Part 30 - When Truth Hurts
MAX
What little was left of the night was spent in comfortable chatter, sharing jokes and stories of what my siblings had been up to since I'd last seen them. I zoned out more than once, staring at their faces. Syl's hair was long and shone like the golden sun. Her face was soft, serene, her brown eyes twinkled happily. I envied the easygoing familiarity between her and Krit, yet pondered the seeming intimacy of their interactions. It puzzled me.
"Maxie, you okay? Earth to Max," Krit nudged me with his elbow, a grin painting his face. The dim lighting cast soft shadows on his features; it felt like looking at the male version of me, just genuinely happy. Until tonight, I'd almost forgotten how that felt.
I smiled. "Everything's fine. It's great. I just can't believe you're here. I thought I'd lost you for good." I sighed deeply as Krit pulled me against him in a tight hug.
I turned my head to face him and asked finally, "How did you get away from White?"
Krit gently tugged my head down and I rested my cheek against his shoulder. The soothing vibrations from his throat rumbled beneath my ear as he spoke.
"We'd known for days that someone was watching us. Syl snuck in through the bathroom window the night before the shooting. Told me there was a security detail at various points around the building and that we had to leave. We'd been moving the contents of the apartment to a safe house we set up for emergencies. But despite our attempts at covering our tracks, someone saw Syl. We barely made it back out the window and down the drainpipe before they caught up to us. We ditched them in a maze of alleys a few blocks away.
"This White guy is persistent. Everywhere we went his people were there. Syl was hit, I'd started seizing. We were blocks from the hospital but I couldn't walk and Syl was too tired to drag me. Eventually we passed out. When we woke up, we realized we were in the hospital and that it was only a matter of time before someone found us. Syl and I made a run for it, but they shot us down. Hurt like a bitch." Krit smiled wryly and closed his eyes, leaning back against his seat. I shifted to get comfortable again.
Noting his apparent exhaustion, Syl took over. "We had an emergency contingency plan. We pulled a Juliet." I stared at my sister blankly.
"You know, took a drug that makes it look like you're dead? It slowed the heart down enough to fool everyone. Pretty damn clever, if I do say so myself." Syl's lips curved into a satisfied smile and she winked at Krit. He laughed.
"Who's idea was it anyhow? Not yours," he interjected smugly, raising an eyebrow as if to challenge her to deny his words. I glanced from one to the other and shook my head.
"Huh?".
Syl threw up her hands in exasperation. "God, Max, you really should read a little! Or at least rent some pre-Pulse movies for chrissakes! Romeo and Juliet? Ring a bell?"
As it dawned on me, I caught sight of Alec's laughing eyes and wide grin, a look he wiped off his face as I began to scowl. He affected a look of utter innocence that had me change from upset to incredulous to disbelief and finally mirth. 'You are impossible!' I mouthed before looking at Syl again.
"Right. Juliet. Got it. So you guys pretended to be dead and escaped. What then?" I wondered aloud.
"We came looking for you. Watched that Eyes Only doofus make a fool out of himself lying to you. We ran into some friends of yours at his place earlier. Biggs, was it? Stopped me from killing the guy. More's the pity." Syl stared at her fingernails, bored. I looked at her, incredulous.
"Almost killed him?" I gasped. "Why?"
Syl and Krit's mouths gaped open in surprise. "He selfishly keeps putting you in danger. Are you completely clueless? Did you really think he loves you, Max? If he really cared about you he wouldn't put you in danger on a daily basis!" Syl retorted sharply.
Faced reddening with anger, I clenched my jaw. Slowly, I replied, choosing my words carefully. "I know he loves me. I may not return the feeling, but I know he loves me. He's passionate about his work, there's nothing wrong with that!"
Syl chuckled dryly. "At the expense of your safety? Gimme a fucking break! You really think he loves you! My god, you're blind. Does he love the real you, Max? All of you? The darkness and the light? The animal and the human? Or does he love the idea of you? The beautiful, talented, kick-ass female X5 that he has at his beck and call?"
I lost my temper. It wasn't her words that pissed me off. It was the nagging voice of doubt at the back of my mind that kept telling me 'She's right and you know it'.
"How dare you question his motives!" I spat out, my voice rising with each word. "You don't know anything about it! You've never loved an Ordinary. You don't know how he feels!"
Krit placed his hands on my shoulders and shook me lightly. "Neither do you, Max. That's just the problem," he said quietly.
I sagged a little, both in submission and disappointment. He was right. They both were. And the many times Alec had said things of a similar vein came rushing back. Suddenly, a disconcerting thought came to mind. I looked up into my brother's eyes and calmly asked,
"What did you do to him?"
Krit and Syl exchanged a wary glance. "Humiliated him some, tied him up naked and left him for the cops. Looted his place, stole his computer files and burned the equipment. Removed all traces of us and transgenics in general from his hard drive and files."
My eyes narrowed to angry slits, and I faced Alec angrily. "So you sent Biggs out with a team, to what? Get files from Logan? Did you plan this? I can't believe you!"
Alec gripped my wrists tightly and gave me a hard look. "Yes, I sent Biggs and a few others to get the files off Logan's computer. I want you safe, Max. And I don't trust Logan. So yes, I went to get rid of any evidence of you, me and the others. You are my priority, Maxie. Don't you get that? Figures you would revert back to not trusting me the minute Logan is involved. I don't know why I thought you'd ever change."
Abruptly, Alec released my wrists, got to his feet and left the room. I sat in silence, watching as Krit rose to follow after him. Syl cocked her head and gave me a long stare.
"Living alone must have really screwed you up, Max. Or you'd have known that you could trust your own kind. I can't imagine how Alec feels when you take Logan's side without considering him. I hope you figure things out before you lose him, Maxie. It'd be a damn shame otherwise."
I stared after my sister's retreating back, contemplating her words. Dammit, Max. What have you done now?
ALEC
Krit caught up to me just outside the command center. He looked at me in confusion, baffled by Max's outburst.
"What's her deal? Logan's selfish and self-righteous. He tried to come between you - you guys are together, right? And long before he tried something as stupid as to break up an X5 couple, he was putting her in danger with all those dumb missions. Why is she so upset at what we did?"
"Maxie's always been anal about her loyalty to Logan. I used to be jealous; now I just look at him as a tiresome pet. She'll never get over him completely, so I let her coddle him. She's with me now. End of story." End of story indeed, I thought. I knew Max was mine. She told me with every look, every touch. The Ordinary would never equate to more than a friend. I had nothing to worry about. Right. That's why you blew up at her. You're not jealous. Nope. Not at all. Liar.
ASHA
I opened Logan's front door and entered quietly. We'd agreed that I would come by before dawn to pick up the fake sector pass and new passport he'd acquired for me.
"Logan?" I called out into the echoing blackness. Nothing. Cautiously making my way through the darkened apartment, my eyes flew around, taking in the destruction of what used to be Logan's living room. The image was like that of a movie scene: drawers pulled from bureaus, clothing and mutilated books everywhere, the remains of burnt computer parts, paper, plastic and other items in a heap on the floor. Whoever had done this was thorough.
After ascertaining that I was alone, I hurried toward the bedroom, where a faint light shone through a crack in the door. Pushing it open and stepping over the mess on the carpet, I looked through the open doorway of the bathroom. Throwing my hand up to cover my mouth, I stifled a gasp as I caught sight of a very naked Logan, unconscious and hanging from the pipes above his tub; his exposed midsection decorated in a garish representation of the Eyes Only symbol. All done with feminine cosmetics.
I took a step back involuntarily as Logan shifted and moaned. I yelped in pain, stumbling to avoid the hard object beneath the arch of my foot. Unable to keep my balance, I fell clumsily. Picking up the object that had landed me on my ass, I saw that it was a tube of lipstick. My other hand grasped and tightened around a small plastic tub of eye shadow. The sparkly, white substance glittered brightly under the glow of the florescent light.
The door to the penthouse burst open and I could hear the steady sound of several pairs of feet filing into the apartment. I closed my eyes as I hear a voice ring out. Crap. I'm holding...evidence.
"Cover every inch of this house. Shoot anything that moves, but don't shoot to kill. I know this guy and I want answers."
Detective Matt Sung entered the bedroom and swung his gun around, jumping at shadows. The air was full of acrid smoke, the room ransacked with the contents strewn about haphazardly. He looked down at me with narrow slatted eyes, and pointed his gun at my chest.
"Don't move. Whatever you have in your hands, let it go. Slowly. Now, stand up - no sudden moves, hands above your head." He spoke in a commanding tone. Staring at me intently he added finally, "I know you. I've seen your file at headquarters. Who are you?" He tilted his head slightly and pursed his lips. After a moment of silence he sighed. "Never mind that, I'll find out soon enough. What I do want to know is, why have you targeted Eyes Only?"
I looked to Logan's suspended form and back to the detective with a look of shock. Logan is Eyes Only? Suddenly all the clues and hints from the past months clicked in place. Of course Logan was Eyes Only. Only an idiot would have missed it. Asha, you dimwit. Now you're definitely screwed.
"I - I - you've got it all wrong," I stuttered.
Detective Sung slapped the cuffs on my wrists and stated, "Save it for someone who cares. You're under arrest. You have the right to remain silent..."
I spaced out, lowering my head in defeat. I had no sector pass, no I.D. I was a sitting duck unless someone came looking for me and noticed I was gone. Sending out a mental S.O.S. to my friends, I silently walked after the detective, two men at my back. Un-fucking-believable. At least whoever was here earlier burned everything. Hopefully they won't find the documents Logan had for me. The last thing I need is hard evidence linking me to Eyes Only.
TBC
I quick note of thanks to everyone who's reviewed this story. Your words of encouragement mean so much. My apologies for the long delay between chapters. I've been battling writer's block and as much as I wanted to update, I prefered to wait until I could deliver something of substance. Previous attempts were sorely lacking. Thanks for your patience. I hope I haven't disappointed!
