a man to make themselves feel complete"
Max's expression changed, she had been caught. She was in an uncertain place there, I mean more uncertain then normal.
"But its all good boo" Cindy went on "I'm not into the boys, but glad you shacked up with one who seems to know what he's doing."
"Some times" Max joined in the conversation. "No man knows completely what a woman wants."
*You could buy me diamonds
You could buy me pearls
Take me on a cruise around the world
Baby you know I'm worth it*
"Least he tries boo" Cindy informed "Hard. Specially with you as the woman" she smiled again "But somethin' tells me he's up for it"
*Dinner lit by candles
Run my bubble bath
Make love tenderly to last, to last
Cause baby you know I'm worth it
Wanna please wanna keep wanna treat your woman right
Not just dough but to show that you know she is worth your time
You will lose if you chose to refuse to put her first
She will if she can find a man who knows her worth*
Max smiled at this "Should get going"
"Yep, can't keep Logan waitin'" Cindy walked past her friend, ignoring her expression.
*Mmm
Cause a real man, knows a real woman when he sees her
And a real woman knows a real man ain't afraid to please her
And a real woman knows a real man always comes first
And a real man just can't deny a woman's worth*
*****
CRASH
Max heard Logan come up behind her, but her sense of touch got the treat when she felt him kiss the exposed side of her neck.
"I'll accept that as a greeting" Max turned to him, smelling the clean, manly fragrant smell that accompanied Logan everywhere he went.
"I'm glad" he smiled at her "Cause it was non refundable" he kissed her again, this time on the mouth. Her smell was like that of ripe peaches in the summer time. Her mouth tasted of coffee creamer. Peaches and cream, a sense tingling combination.
*Let me tell you what I wanna do
Let me show you that I'm feelin' you
Wanna sex, wanna ride with you
Wanna taste, wanna put my lips all over you
Can't get enough of you
Always taken of you
So sweet, so very wet
So good, girl you make me sweat
Girl I'm talkin' 'bout
Peaches and cream
I need it cause you know that I'm a fiend
Gettin' freaky in my Bentley limousine
It's even better when it's with ice cream
Know what I mean
Peaches and cream*
"Gotta give each other a chance to breathe ya'll" Cindy made them break apart, but slowly. She had a smiled plastered across her entire face. "Wanna sit down Logan?" she patted an empty bar stool next to her.
Logan didn't say a word, sliding into the empty seat.
"Doin' aiight boo?" the smile on Cindy's face was still there. "Even though I can kinda already tell"
This time Logan smiled too. "I'm good Cindy" he turned to her "You?"
"Can't complain. I'll go round us up a pitcher."
"I'll do that" Max stood back up and went to go grab the beer.
"You and my girl Logan" Cindy told him after Max was gone "Nice thing"
"Yeah" Logan looked over at her waiting for her pitcher, his eyes went from her long brown hair down to her toned torso underneath her tank top, lower to her ass and down her shapely legs.
"Check out time?" Cindy couldn't help but smile.
Logan looked at her sheepishly.
"Hey honey" a man leaned over the bar, looking at Max "How bout a free round for me?"
Max ignored him.
"Come on baby" he grabbed her arm.
/Oh HELLL NO/ "You wanna retract that" she shoved him back, picking up her pitcher.
"Baby you no you want it" he pulled something out of his pocket.
Max felt something prick the skin on her exposed shoulder. It surprised her so much that she dropped the pitcher, shattering it to pieces on the floor. It felt like a mosquito bit her, but it couldn't be they were inside, and it was too cold for them now.
"Hey man, what's with the lady?"
"She just had too much-" the man was now holding onto Max, claiming her being drunk to the bar keep.
The sound of the pitcher breaking drew Logan's attention. "What the hell?" he was out of his seat when Cindy looked as well
"Max-" she stood up also.
"Hey!" Logan shoved by a few unhappy bar patrons. He grabbed a hold of the guy who was leaning over Max, shoving him away.
"Max" he leaned over her, touching her neck, feeling for a pulse. Cindy pushed her way through the crowd, and knelt down. She wasn't responding to anything. He noticed a tiny red mark above her shoulder "She's been injected with something" he rubbed the spot with his finger.
"Like some kind of rape sleeper drug?" Cindy's voice was pissed.
Logan whirled around to the man he had pushed away "What the hell did you give her?"
"Nothing man" the man played innocent "she just had one too many-" he made the motion of someone drinking a bottle with his right hand. Logan grabbed him in one fast movement and slammed him into the bar, punching him square on the face. He left him alone then, and knelt back down next to Max. "Let's take her back to my place" he told Cindy, picking up the unconscious form of his girlfriend "I'll call Sam from there. I don't know what affects these things have on her genes"
He pushed his way through the crowd with Max in his arms and Cindy following behind. The people broke apart like the Red Sea with Moses.
*****
LOS ANGELOUS
Jondy got a sudden jolt through her, like she had been punched by Deck. She almost lost her grip on the coffee cup, causing some of it to spill on the booth's table.
"Sam you all right?" the waitress hovered above Jondy with a refill for her coffee. She was a regular at the small diner on the way to her job and coming home.
"Yeah" she looked up to the woman "Just one of those days"
"Sorry girl" Sara, the waitress informed, "Refill?"
Jondy nodded, watching as her cup was filled again with black coffee.
"Thanks" she smiled to Sara who responded in kind and left.
Something felt wrong. Ever since meeting Jade's sister Jondy was getting all these feelings. Something she hadn't had since Manticore, the feeling she got when Max was in trouble. Manticore had no twins in its creations, no direct monozygotic or dizygotic babies given birth at once by one woman during a single labour. They were all born one at a time. But with Max, she didn't know if it was because she had been created from the same woman's ova, but she felt a connection with her more then the others. They were inseparable as children, and could sense when the other was in trouble the way identical twins could. Jondy and Max earned the nickname of "twins" in their unit because of their seemingly psychic ability to tell when something was wrong with the other. It was that feeling that led Jondy to discover Max had fallen through the ice that night.
She reached around the back of her neck and ran her fingers over the barcode printed there.
/"X5-210!" her drill instructor shouted right at her "Confirm the location of 452"
"Unknown Sir" Jondy answered crisply "Presumed she would be here"
"Well it was a wrong presumption soldier!" the drill sergeant barked at her. "She has thirty minutes to make it here or spend the remaining day in the VC unit"/
/"Zack!" Jondy hugged him, and looked him over. He had grown so much. At 21 he was far different then the boy she remembered.
Zack didn't return the hug "Were you followed?"
Jondy shook her head "I was careful." She tried to contain her excitement at seeing him after all these years. "Have you found any of the others? Do you know where they are? Where Maxie is?"
Zack shook his head "I can't contact the whole fucking world Jondy, or they would be sought out"
"You found me" Jondy informed
"Only because you sought me out Jondy"/
"Sam-SAM!"
Jondy snapped out of her thoughts.
"You sure you're okay?" Sara was looking at her concerned.
"I'm good" Jondy informed, "Just wiped out, need to head home."
"All right" Sara didn't sound too convinced, but she went along anyway.
Jondy paid for her coffee and left, waving goodbye to Sara, who waved back.
******
BANGKOK CHINA
She woke up from her dream, it was so real, she had escaped and had been taken away, to the States by her brother who lived there. When she woke though, she was still in chains.
It was darker now, and her son was long gone. He had been taken while she slept, bastards. His tears had dried on her bare chest.
She jerked her arms angrily at her situation. A loud creak was heard. After years of neglect the bed she was chained to gave way. In a flurry of movements she yanked herself free, the cuffs and chains still dangling from her wrists.
The door opened, the noise had attracted attention. "BITCH!"
She freed her legs, and ran with everything she had. She made it to the outside. Shots were fired at her from a .22, the same one that killed her other son. A bullet hit her neck. She dropped, but only for an instant, and kept running. She screamed for her son who appeared to her from a second story window.
"Mama!"
She stopped "Baby jump! I'll catch you!" he was pulled inside by another man.
She called out to him, but heard the gun go off again. She ran, she wanted to go back for her son. But if she was killed there would be no one to protect him. So she ran, to save his life, not even knowing if it would work.
*I don't know, only God knows where the story ends for me But I know where the story begins, its up to us to choose Whether we win or lose And I choose to win*
The bullets kept coming, she fell into a filthy puddle on the street, picked herself up and kept running. Ahead of her lay an open livestock trailer with chickens inside She ran as fast as she could and lifted her body inside. The chickens squawked, she quietly lowered herself behind a cage, praying that the driver didn't hear them or see her in there.
*No more pain (no more pain)
No more game (tired of your playin' game with my mind)
No drama (no more drama in my life)
No more, no more, No more, no more
No more tears (no more tears, no more cryin every night)
No more fears (no more waking be up in the morning, with those disturbing
phone calls. Leave me alone go ahead. Hey-ay-yeah)
No more in my life*
The door to the trailer was hitched and the engine started, moving the truck forward. She bumped along in the back tears running down her face, splashing right into the chicken mess that was on the floor of the truck under her bare feet. She had no idea how far she would go, how far away she would be taken away from her son. Her neck ached terribly from the gunshot wound She looked out the slats in the trailer, trying to remember each thing they passed so she would be able to find him again.
*Oh no, no more, no no more, no more drama, No more drama, in my, in my life..*
*****
SEATTLE WASHINGTON LOGAN'S APARTMENT
Sam checked the pulse of the unconsciousness woman on Logan's bed. It was still sluggish from the drugs in her system. Her breathing had slowed down too, but it wasn't in a deeply dangerous range. He removed the stethoscope piece from her chest. Looking up he could see Logan watching him from the doorway.
Sam took out the ear pieces of the stethoscope and walked over to Logan, seeing Cindy standing near them listening in the living room.
"You were right about the drugs Logan." Sam told him "I found residue of Rohypnol near the injection site on her shoulder."
"I thought it was only created in pill form"
"In most cases yes" Sam agreed "But there is a liquid form that unfortunately more and more rapers use because of the faster affect it has due to it being able to be directly injected into a blood vessel. I can't say exactly, but there must have been about 2 cc's inside the syringe device. On cc of this stuff could put a woman out for at least eight hours. Two could send her into a drug induced coma"
"Will she be okay then?" Logan broke in, completely concerned. He didn't like Sam's words.
"Her body metabolizes substances different then ours, so it most like counter attacked the drug from reaching that point. Her reflex responses, heart rate and breathing aren't in the comatose range, they are slow, but more like someone whose under sedation in an OR or took a sleeping pill. So she should come out of it by early tomorrow morning I suspect. Someone just needs to watch her tonight to make sure her breathing doesn't change."
"Don't worry about that Sam" Cindy told him
Sam touched Logan on the shoulder "She'll be fine. Just stay with her tonight to give both of you piece of mind."
After Sam left Cindy came inside the bedroom, observing Max, who appeared just to be sleeping on the bed. But it bothered her, Max didn't sleep that much, and she was never that serene in real life.
"So she'll be okay?" Cindy asked, not sure
"Sam said it would be fine" Logan was trying to convince himself of that as well. He sat on the bed and held one of her hands. He looked over to Cindy "Go home, you look like you need the sleep. I'll call you if anything happens."
Cindy looked hesitant for a moment "Kay, the SECOND something goes down Logan give me a ring" she walked over to Max and kissed her cheek "later boo"
Logan turned to Max after Cindy left, and touched her forehead with one hand. She looked so peaceful, but he knew it was an false induced peace. She didn't ask for it. "I'm so sorry this happened" he kissed her forehead. She didn't move. Like before he removed her shoes and covered her with the comforter.
*I know I can be afraid
but I'm alive
And I hope that you trust this heart
behind my tired eyes*
He shut off all the lights but one small beside lamp and climbed in beside her. Gently lifting her up he laid her head on his chest and laid back against the cushions, putting one hand on her collarbone to keep tabs on her breathing during the night.
*I know I'm not around each night
and I know I always think I'm right
I can believe that you might look around*
He lightly rubbed the injection mark on her shoulder "I'll get the shit back for what he did to you" he kissed the top of her head, preparing to wait until she opened her eyes again.
*I'm no angel, but please don't think that I won't try and try
I'm no angel, but does that mean that I can't live my life?
I'm no angel, but please don't think that I can't cry
I'm no angel, but does that mean that I won't fly?*
*****
long chapter for ya. That part at the end was done for my M/L side, since I didn't have that much of it in the last chapter. Also it was to draw awareness to Rohypnol, a date rape drug. It comes in pill form and can be dissolved into a drink when a girl leaves it alone. This is a warning to all girls and women to be careful when they go out clubbing. NEVER leave your drink unattended, it's a simple thing that could very well save your dignity and your life.
The woman in China's escaped..I didn't have her run with her child..that would be ideal, and it don't always work out that way.
And Jondy's psychic thing. She and Max have been made up as the close siblings, almost like twins, and this is a phenomenon that happens with twins.
Finally the songs that I used are (used a lot this time)
Jade talking to Jondy scene- "Clocks" (Cold Play)
Cindy talking to Max about Logan "A Woman's Worth" (Alicia Keys)
Logan kissing Max at Crash- "Peaches and Cream" (112)
Woman running from her pimp in Bangkok "No More Drama" (Mary J. Blige)
Logan taking care of Max in last scene-"No Angel" (Dido)
R/R please
I'll pump out more later...
~mystic