Hormones
By: lfbrox
Rating: R
Timeframe: A couple of month after Freak Nation. Logan can of course walk.
AN: Dear readers. Sorry for the late update. Totally spaced to send the chapter to my beta on time expecting her to drop everything and go to work. Damn. I'm so self-centered that I forget that other people have lives too. They do, right? So thanks to my wonderful beta Sammi who helps me out even though I send the stuff like a day before I am supposed to post it.
Plus decided to go down the day I was finally able to post it. But now it's back up and hopefully will be for the next few days.
Hope you're still with me. It's hideous how long it's been since I started this story. Guess I will make a habit out of finishing to write something and only then start posting so I can update frequently. Also thanks to all the readers and reviewers. I promise to finish this soon. So here it goes:
Chapter 24: Let's
It was hard to lose somebody you love. But people deal differently with such a loss. And Alec seemed to have dealt with it by closing his heart to emotions. Denying himself to let anybody close. Even though she couldn't sleep she closed her eyes. Feeling sorry for the man snoring next to her.
Safe House, New Westminster
While Max went to pick up the bag Logan's informant had dropped by the side of the main road, Logan got the camera ready to take their pictures for their new ID's. He wondered briefly if he should have specified what kind of clue to drop in the hotel room, but dismissed the thought quickly, deciding that sometimes one has to rely on other people.
He grabbed his walker and made his way over to the fridge to get a new ice bag. He checked his knee and noticed with satisfaction that the swelling and bruising was almost gone. He still couldn't put much weight on the leg, but he was able to move around more freely than before. He secured the ice bag on his knee and moved to the bathroom. He hadn't shaved since they left Terminal City and the beard covered almost all of his handsome features. Other than a bottle of shampoo they had no styling products, so he couldn't even spike up his hair the way he used to do – the way he knew Max loved it. Some new clothes and he was good to go. Max needs to change her appearance a little more. Logan thought with a smile as he heard Max come in.
"Logan?" She said, dropping the bag and taking her jacket off.
"Coming." Logan replied and started to walk over to the living room to see what the informant had dropped off.
Original Cindy's crib:
Syl opened her eyes and checked her watch. 3 am. Time to get moving, she thought and sat up on the mattress she had dragged to the front door. She put her shoes on and checked to see if Victor was still in the apartment. Satisfied to see him fast asleep on the couch, Syl walked over to the kitchen to get some coffee started. She knew that Original Cindy wasn't exactly a morning person and didn't want to deal with her grouchiness. A strong coffee should help.
She waited in the kitchen until the coffee was done and poured herself a cup. She hoped the aroma of fresh coffee would wake the others up, but no such luck. First Syl walked over to the couch and none too gently shook Victor awake.
"Coffee is in the kitchen." She said to him and turned to Original Cindy's room without waiting for a reply.
"Rise and sh…shit. What's going on here?" Syl yelped as she pulled the curtain to the side to see Alec and Cindy snuggled up in bed.
Cindy was the first to move. She felt two strong arms wrapped around her midsection and instinctively wiggled closer to the source of the warmth – still not yet fully awake. Alec didn't move just kept on snoring and hugging Cindy closely.
Syl stood in front of them with her mouth hanging open. Never woulda seen that one coming. I wish I had a camera. Syl thought with a grin after recovering from the initial shock. But as much as she would have loved to stay and watch, or search the apartment for a camera, Syl knew they had a job to do and needed to get started.
"Cindy. Oh Cindy." Syl sing-songed trying to wake OC up.
This time Cindy slowly opened her eyes and looked in the direction of Syl's voice. She blinked a couple of times before Syl came into focus. Then her eyes widened as she became aware of the arms that held her tight from behind her and the obviously male snoring. Within a second she had jumped up and now stood next to Syl in front of the bed, staring in shock at Alec who still lay there fast asleep.
"What the hell?" Cindy said as she saw the rumpled bed sheets and the empty bottle of Jack Daniels that lay on the floor. Then the events of only a few hours ago came back to her and she visibly relaxed. There ain't enough Jack Daniels in the world for Original Cindy to share a bed with a man – at least not in the biblical way. Cindy thought and turned to Syl, who looked at her with raised eyebrows.
"Pretty boy needed some advice from Original Cindy last night." She said to Syl as she walked to the kitchen to pour herself some coffee. "Too bad he probly can't remember a thang. Boy was drunk as a skunk." She explained while taking a sip from her mug.
"What's his problem?" Syl asked, amused at Cindy's discomfort.
"Oh nothing that Original Cindy can't fix." Cindy replied sensing that Alec wouldn't want everybody to know how he felt. "So. Did you wake up Mr. Beefhead?" Cindy asked, changing the subject.
"Yep. Let me call Max and Logan and see if they are ready to go. Then Victor can make his call to Renfro sending her to the Queensborough motel." Syl said, then grabbed the phone and disappeared to the hallway to call them.
Safe House, New Westminster
"Come on Max. It's not that bad." Logan assured Max for the fifth time.
"Blond Logan. I'm blond. I hate blond." Max said and adjusted the blond wig again.
"You can take it off as soon as we're in Mexico. Your face was in the news Max, everybody knows you. You have to look very different from your usual self." Logan said in a soothing voice.
"I know. I just hate looking like a hooker." Max said, this time a little more calmly, and started to apply some equally over the top make-up to match her wig, while Logan started to cover her barcode.
"Hey that tickles." She said and gave Logan a playful glare.
"Just a second." Logan said, concentrating on her neck and not the skimpy outfit that hugged her every curve. "There. All done." Logan finished and stepped back to observe his work.
"Great. Now go try out the cane that was in the bag and let me finish in here." Max said, needing her concentration to complete her transformation into a blond bimbo.
Logan gave her one more appreciative smile and went to the living room. He took the cane, dismissed his walker and carefully took a first step. He winced in pain as he put more weight on his leg than he should have. But nothing in the world would make him go to the airport with the walker. So he just had to get used to the pain.
The phone rang and Logan gave his walker a quick glance, but decided against it, slowly making his way to the phone. Sure he would've been faster with the walker, but he just had to do it this way.
"Hello?" Logan answered the phone, slightly out of breath.
"Logan? Syl here. What's going on? You sound out of breath. Save it for later kids." Syl said and Logan could almost see the grin on her face.
"Very funny. What's up? You ready?" Logan asked suddenly all business-like.
"I was about to ask you that." Syl said still in a playful voice.
"Almost. Max is just getting ready. Our stuff is packed and already in the car. I just have to take the pictures, print the ID's and we're good to go." Logan explained.
"When is your flight?" Syl asked.
"At 4:20 am. We'll be in Vancouver at around 5:30 and our plane to Mexico is at 6:25. It's 3:25 right now. If we leave within 15 or 20 minutes we will have enough time to get there." Logan told her.
"Great. So we better make the call now. Victor said it will only take minutes to re-direct the search teams to the Queensborough location. By the time you arrive at the airport the troops that might be there or near there should have already been pulled off towards the new target location." Syl thought out loud having switched to a more serious, military-like tone herself.
"Great. You make that call and I'll see if Max is finally done in the bathroom." Logan joked and hung up.
"Did I hear my name?" Max asked as she came into the room.
It took Logan a moment to gather his thoughts and regain his speech again. She looked breathtakingly hot. Despite the heavy make-up and blonde wig, she still had her usual attitude, standing in front of him with her hands on her hips and a smirk on her face.
"Yeah. Ahm that was Syl. They're gonna make the call to Renfro now. You ready to go?" Logan said trying to sound casual.
"Sure thing. But shouldn't we take the pictures for our ID's first?" Max said with a honey dripping voice.
"Oh. Right." Logan said taking his eyes from Max. "Sit over there." He motioned Max to the chair in front of the white wall. He slowly walked over to the camera and Max noticed with satisfaction that he could manage to walk with the cane. "Smile." Logan directed and, after Max managed a sweeter than usual smile, he took the picture.
Satisfied with the result he quickly drag'n'dropped the picture into the proper field of the ID and pressed the print button.
"There you go Mrs. Couger." He said and handed her the ID.
"Nice. Now your turn. Go sit." Max said and moved around the camera to take Logan's picture. That done she left Logan to print his ID and moved to the bedroom to put her high heels on.
"Are we ready?" Logan asked again from the front door where he stood and waited for Max.
"Never readier in my life." Max said as she walked towards Logan with swaying hips.
"Good." Logan said taking in her curvaceous form. "Come here."
Max walked closer to him smiling her most seductive smile. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed against him, careful not to knock him over. "What is it Jack?" She rasped.
"A kiss for luck Diane?" Logan asked and lowered his mouth to kiss her thoroughly.
After a few precious minutes they reluctantly broke the kiss. All seduction and playfulness was gone and Logan hugged her close to him. Max hugged him back but eventually pulled back.
"Let's go." She said, hating to interrupt the moment.
"Let's." Logan said and opened the door for her.
Original Cindy's crib:
"Alright. I spoke to Logan. They are ready to go. I think it's time to make the call to Renfro." Syl said to Victor and OC after she re-entered the apartment.
"Let's do it then." Victor said and took the phone from Syl's hand. "Did they drop the clue?"
"Don't know. Logan's informant took care of that. Just make sure to lead as many troops as you can to Queensborough." Syl said and sat down on the kitchen counter ready to listen in to the conversation.
"Okay." Victor said, took a deep breath, motioned Cindy over to listen in and dialed the fateful number.
Warehouse outside of Seattle
Thomas checked the caller ID and alerted his fellow soldiers. They looked at each other, not knowing whether to call Director Renfro right now.
"Is it him?" The raspy voice of Renfro called through the room.
"Yes ma'am. The signal is from Victor's cell phone. Sector 5. 339 Waverly." Thomas replied.
Satisfied, Renfro gestured for the phone and Thomas brought her the receiver. "Yes?" Renfro answered.
"Director Renfro, ma'am. Just received intel on the whereabouts of 452. After intense interrogation, her roommate told me about the last phone call she received from 452. We don't have the exact location but it was a motel room in Queensborough. Don't know what motel, Ma'am. Looks like they have been moving further east. Suggest pulling all the search teams to this location and calling back the search teams who moved further east. Once we find the motel we might be able to figure out where they have been and where they went. Ma'am." Victor finished and looked at Syl, who nodded in agreement to what he just had conveyed.
"The plane went down close to Queensborough. When did she receive the call?" Renfro asked.
"Two day ago. But from what 452 told her they had an injured one. They wouldn't have been able to move as quickly with someone injured. So they might still be in the area. At least some of them – the injured one." Victor explained.
"Show me where the search teams are." Renfro ordered Thomas.
"Yes ma'am." Thomas answered and moved to the computer to pull up a map to show Director Renfro where the search teams were momentarily located.
Airport Motel New Westminster
Logan pulled the car into a parking lot of the motel and turned off the engine. "We have to split up here. I called two cabs to take us to the airport. We'll arrive separately and board and sit separately. You have your ID and your luggage. The cab is picking you up in front of the motel. You go first. I have the cab that takes me to the airport come right here to the car to pick me up." Logan explained.
"Okay. You gonna be alright? " Max asked not ready to separate just now.
"Yeah. I'm fine. We'll see each other in Mexico. It's better not to meet up in Vancouver. Too risky. Let's just pretend we don't know each other." Logan said and handed Max her ID and some cash.
"I don't have to say that I don't like this, do I?" Max said, taking the ID and the money from Logan and storing it in her carry-on bag.
"I don't like it either Max. But that's the only way to do this." Logan said, taking her hand in his.
"We will see each other in Mexico Logan. Won't we? Tell me it's gonna be alright." Max pleaded squeezing his hand.
"It's gonna be alright Max." Logan said, telling her what she needed to hear.
"Liar." Max said with a laugh that didn't reach her eyes.
"Maybe so. But we have to try it Max. And if it doesn't work I'm sure you'll come and save the day. And as the official side-kick I'll be there for you if something goes wrong. We have no other choice. We have no other plan. This is it Max. And even though I'm not sure that it's gonna go exactly the way we planned it – I'm sure we're gonna make it. I hope we're gonna make it." Logan said, dragging Max to him for a hug that left no doubt about it that he meant what he said.
"Hope is for losers." Max said and hugged him back.
"Hey. Never deprive someone of hope – it might be all they have." Logan said and stopped her reply by kissing her senseless.
"You have more of those wise cracks?" Max asked after breaking the kiss.
"Sure. Wanna hear more?" Logan asked while staring into her eyes.
"Just one or two." Max answered and placed her head on his chest while he hugged her tight.
"Okay. Lemme think. Salinger said: The mark of an immature man is that he wants to die nobly for a cause, while a mark of a mature man is that he wants to live humbly for one." Logan finished kissing the top of her head.
"And what does that have to do with us?" Max asked, mumbling into his neck.
"It means that I'm a mature man." Logan explained and without further explanation he kissed her. It wasn't a hungry kiss that was supposed to lead to sex. It wasn't a sweet kiss that was supposed to show his love for her. It wasn't a kiss that said goodbye for they might never see each other again. It was a kiss that held a promise for a future. A future together.
"So you're never gonna let us down?" Max said after breaking the kiss.
"Never." Logan said and confirmed it with another kiss.
After only a minute they had to break it up. "You better grab those bags and get moving." Logan said and reluctantly let go of her.
"Yeah. I should." Max said and opened the passenger door. Then she turned back to Logan. "I love you." She whispered.
"I love you too Max." Logan replied.
They shared a quick kiss and then Max – or Diane – hopped out of the car, grabbed her bags and made her way towards the entrance of the airport hotel to grab her cab to the airport terminal while Logan waited in the car for his cab to arrive.
Warehouse outside of Seattle
"32 motels in the area of Queensborough." Thomas said waiting for an order.
"How many search troops are in the area?" Renfro asked.
"There are 15 search teams within a 20 mile radius of Queensborough." Thomas answered while typing away frantically on his keyboard.
"Move those teams to Queensborough immediately. Have the one's located at Vancouver airport and Vancouver harbor take the place of the ones that moved over from west. Get the troops far east to move closer to Queensborough ready to move out." Renfro ordered Thomas then turned her attention back to Victor, who was listening in on the phone. "Try to get something else out of her. But I don't think she knows any more. The kill her and come back."
"Yes ma'am." Victor answered not quite satisfied with the way things had gone.
Original Cindy's crib:
"That went as well as we could have hoped for." Syl said after Victor had hung up the phone.
"Could've gone better." Victor said and sat down on the stool next to Syl.
"What did you expect Renfro to do? Send all the troops to Queensborough? Fat chance. We can be glad that she pulled the search teams from Vancouver airport. All Max and Logan have to do is get there." Syl said, feeling strangely sympathetic for Victor.
"Guess so. Now all we can do is wait." Victor said slightly defeated.
"Go get some sleep. I'll head over to TC and see if we can monitor Max and Logan's whereabouts by checking their faked identities." Syl said and put on her coat.
"Can you manage alone with the guys?" Syl asked Cindy.
"Don't worry 'bout me sista. You go and check on my girl. Call Original Cindy as soon as you hear something new. I'm gonna try to claim my bed again." Cindy said and waved a goodbye to Syl and a goodnight to Victor.
Now let's go and wake up Mr. Jack Daniels, Cindy thought, making her way to her bedroom. Alec still lay in bed, snoring softly and sleeping hard.
Cindy sat on the edge of the bed looking down on him for a few seconds, remembering what he had told her. Remembering the pain and loneliness he felt and expressed. She reached out to his shoulder to shake him awake softly. He didn't even move. She was just about to shake him harder when she realized that she had no idea what to say to him. What could she possibly say to him? She was tired and exhausted and at a loss of wisdom right now.
Maybe this can wait. She thought and lay down next to him again. This can definitely wait till tomorrow, were her last thoughts before she fell asleep. The last thing she registered were two strong arms hugging her – and this time she didn't mind.
Airport, New Westminster
"Here we go Mr. Mellencamp. Have a nice flight." The flight attendant said and handed Logan his boarding pass.
"Thank you." Logan replied, taking the pass and making his way slowly towards the plane. They had offered him a transport, but he had stubbornly refused.
Once inside the plane the stewardess took his carry-on bag and led him to his seat. He plopped down in his seat; clearly exhausted from the distance he had to walk. After a moment of catching his breath he took the opportunity to glance around the plane, not knowing if Max had already boarded the plane or if she ran into any trouble.
"Excuse me sir. Would you mind moving your cane?" Came a very familiar voice from behind his seat.
Max
Logan
They hadn't even taken off but at this moment they felt like they had made it. They smiled at each other for a few seconds, happy to see each other again. Then they reminded themselves that they shouldn't even know each other and looked away.
"Not at all Miss." Logan – or Jack – replied.
"Thank you. You are too kind." Max – or Diane – answered sweetly and walked past Logan to get to her seat.
Logan watched her stow her bag away and sit down – and he was happy.
AN: There you go. I hope you liked it. The next update will be the last chapter of this story and will be posted shortly. Thanks for reading.
Lfbrox