When Max got home later that night, she collapsed down on her bed and stared up at the ceiling. The tip Bling had given them had been a bust. They'd learned Logan was investigating a huge drug smuggling operation, but didn't know who was behind it. Given the level of organization it was somebody pretty high up, maybe even on the city councilman (big surprise there). But without a name, they didn't know where to start looking.
Original Cindy had invited Max to come with her to Crash, but declined. Getting stone drunk appealed to her. Just seeing how many of the boys she could drink under the table before she got a buzz would've been a nice diversion. But she couldn't afford diversions now. She needed to stay focused and alert. When she found Logan's killer, when she'd ripped his head off and spat down his throat, then she'd just how much alcohol it would take to drown herself.
Someone was in her apartment.
Max sat bolt upright. "Cindy?"
No reply.
But her transgenetic senses warned her of an intruder. She slipped off the bed and crept stealthily through the dark. Her enhanced senses focused on the intruder, and then pounced. The housebreaker screamed and struggled feebly in Max's grip. Max hauled her to her feet and threw her against the wall. While holding her firmly, Max flicked on a light and flashed it in the intruder's face. It was the girl she'd bumped into outside Jam Pony the other day.
"Please," she pleaded in a small voice. "Don't hurt me."
"Who are you? What are you doing here?"
"I-I was told to look for you if I didn't here from him or Eyes Only in forty-eight hours."
Realization exploded like a grenade. "You were with Logan that night! You must be Katydid."
"Karen," she corrected automatically.
A few moments later Max offered Karen a cup of coffee and made her comfortable. Karen told Max about what happened the night she met with Logan. How she'd escaped and been in hiding – the streets, abandoned buildings, various Jamestowns. When she hadn't heard about any recent Eyes Only bulletins, she snuck back into Seattle and went to Jam Pony to find Max.
Max couldn't stop a warm feeling of satisfaction swell in her chest that Logan had sent Karen to her instead of Asha. Then again, he could simply have sent Karen to Max because it was easier for her to get to Jam Pony than Fogle Towers.
She asked Karen about the party where Dorian most likely acquired the papers Karen found hidden in Dorian's room. "Did you recognize any of the guests?"
"Yeah, a few. Faces from the newspapers and television, but no names."
Max sighed in frustration. She desperately wanted to put her fist or foot threw something or someone, but she didn't have a clue who to take it out on.
"Actually," Karen piped up. "There was a name that got thrown around a bit. I think he was the guest of honour or something. Riggs, Biggs, Jiggs, Diggs? Higgs, that's it, Tommy Higgs!"
Max jumped to her feet. "C'mon."
"Where're we going?"
"Just c'mon." Max maneuvered her motorcycle towards the door. "I want to show you something.
Max and Karen rode to Fogle Towers to access the Informant Net. When they arrived at Logan's penthouse, Max was annoyed that Bling wasn't at the computer terminal. But she could hardly expect Bling to sit staring at the computer screen twenty-four hours a day seven days a week. Max moved to the console and began to access the net.
Hearing the cock of a pistol behind her, she swung around to find Asha (in her underwear) pointing her gun at Max. Asha sighed and relaxed, lowering her pistol when she saw whom it was.
"Max, what're you doing here?"
"We have a break."
"Really, what?"
Max introduced Karen and repeated to Asha what she'd told her. Asha quickly sat down at Logan's computer and began scrolling through data.
"Here we are," Asha announced. Max and Karen looked on over her shoulders. "Thomas Higgs, city councilman, public works. Ah, here we are, apparently two of his campaign backers were Edgar Sonrisa and Peirpont Lemkin. He was also a golfing buddy of Synthedyne CEO, Sidney Croal."
"So considering Sonrisa and Croal are dead," Max said. "Lemkin must have been the one who put the hit out on Logan."
"I don't think so," Asha said. "According to this, Lemkin's been out of the country for the last year. Tax reasons."
Ah, the Internal Revenue Service, the one truly incorruptible U.S. institution. The government wanted its revenues, and it was damn well going to get them no matter how rich and powerful you were.
"Still," Asha continued. "This is the first solid lead we've had. I'll get someone to follow his movements."
"Don't bother," Max said. "I'll handle this."
"Are you sure?"
"It's what I was built for. Look after Karen would ya. I'll be back tomorrow night." Max disappeared while Asha made arrangements to get Karen out of Seattle.
HIGGS' RESIDENCE
Max had spent the entire day trailing Higgs. Meetings, interviews, luncheons – the typical day of a civil servant. In other words, she hadn't learned a damn thing. Max was frustrated, irritated, impatient and angry. Clearly Higgs wasn't going to lead her to Logan's killer, so it was time to get proactive.
She effortlessly slipped past his security and into his home. She found him in his study going over some last minute paperwork. Grabbing him by the back of his head and slammed him face first onto his desk, then threw him backwards onto the floor.
Jamming her foot onto his esophagus, she demanded, "Who killed Logan Cale?"
Higgs gasped for breath. "Don't … Don't know … what you're talking about."
"Wrong answer!"
max took her foot off his throat and kicked him in the sternum. Turning him over, she grabbed one of his arms and pulled it straight up while keeping her heel pressed at the base of his skull.
"Who killed Logan Cale?"
"Please, I swear I don't know what you're talking about."
Max broke one of his fingers. When he was done screaming, Max said, "You've got nine left. What's it gonna be? You gonna tell me what I want to know or - " she slowly began to bend another finger.
Suddenly there was a loud banging on the door. "Councilman, are you alright," came a voice from the other side.
"Help me," Higgs yelled. "For God's sake help me!"
the door burst open and two security guards barged in. max released Higgs and leapt over the desk, dropkicking both men in the chest. She rolled out into the hallway to see two more guards coming around a corner. Weapons drawn they opened up on the intruder. Max took off down the hall and dove threw a window. As shattered glass fell around her like lethal rain, she landed gracefully on her feet and made a dash for her motorcycle, all the while bullets kicking up dirt at her heels and whistling past her head. She jumped the fence in one bound and mounted her bike, disappearing into the night. When she was sure she was far enough away, she hopped of her bike and hit the first thing she could – unfortunately a brick wall.
Stupid, stupid, stupid, she thought furiously as she slammed her fist over and over again into the wall. She'd made so many mistakes that if this had been a Manticore mission, she'd have found herself in a slab back in the lab being dissected just to find out where they'd gone wrong. Now Higgs will have his security tightened up so much, she'd never get near him let alone anyone from S1W.
Eventually, Max stopped punching the wall. She looked down at her hand to see her glove torn to shreds and her knuckles covered in blood. Retrieving the first aid kit from her bike, Max dosed her bloody hand with disinfectant alcohol, relishing the stinging sensation it gave. Pain seemed to be the only thing she could feel with certainty these days.
As she bandaged her hand, her pager went off. Finding a payphone, she called Asha. "What!"
"Max," Asha said anxiously. "You've got to get back here quickly. You're not going to believe what's come up."
"The name of Logan's killer," Max said eagerly, the night's disasters temporarily forgotten.
"No, that's just it. There's a chance Logan might be alive."
DETAIL MAN'S WHAREHOUSE
"Really Mr. Cale," the Detail Man droned. "You are being needlessly obstructive. All we wish to know is if the documents you collected were destroyed and where the girl you met with is."
"Don't," the pathetic figure gasped. "Don't know … what …"
one of the thugs at his side socked the already heavily bruised man in the jaw.
"Mr. Hergstrand," the Detail Man said, in a voice had it any emotion, would have been gentle admonishment. "How is Mr. Cale suppose to give us any answers if he is not aloud to speak?"
"Sorry sir," Hergstrand said, suitably cowed. "Won't happen again."
"Good."
The interrogation room door opened welcoming a tall, bulky bruiser in an ill-fitting suit with long hair and an unkept goatee. "Yes, Mr. Addames what is it?"
Addames held up a cell phone. "Councilman Higgs, sir."
If rolling his eyes didn't take such an effort, the Detail Man would be doing it a lot these days. Turning to the other two muscle men he instructed, "Messrs, Hergstrand and Heisenberg, take him down and clean him up. We'll continue this tomorrow."
While Hergstrand and Heisenberg set about their routine task, the Detail Man addressed his irksome client. "Hello councilman, how may I help you?"
"Eyes Only knows, he sent an assassin to KILL me!"
the Detail Man waited patiently for Higgs to calm down. There was no point in telling Higgs that Eyes Only did not kill. Sonrisa and Solinsky were killed by irate business partners and as for Bronck, well, accidents happen.
When Higgs began to run out of breath, the Detail Man interjected smoothly, "Calm yourself, councilman, I assure you I have something for just such an emergency. Tell me, have you ever hear of Steelheads …"
FLASHBACK – ESCAPE
There it was, his grimy SUV less than ten meters away. Straining his eyesight, he made sure no one was around before sprinting towards the car. His bionic exo-skeleton got him there in half the time. Pulling open the door he threw the knapsack into the passenger seat before jumping in himself. He fumbled with the key to get it into the ignition, but when he tried to start the engine it wouldn't turn over.
"Come on, come on," Logan pleaded as the engine wheezed.
Suddenly he caught a flicker of movement out of the corner of his eye. Looking up he saw in the rearview mirror someone rising up from the backseat. He slipped a piece of garroting wire around throat, the placed his foot against the back of Logan's seat and pulled. Logan managed to slip his thumbs underneath the wire to give himself precious millimeters to breath. He tried to use his upper-body strength to break free but his attacker had too much leverage. Instead he hit the seat adjuster, throwing the seat backwards, taking his strangler off balance. Logan threw his arms back over his assailant's head and hauled him over the front seat. The strangler landed on the car floor and Logan punched him until he stopped struggling.
Hearing an ominous whistling sound, Logan looked up to see a missile heading straight for him. Forgetting about his attacker and the incriminating papers, Logan threw himself out of his vehicle as it erupted into flames.
Logan's momentum plus the force of the explosion carried him to safety, just a little singe. Struggling to his feet, he suddenly felt a gun barrel pressed to his head.
Logan was awakened by a dose of cold water splashed across his face. Once again his arms were chained above his head with his useless legs dangling above the floor. This time he noticed electrodes taped to his chest, arms and torso.
"Now then, Mr. Cale, shall we try again," said the grating metallic voice just before five thousand volts of electricity racked Logan's body
To Be Continued …