A/N: Yes, I know I am evil for leaving a cliffhanger, but it's probably not
what you were expecting. Hell, truth be told, it's not even an informant.
Thank you all for the reviews! I mean it when I say you're all great!
Maria- You wanna see Vin again? Of course you do. So you'd better not make
me yell at you anymore. tag!
And everybody hope my computer gets better; he went to the PC doctor today.
But if he doesn't get better (and stay better for more than a whole week),
I'll be forced to kick his mechanic ass.
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Chapter 10: My Hero
"I knew the only way to get you here was to make it sound like work," the young woman laughed with a cheery smile as Logan approached the table.
"Brittany?!" Logan could hardly recognize his now twenty one year old niece.
"Well it's nice to see you, too. Sit down, I know I've got you trapped for a few hours, so it's no use trying to run off," she motioned to the seat across from her.
"But what are you doing here? I mean, it's great to see you, but I thought you went off to college in London," Logan took off his coat and sat down.
"I did," Brittany confessed. "Didn't like it that much, though. I just couldn't get used to living in a non-apocalyptic world. Go figure; I thought life without gas lines, blackouts, and half rotten produce would be more enjoyable," she laughed.
"So you came back to Seattle?" Logan was still surprised. Most people would jump at the chance to escape the US, Seattle especially.
"I applied to Delmonte and I got in," Brittany beamed.
"Delmonte? That new private university?"
"Yup, that's it," she nodded. "I was nervous I wouldn't get in, but I guess I got lucky."
"Wow, congratulations. I heard they had a ton of applicants. Did you start there yet?" Logan asked.
"Well, the fall semester doesn't start for another month, but I moved back here last week."
"I couldn't imagine someone wanting to come back to Seattle, but it looks like you're off to a good start," Logan shook his head.
When he didn't offer any updates on his life, Brittany sighed and jump- started the conversation again, "Uncle Logan, this is the part where you tell me what's up with you."
"Oh, right," Logan tried to collect himself. "Um, ok, do you remember Max? A friend of mine you met once?" Logan awkwardly breeched the subject. Even though this wasn't exactly like having to face Aunt Margo, he still hadn't told any of his relatives about Lex yet. As Brittany silently searched her memory, Logan shook his head, dismissing his previous question, "Never mind, you were only six then- "
"No, no, no," Brittany cut him off, "I think I do. Really pretty, brown hair, bribed me out of that fort with cupcakes," she smiled at the last thought as she described Max.
Though surprised she remembered Max, Logan was glad. That made explaining the largest change in his life slightly easier, "Oh, good, you do. Well, we'd known each other for a while and we weren't exactly just friends- "
"Sorry to cut you off again, but you're killing me here," Brittany interjected. "Lemme fill in the blanks since your tongue obviously doesn't want to. Either she was your friend who you ended up sleeping with and are now married to or have kids with, or she was your girlfriend all along and now you're married and/or have kids." At Logan's shocked stare, she rested her chin in her hand, "I may have been six then, but now I'm a little older."
"Right, right. Ok, I haven't told anyone yet, so I guess, well, you were on the right track. It's complicated, but the day after Max and I finally, um, got to be more than just friends, someone came after her, someone she'd been running from, and she had to leave the city. I didn't know where she went, hell, she didn't even know where she was going, but I hadn't heard from her since she'd left. Then I got a call from this guy who said he knew where she was and how to take care of the guy on her back, so I agreed to help him. That landed me in Canada, and well, turns out that Max and I have a daughter together. Who's now fourteen," Logan tried to tell a watered- down version of what had happened. He couldn't give out any details about what had happened, but bereft of them he had to admit the story didn't make much sense.
"Wait, who was after her and why? And when did all this happen?"
"I can't tell you who was after her. It's not something she likes to talk about and she's still not quite out of the woods. But it wasn't her fault she had to leave; she didn't want to. And the reason she couldn't contact me was because if she did, the people would have inevitably found out where she was and where I was, which would have resulted in both of us being killed," Logan tried explain. "And I found them about six weeks ago."
"Well where are Max and the girl now?" Brittany was disappointed, but something in Logan's voice told her that he meant it when he said those people were dangerous.
"Max is at work, she got her old job back. Our daughter, Lex, is at home. They moved back here last week."
"Damn," Brittany leaned back and shook her head. "And here I only expected to hear things about work and computers."
"You're not alone," Logan assured her. "I still can't get this whole dad- thing right."
"Well that's not on you. Trust me, even if you'd seen this girl every day since birth, she'd still hate you and ignore everything you said. It's what teenagers do," Brittany laughed. After a beat, she shot back up from her slumped position, "Wait, when you said you hadn't told anyone yet, would that include Aunt Margo?"
"Yes," Logan warily answered. "I haven't seen her in about a year."
Grabbing his arm, Brittany's face twisted into an insidious smile, "Can I please be there when you tell her? Please?"
"I guess so," Logan shrugged. "When's the gathering I'll be guilted into showing up at?"
"I'd go with Shira's debutant ball in December," Brittany nodded.
"Shira?" Logan shook his head.
"Hello? Bennet and Maryanne's daughter?" Brittany couldn't believe Logan forgot about her. "My god, it was only the biggest thing to hit the Cale family since you not going into business. Turned out Maryanne was three months pregnant when they got married, remember?"
"Well of course I remember that, I just forgot her name," Logan tried to defend himself.
"How could forget a name like Shira?" Brittany gibed at him. "But anyway, she'll be sixteen in October so she gets that damn ball. It's gonna be on December 13th and you know you'll have to go."
"Ok, December it is then," Logan sighed.
The two continued to talk until Logan saw he had to leave for his next meeting, this time a real informant. Bidding goodbye, they'd set up for Brittany to come over for dinner the next night. Pulling out of the parking lot, Logan decided to stop by home first. He and Brittany had had a long talk about teenagers, and he wanted to check in on her anyway.
"I'll just get her a pizza for lunch, make it look like that," he told himself. "Either way, food will have to get me in her good graces."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Foggle Towers
"Lex?" Logan called out as he walked into the penthouse. "Where are you?"
"In here," Lex called out from the living room.
"What are you watching?" Logan knew he recognized the movie on TV from somewhere.
"Ancient movies," Lex answered. "The cinematography is so bad, it's entertainment in itself."
"What's this one called? It looks familiar."
"The Goonies. One time I saw something about it at this flea market, but I don't what the person was trying to sell it for. It was some big, bulky square thing," Lex shrugged.
"You mean a VHS tape?" Logan cringed, suddenly feeling old.
"That was a VHS tape? Huh, guess I have seen everything then. Is there something you needed?"
"Um, well, I was getting hungry and just wondering if you wanted a pizza for lunch," Logan covered.
"Nice try," Lex saw right through him. "I know an excuse to check up on me when I see one."
"Oh," Logan shrugged. "Ok, well, I guess I'll see you later, then," he turned to walk out of the penthouse.
"Whoa, hold on," Lex reached out and grabbed for him. "At point did I say I didn't want that pizza?"
"So I don't get kicked out?" Logan smiled.
"Large, extra cheese, ground beef, and olives," Lex placed her order. "And get something for yourself, too."
"At least you've got an appetite," Logan sighed and pulled out his cell phone.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
7:24 P.M.
"So how'd it go with the informants?" Max asked Logan as the three sat around the table eating dinner.
"Good, I got what I had hoped for. But the first meeting wasn't with an informant."
"Then who the hell was it with?" Max inquired.
"You remember me niece Brittany, right?"
"Eyes Only's match, how could I forget?" Max laughed, remembering how Logan had begged her to help him watch the little girl.
"Well, she's twenty-one now and she just moved back here from London. I invited her over here for dinner tomorrow night," Logan ignored Max's comment.
"You have a niece?" Lex joined in the conversation.
"She's my cousin's kid, but she's always called me Uncle Logan," he said.
"So did she spill any dirt on your relatives?" Max asked.
"Not dirt, but she did beg to be there the next time we see Margo."
"Who's Margo?" Lex fell back into her clueless role.
"The spawn of Satan," Max quipped before Logan had a chance to answer.
"Max." Logan crossed his arms.
"Oh, please. It's not like you're fond of the snooty bitch either," Max challenged.
"She's my aunt," Logan turned to Lex. "And she's not that bad, she just acts the way all rest of the blue-collar, upper crust world does."
"Why do I get the feeling this is a two-way street?" Lex joked to Max.
Logan took that question, "She came with me to my cousin's wedding; when Margo and my Uncle Jonas came over to go through their usual when-will-get- a-real-job routine, Jonas said to Max that if she was there with me she was probably a liberal, too and thought he was talking out of his hat. So she says to him, "Not unless you wear your hat on your ass". Needless to say, they didn't speak to me for the rest of the night."
Bursting out laughing, Lex nearly choked on her pasta. "Good one," she punched Max on the shoulder.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
July 15, 2036
"So where's this daughter of yours?" Brittany gave Logan a hug as she walked into the penthouse.
"In here somewhere," Logan closed the door behind her. "Max is in the kitchen."
"No I'm not," Max walked out into the foyer. "Damn, now I feel old," she shook her head when she saw Brittany.
"Well you don't look any different than I remember," Brittany extended her arms to Max.
"No cupcakes this time," Max laughed and returned the hug.
"Dammit, I thought that one was a lock," Brittany feigned disappointment.
"I'll go find Lex," Logan walked past them as they headed into the kitchen for drinks.
"I think she's in her room hooking up her TV," Max called after him.
Knocking on her door, Logan opened it at Lex's request, "Brittany's here," he told her. "And what are you doing?"
Lex was hanging over the back of her desk; one leg sticking straight up and the other wrapped around the edge of a shelf. Reaching out a hand and pulling herself up so that her head was visible, she took a deep breath, "Hooking my TV up to my laptop. If I get a line running between them, I can pick up all my old channels through the websites. Which is good because channel twenty-seven is playing a Law & Order: SVU-a-thon tomorrow night."
"Well, whenever you untangle yourself, come on out," Logan tried not to laugh at the position she was in.
"Sure; just give me a minute. My hair's caught in the outlet."
"Need any help?" Logan offered.
"Actually yeah. Could you grab my foot; the one around the shelf?" When she felt Logan take her ankle, she lowered herself down a little further and tugged at her hair until it came free. Reaching around, she pulled herself up and turned around, "Thanks," she sat up on top of the desk. Grabbing her remote, she turned on the TV, "Success!" she shouted as she flipped though the channels, every one coming in clear. Soothing out her hair with her fingers, she pulled on her sweatshirt jacket and headed towards the door, "Where to?"
"Kitchen," Logan followed. Hearing the oven timer go off, Logan checked his watch, "Dinner's ready, and right on time."
"Good, I'm starving," Lex's stomach in agreement as she turned into the kitchen.
"You are your mother's daughter," Logan laughed. "Lex, this is my niece Brittany. Brittany, this is Lex."
"Hey," Lex smiled quickly as she hopped up on the counter and picked at the bowl of salad.
"Oh my god," Brittany laughed. "She looks nothing like you!"
"Thank you Captain Obvious," Lex laughed as she threw olives in the air and caught them in her mouth.
"Alexa!" Max threatened through her teeth.
"Sorry," Lex's apology was albeit mechanic and blasé.
"You know, I have a t-shirt that says that," Brittany laughed.
"Me, too," Lex smiled, deciding that Brittany was someone she could come to like.
"So what do you think of the US so far?"
"It could be worse," Lex shrugged.
Later that night, as Lex and Brittany sat on the couch watching TV, Brittany turned to her, "Hey have you picked a school yet?"
"No, I haven't started looking. Why?" Lex shook her head.
"All the good ones tend to fill up early. If you haven't applied by the end of July, you shouldn't count on getting into most of them."
"Oh," Lex's face fell. "Well, which ones are the good ones?"
"Depends, what do you want?"
"Non-religious, no uniforms, edible cafeteria food, and six-day weekends," Lex answered frankly.
"Who doesn't want six-day weekends?" Brittany laughed. "But where I went covers everything else; Cedar Ridge."
"It hard to get into?"
"Register yourself as Alexa Cale, and you won't have any trouble, even if you apply late."
"What's the big deal about a damn last name, anyway?" Lex still couldn't fully understand the workings of the upper crust world.
"I've always thought it was dumb, too. But all you need to know is that calling yourself a Cale will get you pretty much anything you want in Seattle's ritzy world," Brittany shrugged.
"Like free stuff?" Lex's ears perked up.
"Kind of. I used to go into stores and charge things to Margo's tabs all the time when I was a teen. She spends so much anyway, she never notices."
"Well maybe this whole thing'll have a bright side," Lex laughed.
"If you just keep thinking about how it gets you whatever you want, it can sound like a sweet deal."
"Hey, what was that whole cupcake thing you and my mom kept laughing about?" Lex had been meaning to ask that at some point during the night.
"Oh, well when I met her, Uncle Logan had called her over because he couldn't handle baby-sitting me for that day. So I had built this fort and made you dad get in it with me. When Max showed up, I refused to come out, so she was shaking packs of cupcakes next to the fort, when I came out she said the only way I could have one was if I came out and read a story with her on the couch."
"She used to do stuff like that with me, too. When I was three, I hated going to the dentist, so she used to make a trail of Kisses to the door when I'd hide under the couch. I'm so weak when it comes to chocolate," Lex laughed.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
11:47 P.M.
Walking into Logan's office, Lex propped her hands and chin on his head, "Whatcha doin'?"
"Just finishing up and Eyes Only hack for tomorrow. You and Brittany seemed to get along well," Logan minimized the window with the video.
"Yeah, so cool. I guess all your relatives aren't evil," Lex laughed.
"Well it was only Margo and Jonas Max hated, for the record," Logan pointed out.
"True," Lex agreed. "So really, what was that you were working on?"
"An Eyes Only hack; the one I got information on today," Logan insisted.
"What's on it?" Lex knew there was something Logan was holding back.
"Um, you wouldn't want to see it," Logan attempted to deter her interest.
"C'mon, what's it about?" Lex refused to back down.
"Well, um, I just wouldn't trust Seattle's courts with handling anything anymore," Logan gave a slight intimation as to the video's content.
After thinking for a minute or so, it dawned on Lex what Logan didn't want to tell, "Oh."
"Just, you know, to help everything along."
"I wanna see it," Lex whispered.
"What? Are you sure?" Logan himself wasn't sure he wanted Lex to see this man's face.
"I feel like everyone knows more about this whole thing than I do. I wanna see it," Lex was steadfast.
Sighing, Logan brought up the window and started to play back the video.
"Do not attempt to adjust your set. This is a streaming freedom video bulletin. This cable hack will last exactly sixty seconds. It cannot be traced, it cannot be stopped and it is the only free voice left in this city. Those of you keeping your daughters close can rest assured that there's one less predator on the Seattle Streets. After his last attack, Rodney Flanning was taken into custody. Make no mistake; he will pay for the nineteen rapes he committed against innocent teenage girls. Justice will be served, one way or another. A coward like this deserves no mercy and no mercy will be granted. This has been a streaming freedom video bulletin. Peace. Out."
Standing stolid and speechless for a minute, Lex suddenly turned and wrapped her arms around Logan's shoulders. Unsure of what else to do, Logan instinctively reached his arms up and returned the embrace. After staying like that in silence for a minute, Lex pulled back.
"Thanks," she paused, "Dad." With that she turned and headed to her room without looking back.
Watching her walk away, Logan could hardly believe what he had just heard. As a laugh-like sound broke through his lips, his face broke out into a chesire cat grin.
"Dad," he repeated to himself as his smile grew wider.
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A/N: There, she said it. The D-word is out there. And those you getting antsy about the familiars- don't worry. They'll be in the next chapter; I promise. Hopefully, I'll get my PC monitor back soon; but I had to write this chapter with twelve screaming fifth graders running around and hiding under my desk while they played hide and seek in the dark. (It was my little sister's birthday party and I'm stuck typing in the basement.) So I'm sorry for the mechanical errors I'm sure were in the chapter. As always, show the purple button some love and you will get the next chapter as fast as possible. Nothing new, even if you just say that you're reading this, I'll really appreciate it!
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Chapter 10: My Hero
"I knew the only way to get you here was to make it sound like work," the young woman laughed with a cheery smile as Logan approached the table.
"Brittany?!" Logan could hardly recognize his now twenty one year old niece.
"Well it's nice to see you, too. Sit down, I know I've got you trapped for a few hours, so it's no use trying to run off," she motioned to the seat across from her.
"But what are you doing here? I mean, it's great to see you, but I thought you went off to college in London," Logan took off his coat and sat down.
"I did," Brittany confessed. "Didn't like it that much, though. I just couldn't get used to living in a non-apocalyptic world. Go figure; I thought life without gas lines, blackouts, and half rotten produce would be more enjoyable," she laughed.
"So you came back to Seattle?" Logan was still surprised. Most people would jump at the chance to escape the US, Seattle especially.
"I applied to Delmonte and I got in," Brittany beamed.
"Delmonte? That new private university?"
"Yup, that's it," she nodded. "I was nervous I wouldn't get in, but I guess I got lucky."
"Wow, congratulations. I heard they had a ton of applicants. Did you start there yet?" Logan asked.
"Well, the fall semester doesn't start for another month, but I moved back here last week."
"I couldn't imagine someone wanting to come back to Seattle, but it looks like you're off to a good start," Logan shook his head.
When he didn't offer any updates on his life, Brittany sighed and jump- started the conversation again, "Uncle Logan, this is the part where you tell me what's up with you."
"Oh, right," Logan tried to collect himself. "Um, ok, do you remember Max? A friend of mine you met once?" Logan awkwardly breeched the subject. Even though this wasn't exactly like having to face Aunt Margo, he still hadn't told any of his relatives about Lex yet. As Brittany silently searched her memory, Logan shook his head, dismissing his previous question, "Never mind, you were only six then- "
"No, no, no," Brittany cut him off, "I think I do. Really pretty, brown hair, bribed me out of that fort with cupcakes," she smiled at the last thought as she described Max.
Though surprised she remembered Max, Logan was glad. That made explaining the largest change in his life slightly easier, "Oh, good, you do. Well, we'd known each other for a while and we weren't exactly just friends- "
"Sorry to cut you off again, but you're killing me here," Brittany interjected. "Lemme fill in the blanks since your tongue obviously doesn't want to. Either she was your friend who you ended up sleeping with and are now married to or have kids with, or she was your girlfriend all along and now you're married and/or have kids." At Logan's shocked stare, she rested her chin in her hand, "I may have been six then, but now I'm a little older."
"Right, right. Ok, I haven't told anyone yet, so I guess, well, you were on the right track. It's complicated, but the day after Max and I finally, um, got to be more than just friends, someone came after her, someone she'd been running from, and she had to leave the city. I didn't know where she went, hell, she didn't even know where she was going, but I hadn't heard from her since she'd left. Then I got a call from this guy who said he knew where she was and how to take care of the guy on her back, so I agreed to help him. That landed me in Canada, and well, turns out that Max and I have a daughter together. Who's now fourteen," Logan tried to tell a watered- down version of what had happened. He couldn't give out any details about what had happened, but bereft of them he had to admit the story didn't make much sense.
"Wait, who was after her and why? And when did all this happen?"
"I can't tell you who was after her. It's not something she likes to talk about and she's still not quite out of the woods. But it wasn't her fault she had to leave; she didn't want to. And the reason she couldn't contact me was because if she did, the people would have inevitably found out where she was and where I was, which would have resulted in both of us being killed," Logan tried explain. "And I found them about six weeks ago."
"Well where are Max and the girl now?" Brittany was disappointed, but something in Logan's voice told her that he meant it when he said those people were dangerous.
"Max is at work, she got her old job back. Our daughter, Lex, is at home. They moved back here last week."
"Damn," Brittany leaned back and shook her head. "And here I only expected to hear things about work and computers."
"You're not alone," Logan assured her. "I still can't get this whole dad- thing right."
"Well that's not on you. Trust me, even if you'd seen this girl every day since birth, she'd still hate you and ignore everything you said. It's what teenagers do," Brittany laughed. After a beat, she shot back up from her slumped position, "Wait, when you said you hadn't told anyone yet, would that include Aunt Margo?"
"Yes," Logan warily answered. "I haven't seen her in about a year."
Grabbing his arm, Brittany's face twisted into an insidious smile, "Can I please be there when you tell her? Please?"
"I guess so," Logan shrugged. "When's the gathering I'll be guilted into showing up at?"
"I'd go with Shira's debutant ball in December," Brittany nodded.
"Shira?" Logan shook his head.
"Hello? Bennet and Maryanne's daughter?" Brittany couldn't believe Logan forgot about her. "My god, it was only the biggest thing to hit the Cale family since you not going into business. Turned out Maryanne was three months pregnant when they got married, remember?"
"Well of course I remember that, I just forgot her name," Logan tried to defend himself.
"How could forget a name like Shira?" Brittany gibed at him. "But anyway, she'll be sixteen in October so she gets that damn ball. It's gonna be on December 13th and you know you'll have to go."
"Ok, December it is then," Logan sighed.
The two continued to talk until Logan saw he had to leave for his next meeting, this time a real informant. Bidding goodbye, they'd set up for Brittany to come over for dinner the next night. Pulling out of the parking lot, Logan decided to stop by home first. He and Brittany had had a long talk about teenagers, and he wanted to check in on her anyway.
"I'll just get her a pizza for lunch, make it look like that," he told himself. "Either way, food will have to get me in her good graces."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Foggle Towers
"Lex?" Logan called out as he walked into the penthouse. "Where are you?"
"In here," Lex called out from the living room.
"What are you watching?" Logan knew he recognized the movie on TV from somewhere.
"Ancient movies," Lex answered. "The cinematography is so bad, it's entertainment in itself."
"What's this one called? It looks familiar."
"The Goonies. One time I saw something about it at this flea market, but I don't what the person was trying to sell it for. It was some big, bulky square thing," Lex shrugged.
"You mean a VHS tape?" Logan cringed, suddenly feeling old.
"That was a VHS tape? Huh, guess I have seen everything then. Is there something you needed?"
"Um, well, I was getting hungry and just wondering if you wanted a pizza for lunch," Logan covered.
"Nice try," Lex saw right through him. "I know an excuse to check up on me when I see one."
"Oh," Logan shrugged. "Ok, well, I guess I'll see you later, then," he turned to walk out of the penthouse.
"Whoa, hold on," Lex reached out and grabbed for him. "At point did I say I didn't want that pizza?"
"So I don't get kicked out?" Logan smiled.
"Large, extra cheese, ground beef, and olives," Lex placed her order. "And get something for yourself, too."
"At least you've got an appetite," Logan sighed and pulled out his cell phone.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
7:24 P.M.
"So how'd it go with the informants?" Max asked Logan as the three sat around the table eating dinner.
"Good, I got what I had hoped for. But the first meeting wasn't with an informant."
"Then who the hell was it with?" Max inquired.
"You remember me niece Brittany, right?"
"Eyes Only's match, how could I forget?" Max laughed, remembering how Logan had begged her to help him watch the little girl.
"Well, she's twenty-one now and she just moved back here from London. I invited her over here for dinner tomorrow night," Logan ignored Max's comment.
"You have a niece?" Lex joined in the conversation.
"She's my cousin's kid, but she's always called me Uncle Logan," he said.
"So did she spill any dirt on your relatives?" Max asked.
"Not dirt, but she did beg to be there the next time we see Margo."
"Who's Margo?" Lex fell back into her clueless role.
"The spawn of Satan," Max quipped before Logan had a chance to answer.
"Max." Logan crossed his arms.
"Oh, please. It's not like you're fond of the snooty bitch either," Max challenged.
"She's my aunt," Logan turned to Lex. "And she's not that bad, she just acts the way all rest of the blue-collar, upper crust world does."
"Why do I get the feeling this is a two-way street?" Lex joked to Max.
Logan took that question, "She came with me to my cousin's wedding; when Margo and my Uncle Jonas came over to go through their usual when-will-get- a-real-job routine, Jonas said to Max that if she was there with me she was probably a liberal, too and thought he was talking out of his hat. So she says to him, "Not unless you wear your hat on your ass". Needless to say, they didn't speak to me for the rest of the night."
Bursting out laughing, Lex nearly choked on her pasta. "Good one," she punched Max on the shoulder.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
July 15, 2036
"So where's this daughter of yours?" Brittany gave Logan a hug as she walked into the penthouse.
"In here somewhere," Logan closed the door behind her. "Max is in the kitchen."
"No I'm not," Max walked out into the foyer. "Damn, now I feel old," she shook her head when she saw Brittany.
"Well you don't look any different than I remember," Brittany extended her arms to Max.
"No cupcakes this time," Max laughed and returned the hug.
"Dammit, I thought that one was a lock," Brittany feigned disappointment.
"I'll go find Lex," Logan walked past them as they headed into the kitchen for drinks.
"I think she's in her room hooking up her TV," Max called after him.
Knocking on her door, Logan opened it at Lex's request, "Brittany's here," he told her. "And what are you doing?"
Lex was hanging over the back of her desk; one leg sticking straight up and the other wrapped around the edge of a shelf. Reaching out a hand and pulling herself up so that her head was visible, she took a deep breath, "Hooking my TV up to my laptop. If I get a line running between them, I can pick up all my old channels through the websites. Which is good because channel twenty-seven is playing a Law & Order: SVU-a-thon tomorrow night."
"Well, whenever you untangle yourself, come on out," Logan tried not to laugh at the position she was in.
"Sure; just give me a minute. My hair's caught in the outlet."
"Need any help?" Logan offered.
"Actually yeah. Could you grab my foot; the one around the shelf?" When she felt Logan take her ankle, she lowered herself down a little further and tugged at her hair until it came free. Reaching around, she pulled herself up and turned around, "Thanks," she sat up on top of the desk. Grabbing her remote, she turned on the TV, "Success!" she shouted as she flipped though the channels, every one coming in clear. Soothing out her hair with her fingers, she pulled on her sweatshirt jacket and headed towards the door, "Where to?"
"Kitchen," Logan followed. Hearing the oven timer go off, Logan checked his watch, "Dinner's ready, and right on time."
"Good, I'm starving," Lex's stomach in agreement as she turned into the kitchen.
"You are your mother's daughter," Logan laughed. "Lex, this is my niece Brittany. Brittany, this is Lex."
"Hey," Lex smiled quickly as she hopped up on the counter and picked at the bowl of salad.
"Oh my god," Brittany laughed. "She looks nothing like you!"
"Thank you Captain Obvious," Lex laughed as she threw olives in the air and caught them in her mouth.
"Alexa!" Max threatened through her teeth.
"Sorry," Lex's apology was albeit mechanic and blasé.
"You know, I have a t-shirt that says that," Brittany laughed.
"Me, too," Lex smiled, deciding that Brittany was someone she could come to like.
"So what do you think of the US so far?"
"It could be worse," Lex shrugged.
Later that night, as Lex and Brittany sat on the couch watching TV, Brittany turned to her, "Hey have you picked a school yet?"
"No, I haven't started looking. Why?" Lex shook her head.
"All the good ones tend to fill up early. If you haven't applied by the end of July, you shouldn't count on getting into most of them."
"Oh," Lex's face fell. "Well, which ones are the good ones?"
"Depends, what do you want?"
"Non-religious, no uniforms, edible cafeteria food, and six-day weekends," Lex answered frankly.
"Who doesn't want six-day weekends?" Brittany laughed. "But where I went covers everything else; Cedar Ridge."
"It hard to get into?"
"Register yourself as Alexa Cale, and you won't have any trouble, even if you apply late."
"What's the big deal about a damn last name, anyway?" Lex still couldn't fully understand the workings of the upper crust world.
"I've always thought it was dumb, too. But all you need to know is that calling yourself a Cale will get you pretty much anything you want in Seattle's ritzy world," Brittany shrugged.
"Like free stuff?" Lex's ears perked up.
"Kind of. I used to go into stores and charge things to Margo's tabs all the time when I was a teen. She spends so much anyway, she never notices."
"Well maybe this whole thing'll have a bright side," Lex laughed.
"If you just keep thinking about how it gets you whatever you want, it can sound like a sweet deal."
"Hey, what was that whole cupcake thing you and my mom kept laughing about?" Lex had been meaning to ask that at some point during the night.
"Oh, well when I met her, Uncle Logan had called her over because he couldn't handle baby-sitting me for that day. So I had built this fort and made you dad get in it with me. When Max showed up, I refused to come out, so she was shaking packs of cupcakes next to the fort, when I came out she said the only way I could have one was if I came out and read a story with her on the couch."
"She used to do stuff like that with me, too. When I was three, I hated going to the dentist, so she used to make a trail of Kisses to the door when I'd hide under the couch. I'm so weak when it comes to chocolate," Lex laughed.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
11:47 P.M.
Walking into Logan's office, Lex propped her hands and chin on his head, "Whatcha doin'?"
"Just finishing up and Eyes Only hack for tomorrow. You and Brittany seemed to get along well," Logan minimized the window with the video.
"Yeah, so cool. I guess all your relatives aren't evil," Lex laughed.
"Well it was only Margo and Jonas Max hated, for the record," Logan pointed out.
"True," Lex agreed. "So really, what was that you were working on?"
"An Eyes Only hack; the one I got information on today," Logan insisted.
"What's on it?" Lex knew there was something Logan was holding back.
"Um, you wouldn't want to see it," Logan attempted to deter her interest.
"C'mon, what's it about?" Lex refused to back down.
"Well, um, I just wouldn't trust Seattle's courts with handling anything anymore," Logan gave a slight intimation as to the video's content.
After thinking for a minute or so, it dawned on Lex what Logan didn't want to tell, "Oh."
"Just, you know, to help everything along."
"I wanna see it," Lex whispered.
"What? Are you sure?" Logan himself wasn't sure he wanted Lex to see this man's face.
"I feel like everyone knows more about this whole thing than I do. I wanna see it," Lex was steadfast.
Sighing, Logan brought up the window and started to play back the video.
"Do not attempt to adjust your set. This is a streaming freedom video bulletin. This cable hack will last exactly sixty seconds. It cannot be traced, it cannot be stopped and it is the only free voice left in this city. Those of you keeping your daughters close can rest assured that there's one less predator on the Seattle Streets. After his last attack, Rodney Flanning was taken into custody. Make no mistake; he will pay for the nineteen rapes he committed against innocent teenage girls. Justice will be served, one way or another. A coward like this deserves no mercy and no mercy will be granted. This has been a streaming freedom video bulletin. Peace. Out."
Standing stolid and speechless for a minute, Lex suddenly turned and wrapped her arms around Logan's shoulders. Unsure of what else to do, Logan instinctively reached his arms up and returned the embrace. After staying like that in silence for a minute, Lex pulled back.
"Thanks," she paused, "Dad." With that she turned and headed to her room without looking back.
Watching her walk away, Logan could hardly believe what he had just heard. As a laugh-like sound broke through his lips, his face broke out into a chesire cat grin.
"Dad," he repeated to himself as his smile grew wider.
________________________________________________________________________
A/N: There, she said it. The D-word is out there. And those you getting antsy about the familiars- don't worry. They'll be in the next chapter; I promise. Hopefully, I'll get my PC monitor back soon; but I had to write this chapter with twelve screaming fifth graders running around and hiding under my desk while they played hide and seek in the dark. (It was my little sister's birthday party and I'm stuck typing in the basement.) So I'm sorry for the mechanical errors I'm sure were in the chapter. As always, show the purple button some love and you will get the next chapter as fast as possible. Nothing new, even if you just say that you're reading this, I'll really appreciate it!