Huge thanks to all those kind enough to review – they were inspiring as always!
Thankyou Alaidh for all your work on this chapter and for your invaluable insight into camping gleaned from your days as a Girl Guide! You obviously earned more badges than I did!
A/N: I forgot to mention that this is set between Cold Comfort and Blah Blah Woof Woof.
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CHAPTER TWO
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"Okay, looks to me like you're good to go," Bling said cheerfully as he watched Logan take his gun from his desk drawer and put it in the side compartment of the medium sized travel bag that sat on his lap. "And here's Max," he continued, with a smile in her direction as she came through the door.
Logan finished zipping the bag. "Hey," he remarked briefly as she waltzed into his study wearing jeans, a blue sweater and a black, short leather jacket.
"I'm ready," Max smiled with a nod towards the smallish backpack she carried in one hand.
"Great," returned Logan, trying to ignore the fact that her bag was half the size of the one on his lap. Isn't it girls who are supposed to over-compensate when they're packing for a trip?
"I see you got the car all packed."
"Yup. We should go – don't wanna miss the curfew," Logan added curtly, not looking in her direction.
Bling thought he saw a flash of confusion in Max's eyes as she looked at Logan, however she retorted, "Oh yeah. Gotta love that curfew," without missing a beat. "See yah," she smiled at him, turning to follow Logan.
Bling threw a slightly exasperated glance at Logan's back. "Have fun kids," was his dry comment as he saw them to the door.
Max simply replied, "Will do," with a cool, backward wave of her hand as she headed to the elevator. Logan, who had already stopped and swung around to say something to Bling, looked a little nettled by his trainer's remark, but all he said was, "You'll check…"
"…that everything's locked up here before I go," Bling second-guessed him.
Logan nodded then went to put his hands to his wheels to follow Max when he suddenly swung around again. "My laptop," he remembered.
"I'm on it," said Bling, already heading back the short distance to his study.
Logan muttered something under his breath about forgetting his own name while he impatiently rocked his chair slightly.
"You've already got your bag. I'll take this to the car," Max explained as she stepped forward and took it from Bling.
Logan simply held up a hand in a gesture of acquiescence, and headed over to the elevator.
"See you tomorrow," was Bling's parting comment as the elevator door closed, then he turned with an amused expression and headed back into Logan's apartment.
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"Show me your pass," the sector guard mumbled almost incoherently as they stopped at the final checkpoint. Beyond this one the suburbs of Seattle quickly gave way to the beleaguered countryside.
Always finding it a source of annoyance that jumped-up nobodies should hold the fate of a would-be traveller in their hand, Logan managed a polite tightening of his mouth that could have been construed as a smile as he reached up and took the pass from under his sunshade.
The guard studied it intently.
"Pity they don't teach these baboons t'read," Max murmured under her breath, loud enough for only Logan to hear.
His mouth twitched a little, but he coolly assumed a resigned expression when the guard peered at him closely.
"Isn't it a little late to be heading outta town?" he sneered suspiciously.
"Only time we could get away," Logan replied evenly as he stared through the windshield.
"So where're you headin?" was the next snappy question.
"We've got some time off. Thought we'd do some camping – maybe a little fishing," Logan explained in the same cool tone. He'd had Bling load in some lines and tackle for this very reason – he thought it would make their story all the more plausible.
Max leant forward to catch the guard's eye. "We just love the outdoors," she butted in with a flash of white teeth.
The young man nodded, trying to appear impervious to her obvious charm.
"Everything's in order isn't it officer?" she queried innocently, using her wide dark eyes to her advantage.
The young man seemed to have a little trouble concentrating at this point, but he managed to pull his eyes away from her face to look down at Logan's pass once more.
"Looks like you're free to go," he told Logan, handing him back the pass.
"Thanks," Logan replied, almost without irony, as he replaced it.
"Thank you officer," Max smiled at him from her seat, before Logan pressed the button to close the window.
"You don't think that was laying it on a little thick?" he wondered aloud to her with amusement as he gradually built up speed. He wondered how often she had to use her feminine wiles when she was doing a job for Eyes Only.
"A girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do," was the flippant reply. "I kinda figured you'd understand that MO seeing as how it's the way you operate," she added as she considered his profile in the gloom of the car.
"Guess so," he replied easily enough, but she wondered if she'd hit a raw nerve as she noticed the slight tensing of his jaw muscles.
She had no way of knowing that her innocent comment had set off a chain reaction of troubled thoughts.
Yep – that's exactly how I operate. That's what's got me stuck driving up into the mountains to pitch a tent in the middle of the night. What are the chances of me making a complete fool of myself? Logan squinted abruptly and his left hand unconsciously tightened on the wheel as a vivid example of himself, ending up flat on his face, hit him with almost painful clarity.
Logan, she dived off a roof for your sake, he berated himself sarcastically whilst deftly flicking his lights to high beam. He wasn't sure if the thought made him feel any better - it just seemed to put more pressure on him. How could he ever match that? Surely the very least he could do was put aside his damned insecurities and maybe try to pay her back somehow…in some way.
The most galling part in all this, was his acute realisation that he knew it was his own fault that he was in this dilemma in the first place. Bling had been on his back for weeks trying to get him to learn some off-road skills in the chair and he'd brushed him off each time with some excuse: he was either too busy or too tired, he had an informant to meet, Matt Sung needed to see him, it was too wet, too cold, too sunny…too anything!
All Bling's warnings now rang in his ears: "You need to learn this stuff, Logan. One day you're gonna need it."
He's probably rubbing his hands with glee, Logan decided darkly. He was sure he'd seen an 'I told you so' look on Bling's face as he'd helped Logan with the camping gear.
"Watcha thinking?" Max's voice broke in on his thoughts. He hadn't realised he'd grunted with exasperation somewhere deep in his throat.
"Just stuff," was the evasive reply.
"It's a long trip – gonna be kinda boring if you go all secretive on me."
"I … ah… guess I was wondering what game Zack's playing," Logan temporised quickly.
"I've been wondering that myself. I'm hoping he's got some intel about Brin." Max's dark eyes clouded for the moment. "I wish we could've done something for her. She looked so bad…" Her voice seemed to trail off in the darkness.
"He knows where to reach you. Why wouldn't he just give you the information instead of making you come out in the dead of night?"
Max shook her head ruefully. "I dunno – it's just so Zack. Look how long it took him to get in contact with me – and even then he wouldn't hang around," she added a little despondently.
"I guess you get that way when you've had a life on the run," Logan commented thoughtfully, remembering another X5 not that long ago who had been determined to look out for number one.
"You know, it's not the running that gets to you – it's the loneliness," Max told him with quiet thoughtfulness.
"You think Zack's lonely?"
Max thought for a moment, then eventually let her shoulders rise and fall in an eloquent gesture of uncertainty. "I dunno," she frowned pensively. "I don't think he's happy," she countered finally in a somber tone.
Logan nodded slightly as he looked out the windshield, watching his car's headlights illuminate the dilapidated road they were traveling on. It seemed like all the roads were falling apart nowadays.
"Anyway, let's talk about something more cheerful," Max suggested with determination. "Besides, I oughtta thank Zack for wanting to meet in such an end-o'-the-earth place. It's got me outta Seattle for a while…even got you out of your apartment," she added slyly.
"I leave my apartment," Logan protested.
"Yeah – to go meet an informant…or some other Eyes Only stuff," Max replied bluntly. "Yeah, yeah!" she cut him off curtly, her tone clearly saying she'd heard it all before when she saw him open his mouth as if to defend himself, "We're not living in the café society anymore," she told him, echoing his own words back to him in a pedantic tone. "But you know it's kinda good for the soul to kick back and have a little fun once in awhile – even if you are the saviour of the universe."
"I think that position's already been taken," Logan commented dryly.
Max looked across at him to see how her comments had gone down – this time she found a perverse enjoyment in the fact that he was looking a little annoyed. She waited for him to look across at her – then flashed him a cheesy smile to show that she was intentionally provoking him.
"Maybe we should put on some music," Logan hinted none too subtly.
Max made a face. That idea wasn't to her liking at all -she was feeling inquisitive. "So, you done much outdoor stuff? You know… 'Boy scouts' all that type o' thing."
She had to wait a moment for his answer.
"I used to go on camping trips with my dad," Logan told her at last, a little reluctantly.
"When he could drag you away from your computer, huh?"
"Something like that," was the non-committal reply.
"Now Manticore, by contrast, was really big on the great outdoors – strictly a Spartan existence of course! No tents, mattresses, pillow…sometimes not even a blanket," she added, her mouth twisted with disgust.
"That's not Spartan…it's barbaric," Logan told her with feeling.
"No, I think it was what they called 'character building'."
"Well, you certainly have loads of that."
Max suddenly went quiet as she felt her cheeks redden slightly – not quite sure what to say to his comment. She wondered if it was his idea of a compliment. She certainly hoped it was.
"If you'd like a Coke there's a can in the cooler between the seats," Logan went on, apparently unaware of any feeling of awkwardness on her part.
"Thanks," she answered quickly. "You want one too?" she asked as she lifted the lid. "We could stop for a few minutes. Give you a break."
"No. I'm fine. I'd rather push on and get there. We're making good time. With any luck we'll be there by around 1AM."
"Cool," she smiled as she pulled the tab on her can. "Then all we gotta do is set up camp! So, you got some fancy push-button tent or something?" she joked as she took a swig of her drink.
"I wish."
Max looked behind her.
Bling had put the back seat down flat, leaving a large storage area in the back of the car. Other than their bags, she could see a large cooler, two fishing poles, a tackle box, a couple of folding chairs, two rolled sleeping bags and several pillows - which brought an unexpected flush to her cheeks - and sundry other packages in nylon bags that she took to be the tent.
"Well, putting up tents is one of my specialities," she grinned.
"This one is kinda different," Logan told her as he slowed the car a little to read the faded signpost by the light of the car's beam.
"Murchison Woods thataway," Max told him, signalling to the right before he even had a chance to read it.
"I told you you'd have some super-duper European design, anti-leak, state-of-the-art, floats –on- air model," she smiled at him, going back to his comment about the tent.
"Well, I hate to disappoint you, but…no. Although the last point was almost correct."
He had her interest now. "Do tell," she murmured breathily.
He gave her a slightly ruffled sideways glance, not always quite sure how to take some of her more provocative comments. "It's a tent that attaches to the back of the car when you put the tailgate down and lift the hatch."
Max raised her eyebrows. "Is this one of those things the brochure says can be done in ten minutes but when you go to do it, it takes ten hours?"
"Wouldn't know. I've never set it up… I hope not!" he added with a frown as the truth of her words hit him. The thought of struggling in the dark with the contraption after a three-hour drive was hardly an exciting one.
Max appeared undaunted by the challenge. "Lucky you have your own transgenic, see-in-the-dark, tent putter-upper," she told him helpfully.
"I take it you have that on your resume?"
"Absolutely. In big, bold letters. Why else do you think Normal gave me a job?"
"Well, just in case you should need a little help…" Logan motioned with his head toward the glove compartment. "I brought along the instructions."
"Spoilsport. I was kinda looking forward to seeing the great Eyes Only try and work it out by flashlight," lamented Max.
Logan raised his eyebrows and gave her a small grin of triumph. With a rush of relief he mentally thanked Bling for his forethought in finding and packing the instructions.
Max studied them in silence for a bit, then leant back in a relaxed manner, her head against the head rest as she idly watched one majestic tree after another rustle and wave leaf-laden branches at them as they passed.
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The trees were quite dense on either side of them now as the car wound its way further and further into the mountains. Max was used to travelling on her motorbike with a chill wind striking her full in the face. She found the warmth and dull interior lights of the car lent an almost surreal quality to the journey, aided by the classic rock music Logan had eventually put on as their conversation had naturally waned. He'd told her that Pearl Jam would keep him awake when she'd raised one dubious eyebrow at his selection.
Max hooked her right leg up onto the seat then leant forward and grabbed the can she'd left sitting in the drink holder. "You sure you don't want some?" she asked Logan, holding it up a little to attract his attention.
He shook his head. "It must be flat by now anyway," he commented as he stretched his arms out and shifted his body a little.
Max flexed her arms out as well in a reflex action and peered out into a night that was vaguely lit with a hint of moonlight. "We should be almost there, shouldn't we?"
Logan stifled a yawn. "Just about, I'd say."
"Unless we're locked in some sorta time warp and we drive and drive and drive and never get outta these damned trees," she murmured darkly.
"Well, I think you just got lucky," Logan told her, as the trees began to give way to other vegetation as well at this point. "And that looks like our sign."
"Yep. Murchison Woods," Max agreed as she read a still, bold sign proclaiming Murchison Woods Camping Ground.
Logan turned left and drove through a gateway another two hundred yards or so further along this road. They both noted a ranger's booth that outlined camping fees on the wall but it was deserted at this time of night. Max thought it looked like it hadn't been manned in a long time. As they got closer, even Logan could see that the windows were broken and long grass grew unhindered all around it.
"It all seems to have that delightful post-Pulse look about it that we've come to know so well," Max murmured ironically as she looked about.
"It's too bad. This used to be a beautiful place," Logan said quietly, as he slowed the car down to almost a crawl as they bumped over a dirt road, which appeared to be the only way through the park.
There was absolutely no sign of any other campers in the park.
"Looks like we get to take our pick of sites," Max remarked.
"Well, you choose. You're the see-in-the-dark expert."
They bumped down the badly potholed road, passing what looked to be a toilet block on their way. Logan could make out very little other than what the car headlights picked out, but Max was able to clearly see that it was a secluded camping ground on the banks of a river, protected from the elements by a majestic grove of trees that dotted the area.
"This place must have been really popular once," she said, her voice rich with unmistakeable admiration.
"It was," Logan confirmed. "One of the top camping sites back in the day."
"How about stopping here. Not too far from the river, sheltered by the trees…"
"Fine," Logan agreed, eager after a three hour drive to get out of the car and clear his head in the fresh air.
The river could be seen to their left – the little moonlight there was reflected silvery on its inky depths. Logan drove off the path and headed toward it, having to dodge several branches and logs before he came to a slight clearing nestled between the bend of the river.
Max had her door open and was out of the car as if she were on a spring as soon as Logan brought it to a halt. She took a good look around, unconsciously in full-alert mode until she was satisfied that they were alone.
Logan put his window down and breathed in the fresh, chill night air. The sudden quiet once he'd turned off the motor was startling.
"So, how you wanna play this?" Max asked, coming to stand by his window. Her voice sounded unnaturally loud in such pristine stillness.
He paused at her words. In truth he had no idea how he wanted to play this – it was all unchartered territory for him.
"Um…I guess we start with my chair," he suggested as he released the hatch, "then instructions?" he added, leaning across and grabbing them and a flashlight from the glove compartment.
"Cool." She headed at once to the back of the car where they'd had to stow his chair, and picked up the pieces.
While he set it up, Max did a quick circuit of the car, clearing the ground of branches and any other large sticks that would prove an obstacle for Logan. Fortunately, there were a lot of pine trees in the area – little grass grew beneath them and the dense layers of needles made a smooth cover that she hoped he'd find relatively easy to negotiate.
She'd been surprised when he'd offered to accompany her, but had accepted his suggestion at face value. It was only when she'd returned with her bag that she suspected he wasn't entirely cool with the idea. Sooo, Logan, she mused as she picked up a pine cone from near the back wheel and tossed it away. She'd already had him bite her head off when she had suggested he attend the ConGen2 Convention last week and she didn't relish a repeat of the incident. Better tread lightly, she told herself. She was not unsympathetic to his sensibilities – she just found him hard to read.
Logan came around the car at that moment, the instructions spread out on his knee. He'd put a thick jacket on over his sweater and wore black leather gloves.
"Hope all that stuff you said about being the world's best tent putter-upper wasn't just a bluff," he told her lightly. He'd read the instructions and a lot of them required a reach far longer than his.
"If you think I'm gonna let you sit back and watch me do all the work, you've got another thing coming," Max promised him mildly as she reached in and brought out the bag with the tent.
"Okay, we need the tailgate down," she instructed as she removed the attachment tent from its cover then moved away a little to shake it and spread it out.
Logan lowered the tailgate, then turned to watch Max.
"Okay – its all fairly simple – the attachment fits over the back of the car from just behind the sunroof, then all we gotta do is stretch it into place and clip it on."
"That simple, huh?" Logan murmured dryly.
"Didn't you even look at this stuff before you bought it?" she asked Logan with a hint of incredulity as she shook out the nylon material again to ascertain which way was 'up'.
"I didn't exactly have camping on my mind at the time," he muttered sardonically as he remembered the depressing day Bling had taken him to look at cars. It had all been about ease of transfer, rubberised grab handles and functionality rather than sleek lines, revs per minute and power of acceleration – all the things he'd thought had been important in the past when buying a car. At the time, the only thing he could think of as he signed the ownership papers was clunky car to go with a clunky chair. He'd hardly been aware of the discussion of the merits of the camping package – he'd just waved a hand disinterestedly when Bling had said it would be a good idea. The whole car-buying episode had been the final, dismal nail in the coffin of the person he had come to regard as 'that other Logan.'
"No big dealio," Max said hesitantly. She wondered if he'd forgotten that even in the dark she could read the expression in the depths of his green eyes.
"Okay – so…I guess I take the bottom and you take the top," Logan suggested, deciding to concentrate on the task at hand rather than things of the past that he had no way of changing.
"Right."
In a surprisingly short space of time, no doubt thanks to Max's X5 speed and agility, they had the customised tent fitted securely to the rear of the vehicle, complete with a small awning.
"Not bad," Max nodded as she considered their efforts.
"Just one more thing to do," Logan told her as he reached into the back.
"Coffee?" was the hopeful suggestion.
"Be my guest," Logan told her with a wave of his hand towards the car. The stove and cylinder were too far back for him to reach from his chair. Max clambered in instead and soon had the stove set up on a small table. They'd brought their own supply of water with them, just in case. The infrastructure of the country was so fractured that you couldn't take things like a supply of water at a remote camping ground as a fact to be relied upon.
Logan, meanwhile, set about blowing up the air mattress that came with the car and was designed to fit snugly in the rear compartment. On the left interior side of the car there was an attached hose and pressure gauge that was actually from the rear suspension automatic levelling. The designers had made use of the levelling system so that inflatable articles could be easily filled with air.
"Neat," commented Max as she saw what he was doing. She'd set up a folding chair and was now waiting for the water to boil. The gas lantern sat on the small table beside the stove, casting a warm, soft, yellow light over everything within its arc. Idly she puffed out a breath, watching the white cloud dissipate quickly into the air. Her eyes then continued skyward - there wasn't a cloud in the sky now and it was as if a curtain had been flung back to reveal a myriad of twinkling diamond lights.
Feeling a little humbled before such vastness, Max held her hands close to the stove for a moment – her prediction about the freezing cold had been correct.
Logan unfolded the mattress and spread it out. He soon saw that they'd have to rearrange the items still in the back of the Aztek for it to fit. The large cooler would definitely have to come out and unless he went to the trouble of lifting himself into the back of the car and somehow pushing it out, he wouldn't be able to do it.
He couldn't help but feel a niggling resentment that such a simple task should prove to be so difficult, but he remembered Bling's words and knew there was a certain amount of truth in them – well, maybe a lot of truth in them.
He knew it was probably illogical, but he had no hesitation in asking Max to be his legs when it was Eyes Only related, but he struggled with the whole issue when it was on a personal level. Just what am I trying to prove here anyway? he wondered bemusedly. The girl could toss me across a room anytime she wants to – chair or no chair.
Logan frowned, feeling decidedly uncomfortable as he took a deep breath to steel himself before calling Max over, when suddenly he paused as a flash of inspiration hit him.
Bling doesn't have to be right about everything. It's not as if I've forgotten how to handle a girl, he reminded himself with a calculating gleam as a flicker of that other Logan flared in his eyes.
In a deliberate move he positioned his chair a little closer to the tailgate, then rustled the outspread air mattress loudly ensuring that it knocked against other objects in the back of the car, muttering, "Must be a bit stuck or something…"
Max looked across then jumped up immediately when she saw his problem. "I'll check it. We probably need to move some of this stuff out to make more room anyway."
Logan couldn't resist a small, knowing smile of satisfaction, particularly as he couldn't help but get a good view of a certain part of her anatomy as she rearranged their bags before he politely looked away. He could imagine the look on Bling's face when he got home if he were to casually say to him that he hadn't had to actually ask Max for assistance even once. This time his eyes lit at the thought of a challenge – suddenly a camping trip didn't seem quite so threatening.
Max edged forward and put the cooler and another container with plastic dishes, cutlery and other sundry utensils on the ground beneath the tailgate. Their overnight bags she'd put up against the back of the front seats because the mattress fitted near the tailgate end.
"Okay, all clear," she remarked as she jumped down. "Pity we didn't have time to light a fire tonight. It's damned cold."
"It'll be warm once we're inside," Logan answered, quickly schooling his features as he turned his head to concentrate on watching the pressure gauge as the mattress quickly filled with air. He couldn't afford to make it too soft and have his hip unknowingly sink through to the hard floor, nor, on the other hand, could it be rock firm.
Max stood by watching his progress. After a few minutes she put a hand on the air bed and pushed down. "And Little Bear said just right," she quoted coyly.
"Well, if that's what Little Bear says…" Logan commented dryly as he disconnected the device and stored it away.
The water began to boil at that point so Logan wheeled forward and got out a small coffee percolator.
Max had to smile. "Now that's something we never had on Manticore camping trips."
"Just cause you're in the wild doesn't mean you can't take a few comforts with you," Logan grinned. "You want something to eat with it?"
"Need you ask?"
"If you look in the cooler there should be a few muffins from the bakery there. Not exciting but it should fill a few holes," he apologised.
"Logan – if I'd come up here by myself I'd be riding around in the cold for hours, like you said," she protested. "Muffins and coffee and a warm car are a whole lot better than that," she added warmly.
"Well, I guess if you put it that way," he acknowledged distractedly as he waited for the coffee to brew.
To his surprise, Max suddenly stood up abruptly without a word. She was clearly in defensive mode as she stared fixedly into the darkness, unconsciously taking a protective step closer toward him. The significance of the action wasn't lost on Logan and he felt the hairs on the back of his head bristle uncomfortably. His thoughts went immediately to his gun, but it was presently well out of his reach in the back of the car.
"Max? You see something?" he whispered tensely.
Her eyes swept the area with radar-like precision.
"Max?" he prompted again when she didn't reply.
Eventually, apparently satisfied, he saw her shoulders relax and she turned to him with an unconcerned shrug. "Thought I saw someone out there for a minute. Guess I was wrong. So, where's the coffee?"
Wishing he had her ability to turn his heightened emotions off and on at will with the same consummate ease, Logan managed to answer in a reasonably calm voice, "Coming up."
In a few minutes he passed her a cup of the steaming hot coffee then took his own in his hand. He savoured the warmth by wrapping both hands around the mug as he put it to his mouth. It was hard to refrain from taking several surreptitious, cautious glances out into the darkness. In time, however, Max's own apparent ease made him relax and he concentrated on enjoying the coffee.
They ate and drank in a companionable silence, each cocooned in their own thoughts as they enjoyed the stillness of the night. Eventually Logan began to yawn and rub at his arms as he felt the chill of the night air beginning to permeate his clothes.
"I'd better call it a day," he told her, a touch apologetically.
"Yep – it's after two now, and even I'm getting a little cold sitting here," she admitted.
They both looked at each other – a similar thought in both their minds: This could be the awkward part.
"Um…do you need to change?" Logan asked. "You can go first if you like."
"Nah, I'm not gonna bother. I've only got a few hours before it'll be time to meet Zack. I'll need to do some recon before dawn to check out a place he's most likely to be."
"Right."
"I might just stretch my legs out a bit and check out the river before you lock the door for the night," she joked, feeling a little self-conscious and wondering why. She went to head out into the night but, to his surprise, she turned back again. "Thanks…you know…for doing all this for me."
He shrugged, feeling embarrassed by her thanks. "It's not a big deal, Max."
"Um…anything else you want me to do before you turn in?" He saw the hesitation in her eyes and felt a sudden rush of guilt. He wondered what he'd said or done in the past that should make her so wary of offering him some help.
Nonetheless he answered, "Nope. I can't think of anything," blandly, as if he hadn't noticed her hesitation.
"Cool," she replied, her own smile flashing out with almost breathtaking brilliance. "I'll see you in fifteen."
Logan silently watched her progress until the shadows completely swallowed her lithe, dark form.
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"Hey, Logan. You asleep?" Max whispered some half hour later, peering into the back of the car. The sound of heavy, slow, rhythmic breathing gave her an answer.
The campsite was dark now. She noted that Logan had washed their cups and plates and stowed the food items back in the cooler. Thinking it would be easy pickings for a raccoon, Max picked it up and put it in the front of the car.
Logan was sound asleep, glasses off, lying on his stomach, head turned towards her, his arms resting on the pillow either side of his head. He'd unzipped the feather and down sleeping bag and opened it out, using it like a comforter. She assumed he couldn't be bothered reaching down to zip it up.
Firstly removing her shoes and jacket, she quietly crawled in next to him and zipped up the opening to the tent.
Logan had dismantled his chair and put it against the wall on his side. She couldn't blame him for not wanting to leave it unattended outside the tent, she thought, as she grabbed the other sleeping bag and slipped inside it. For a moment she studied Logan's still form before lying down. He was really too long for the mattress, she noticed, as she leant forward and pulled the sleeping bag he had over him further down because it had crept up a little and no longer covered his feet. Well, at least he had on thick, woolly socks.
Max suddenly grinned in the dark. She could imagine the looks on the faces of Original Cindy and Kendra if they could see her now.
Still grinning, she snuggled down in the bag, enjoying its warmth after the cold night air. She put one hand behind her head as she let her body rest.
Her eyes gazed upward – vaguely following the contours of the car's roof.
While her body rested, her mind remained active and now the question that she had purposefully held at bay for the majority of the evening consumed her thoughts:
What reason could Zack possibly have for wanting to meet her?
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There was no gradual transition between sleeping and consciousness for Logan that morning.
He woke all at once, feeling strangely alert.
Somewhere he heard a bird twittering its morning carol close by.
The thought hit Logan with certainty. He didn't have to look around – he knew without doubt that he was alone in the car.
His eyes focussed a little blurrily on his watch. With a start he saw it was well after seven.
Where the hell was Max?
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To be continued…