Chapter 2

I use the time before I am supposed to meet Sam to go home and check in with Original Cindy. When I walk through the door I see her come out of her bedroom. She looks like she just took her make-up off.

"Hey boo." I say as I take a seat on the back of one of the chairs in the main room.

"Hey, was wondering where my girl was. You bounced from Crash pretty early. You go to see your boy?" she asks. She's got that look on her face, the look that says 'don't even say he ain't your boy'. I choose to ignore that.

I shrug my shoulders and respond, "No, just spent some time up on the Space Needle. Needed some air to clear my head, you know."

"I hear ya on that, some whack shit's been going down 'round here. But Original Cindy's got the feeling that something's going on in that mind a yours. What you planning boo?" Damn, she must have caught the hint of the grin I've been trying to hide since I came in here. Didn't really want to tell anyone what I was thinkin' case it don't work out, but I know OC ain't gonna let this slide.

"I had an idea when I was up on the Needle. I'm meeting with Sam Carr later to see if it'll work." I tell her.

"Ain't he that doctor guy Logan knows?" she asks.

"Yeah, he's the one that worked on Logan after the shooting. Thought maybe we could use those nanocytes that were in Zack to do something about this virus." I explain to her.

"So you thinkin' that maybe you put those nanowhatsits into you they might get ridda that virus Manticore put in ya. Then you 'n Logan'll be able to touch free and clear." From the tone of her voice I can tell that Cindy's almost as excited about the idea as I am. Guess having to live with an unhappy transgenic for a few months had to be hard on her.

"That's the plan. Don't see why it shouldn't work." I look at the time. Little after 3:00 a.m. and I'm supposed to meet Sam 'round a quarter 'til four. "Gotta blaze. Gotta meet Sam 'cross town in a few." I say over my shoulder as I walk toward the door.

I'm already into the hallway when OC's yell catches up with me. "Good luck boo. You go get your man." I'm still laughing when I get on my baby and race off into Seattle.

It doesn't take me long to make it to Sam's hospital on my motorcycle, but nevertheless I enjoy the time immensely. Just me, the cool night air, the wind whipping through my hair, and no one trying to make my time their own. I know these roads like the back of my hand thanks to my day job as a bike messenger so I don't have to focus on them. That leaves my mind free to wonder what it will mean if this works; not that I'm contemplating the white picket fence life in the offing, but the prospects I'm faced with are appealing. Images of dancing with Logan and kissing him come to me, but even just the thought of holding his hand and having him touch my face bring on a smile. Then next thing I know I'm looking at the entrance to the hospital. I didn't even notice the sector checkpoints I got through somehow. For someone that's being hunted 24/7 I should really pay attention better than that.

I make my way up to Sam's office avoiding the security cameras along the way. I could bluff through checkpoints by saying I was on an emergency Jam Pony run, but that wouldn't work in here. When I get to the office I see that Sam is already there. It always helps when the good guys are on time. He notices me when I come through the door and motions toward one of the chairs. "Hey." I give as a greeting while I take a seat.

"Hey Max. I checked and I do still have the nanocytes in my safe," he says. If I hadn't known that I had woken him up only a couple of hours ago it would have been hard to tell from just looking at him. There's no trace of sleepiness in his eyes or in his speech pattern.

"Good. Thanks for meeting me so early," I reply.

"It's no problem. Now what is it you're aiming to do with these nanocytes?" he inquires not managing to conceal the curiosity in his voice.

"I was wondering; if we injected the nanocytes into me would they kill the virus that Manticore put there to kill Logan?" I ask. I know I sound hopeful and at his point I don't care. I am hopeful. If I've gotten my hopes up again and this doesn't work I don't know what I'll do.

"Huh, I hadn't thought of that," Sam pauses and I can almost see the calculations going on in his head. After a minute he continues, "I don't think that would work Max. This Manticore place knew what they were doing when they designed this virus. It has basically assimilated itself into your genetic material. For the nanocytes to kill it they would have to destroy part of your genetic code. They're just not built to do that to their host" he explains.

Well that's it then. Knew I shouldn't have gotten my hopes up. Nothing good is ever that easy in my world. Guess I'll just head home and complain my sorrows away to Original Cindy. Again. I hang my head and begin to leave the office mumbling a "Thanks anyway Sam," over my shoulder.

His voice stops me and calls me back to sit down. I look at him, disappointment in my eyes. He starts talking once I'm seated.

"However, just because putting the nanocytes in you would most likely prove to be fruitless endeavor that may not be the only thing we could do with them. We would probably only waste them if we injected you with the nanocytes, but if we inject them into Logan instead they might be enough to prevent the virus from harming him if you guys touch. Even if they didn't do that, the nanocytes would surely correct his damaged spinal cord. I don't know why I didn't think of that possibility sooner." Sam says.

"Make sure I got this right. Best case scenario, we get rid of this virus bitch and Logan can walk on his own; worst case scenario, I still kill him if we touch, but he can at least still walk on his own," I state.

"I would want to do some tests with tissue samples after we introduce the nanocytes to his system before you touch, but basically yes. I don't see why it shouldn't help Logan no matter what happens," he pronounces.

I give Sam one of my smiles that reach my eyes, the kind I haven't given very often recently, and stand up. I thank him again and then I leave the hospital. With a renewed resolve I get on my bike and put my yellow glasses on. Now I just have to tell Logan the good news.

Author's Note: Iwant to thankeveryoneforreading this story, especially the people who reviewed the first chapter. It means so much to me that people are enjoying my work. This is my first fic about Dark Angel so I hope I'm doing it justice. I'd love for everyone to let me know what you think of this chapter. I'm nervous about my dialogue coming across alright. Hope you all like it so far and I hope you continue to enjoy it.