DISCLAIMER: I don't own these characters
slight recap: Max finally found Zack for the 1st time since he took a bullet for her. She tried to find out about her other siblings, only to find that Zack didn't feel like sharing. Before she could learn more about Zack, he disappeared in typical Zack fashion.
-In looking for Zack, she stumbled upon 494, taking him to be Ben without seeing his bar-code. His personality shows he is not Ben, but Max still doesn't know who he is or why he came to Seattle.
-494 in his mind came to Seattle because of Max. He doesn't know why, but upon the sight of her through a Manticore mission to ID her, he noticed that they had a connection, though they had never met. He is trying to figure out more about Max in hopes of figuring out their connection, which led him to Logan Cale.
-so it continues...
Chapter 14: A Chance Meeting
When Max came back from work, she noticed a note had been slipped under her door. She recognized the author just by the way her name was written on the front. It was from Logan.
She hadn'tspoken to him in 2 weeks now. She just didn't have anything to say to him! Plus she'd been really busy- that wasn't just an excuse. For the past 2 weeks she'd been looking all over town for one guy- Ben's lookalike. The problem was she didn't know where he would be hanging out at. She'd tried a couple other tattoo places with no luck. She went to wrestling matches figuring he might cheat for money with no luck. The last time she'd seen him was here in her apartment.
Maybe she'd gotten lucky and he'd skipped town. She was still reeling from her last conversation with him, if you could call it that. After searching for him for 1 week, she had given in and called her cell phone, hoping she could find out something, or reason with him. She could hear it all over again, angry just at the thought.
"Hello?" he had answered.
"What, you're answering like this is your phone or something." she couldn't help herself from saying.
"Maxie!" He sounded amused. Just what she wanted to hear.
"Where are you?" she demanded.
"Aww…you missed me. That's really sweet of you Maxie."
"Look, cut this crap okay. I want my phone back, and I want some answers"
"No worries, Max. You're really not that popular- nobody has called here. Except that Logan guy, sorry I didn't pick up to get the message though."
"I give up, okay. I'm done fighting you." It of course was a lie. She just wanted some answers right then, though.
"In that case, there's no point in continuing this conversation. Bye, Maxie. Try not to miss me too much." And with that he hung up.
What had he meant by that anyway? It seemed his whole purpose of being there was too bother her until she couldn't take anymore.
Max drew her attention back to the note in her hand. She opened it up to see what Logan had to say. Max, thought you'd like to know, it seems there's a team of some Manticore goons around the area. They haven't caused any trouble yet. I'm assuming they are the follow-up from my mistake the night with Zack. And also, keep watch on the news, there is serious thieving going on which to me seems like it's coming from someone enhanced. Maybe it's that team, but I doubt they came here just to rip off some rich, lonely, old guys. I'll be in touch. Logan.
He was still taking the fall for that trap from weeks ago. He didn't seriously think that was why they were kind of off lately, did he? Actually, Max really didn't know why they weren't clicking lately, but she knew it had nothing to do with that trap. Maybe it was just because they were so busy they couldn't even spend time together.
Max heard the keys turn in the lock, and before she knew it, OC walked in. "How's my boo?" Cindy asked.
Max shrugged.
OC frowned, "Still ain't found your guy?" Cindy was actually talking about Zack, but Max hadn't found either one of them. Both could easily have been long gone by then. "Well, listen. You've been out searching, having no fun for 2 weeks straight- I'm sick of it. We need to go out tonight! Forget about that search for one night, you got it, boo?"
Max thought about Logan's note. There was a good chance a group from Manticore was somewhere, searching for her. Of course, what were the chances they would be hanging out at Crash? Besides, Max was always aware of her surroundings. If they were out, she would definitely spot them before they spotted her. She brushed Logan's warning away. "You know what? That is a great idea! I swear- I'm done thinking about anything tonight but having fun!"
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Sketchy waved over at OC and Max as they walked in. "Geez, what took you guys so long? We've already had a round of drinks!"
"Looks like you've had more than that." OC answered.
"It was my fault," Max explained.
OC brushed it off, "Who cares? Original Cindy and Max arehere now. And it looks like Max and I have some catching up to do, beers! Please!"
Max was actually laughing a little later on. She was having a great time! She loved hangin out with her friends, and she didn't get the chance to do it that often.
OC nudged her, "So. You gonna look for a boy tonight?"
Max's mouth opened, "OC! No more searching, remember?"
OC laughed, "Come on, Boo,Original Cindydon't mean that boy, I mean one here. Just, you know, have some fun." OC had that look in her eye. She was always trying to get Max to loosen up and have fun. How could Max resist tonight, though, when she was having a good time, and had a few drinks besides! "All right! Give me a minute." Max obliged. They had this secret, girls only kind of thing. Max had to scan the place, and pick out a guy, otherwise OC would pick one for her!
Her eyes darted all over the room. It was a full house tonight! Everyone looked like they were having a good time. She didn't feel like talking it up with someone who was passed out- or hooking up. She finally spotted someone at the end of the bar. His back was turned toward her and plus he had 3 girls, chatting him up and blocking the view. Something about him drew Max toward him. Normally seeing a guy with a bunch of girls was a turnoff, but tonight she considered it a challenge. She blamed it on the beer.
OC followed her eyes, and had a look of surprise when she noticed who was holding Max's attention. "Him?" she asked in disbelief.
The look in Max's eyes answered her. She looked determined- holy crap, was she gonna go seduce him! This was a side OC rarely saw in her friend.
Max took one more swig of beer before turning to OC. "I'm going over there." she declared.
OC nodded, "All right. Sounds good. Just don't get all jealous on me and start kickin those girls asses!"
Sketchy, who had been pretty distracted with his own drunkenness, noticed Max leaving. "Hey, where's she goin? I was gonna get another round."
OC raised her brows at him, "Another?" Then she turned her focus to Max. What was that girl doin?
Max felt kind of strange right then, but she liked it. It was like all her tension with Logan was coming out here. She didn't want to work for anything. She just felt like grabbing whoever she wanted, doing whatever she wanted, and having no regrets or the 'relationship talk' afterwards. She walked over confidently, even seductively. Also strange to her face was a smile, genuine, not forced to help out with an awkward situation. This guy better be hot, she thought to herself, as she sat down beside one of the girls. She couldn't sit next to him, there were no seats, all taken by other girls.
They were all giggling and touching him. Ugh, Max thought. Girls could be so annoying sometimes.
One of them was really playing it up, complimenting him like he was the best thing ever. "I bet you could have any of these girls here, just by staring at them. Hehee!" she added that ever annoying girlie giggling crap at the end.
Max rolled her eyes. She wasn't exactly patient. Even though the whole situation was irritating, she still felt drawn to the guy, she wanted him. And when Max wanted something, she didn't wait- she went after it. She tapped the girl next to her. The girl turned around and Max gave her a look. The girl looked scared, and got up and left. Yea, that's right, Max thought, get lost! She could be incredibly intimidating when she wanted to be. Even when she didn't want to be. It didn't matter, though. These kind of girls had plenty of other guys to talk to, but not Max. Max wanted this one. What was funny was that this guy didn't even notice that one of his girls had left- he was too buy being admired by all the others around him.
One of the other girls was throwing some cheesy line at him when Max decided to make a move. He was right next to her now, his back to her, and she knew just the way to get his attention. She leaned in and was about to whisper something seductive in his ear when she heard his voice and felt her face grow pale.
"Come on, I couldn't have any of these girls just by looking at them. Well, I guess, maybe if I took my shirt off-" he started, still flirting with them all.
"I'll take your shirt off!" one of them said with a smile.
Max couldn't believe herself. For a minute she couldn't think about anything. She was just shocked. And suddenly, she found herself viewing the situation very differently. She was no longer overcome with desire for him- she wanted to punch his face in, and slap herself for that matter, for being so drawn to him- of all guys she could have picked! And instead she'd picked this jackass? Fate must have hated her.
Before she could catch him by surprise, he spun around, as if he'd just noticed her. For a moment the 2 stared at each other, her furious and confused brown eyes staring into his surprised and almost vulnerable green eyes with golden flashes.
"This isn't your girlfriend, is it?" one of the bimbos said, wanting the attention back to herself.
"Yes," Max blurted, "and what the hell do you think you're doing?" She was asking him, not the bimbo.
He shot her a cocky grin, which pissed her off even more. He was certainly enjoying himself. "Baby, it's okay, we're just talkin"
Max was raging. She didn't want to hear him say another word. She just wanted to kick his ass, why the hell not just do it right here? "Well, I think we are the ones that need to talk, don't you, baby?"
His grin only got bigger. He didn't even know Max that well, but she was so predictable. He could always count on her to get all worked up over the littlest thing. Though he didn't notice it with others, maybe it was just something he brought out in her. He didn't really care what caused it, all he knew was that it was incredibly amusing. "Maxie, come on, lighten up!"
That was it. She wouldn't sit there and play this game with him. "Get outside, now!" She got in his face, looking very aggressive. By now the bimbos had backed away.
"But, Maxie, I'm havin' a good time here, aren't you?" With that, he smacked her ass.
As soon as that hand touched her flawless behind, Max shoved him, without containing her strength. He flew a couple feet back, crashing into one of the tables, and it cracked in half. Poker chips flew in the air, and everyone looked their way. "Don't touch me!" she yelled, seething with anger.
"You know you liked it," he said, getting up. He noticed how everyone was staring at the 2 of them. "Well, I think you're right. I'm not having fun anymore, let's go outside."
OC could not believe her eyes, "Max, are you all right? What's goin on? You're datin' this guy?"
Max found her composure, luckily, just in time to not look like a complete psycho in front of everyone. She'd already drawn attention to herself, but hey, it was a club, there was a bar, fights happen. "We know each other from a while back," she explained, still extremely tense.
494 took the moment to try and leave unnoticed. Max turned to Cindy, "I gotta go. Don't worry about me!" She ran outside to catch him before he could disappear again.
OC stared at the poker chips and the pieces of the table lying on the ground. "Oh, it's not you I'm worried about!"