A/n: Massive thanks for your reviews, guys. The next two were origionally going to be one chapter, but it got long, and I think it works better split up. I'm just posting them at the same time anyway.

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Chapter 11: Download

Max dropped in on Sebastian that afternoon. She'd already been to Logan's apartment and found it empty, but she needed to find him. Max wanted to know exactly why Logan had been hiding his past from her. She slipped silently inside, and found a scene she'd never seen before. A square computer bank had been set up in the middle of the room, with four terminals. Around it sat Sebastian, Logan and two strangers, all working in perfect harmony. It reminded her of the first time she and Zack had fought off Lydecker's men together after they'd met up again.

All of them were so focussed they hadn't noticed her by the door. "Come on, Chris, keep up," called out Logan, in his element.

"Hey, gimme a break, Logan, I'm out of practice."

"That's no excuse," said the other stranger. "I'm faster than you and I don't even have a computer."

"Almost there… We're in!" Logan exclaimed. The others gathered around him as he opened the Manticore files.

"You'll have to copy them and then get out," said Sebastian. "They'll notice we're there in a few minutes."

"I am doing," said Logan, distracted as he typed furiously. "There. Now we just have to wait for the information to download."

"How much do we already have on Manticore?" Asked Jake.

"Quite a lot," Logan said. "It's been an… ongoing project of mine."

"Eyes Only is looking to take down something as big as Manticore?" Exclaimed Chris. "Damn, Logan, you need to watch your back. Piss off people like that and they'll spend millions finding you so they can shoot the rest of your ass off."

"Not take it down; not yet, anyway. Just looking into it, gathering information."

"You mean looking out for Max, Logan," corrected Sebastian.

"Who's Max?" Asked Jake.

"Logan's Manticore escapee girlfriend," said Sebastian, not able to resist a smile.

"Don't you start," said Logan. "I have enough of this from Bling. For the last time, Max works for me. She is not my girlfriend. And she's made it quite clear that she wants nothing to do with this little situation, so just leave her out of it, ok?"

"I wouldn't say that, Logan," intoned Sebastian. "Max came to see me last night. I think she could be persuaded to help out, if you asked her."

"She did?" Logan's voice lost the hopeful quality as he continued. "Well, it's beside the point. We don't even know if there's anything she can do yet. Let's get on with getting the information we need first."

The computer began to beep insistently and Logan turned back to it. "Damn! They've spotted us. They're trying to take the system offline."

"Can you stop them?" Chris asked as Logan resumed typing.

"I might be able to stall them long enough to finish the download…"

Max felt eyes on her and tore her own from the back of Logan's head. Sebastian, Chris and the other man were all staring at her.

"Uh, Sebastian?" Began Jake.

"Shh, Jake, don't distract Logan," Chris interrupted. "We need those files."

"Got it," Logan said triumphantly, after a very long pause. He spun around to face his friends, wearing his rare boyish grin. "Despite Chris' contribution…" Then he noticed the new arrival too.

"Max…"

"Logan, Sebastian. These are your friends?"

"Jake, Chris, this is Max. Max, Jake Harding and Chris McCourt. They were at Maple with Sebastian and me."

"Hi," said Chris, looking rather stunned.

"Can I borrow Logan for a minute, or are you boys too busy?"

"He's all yours," said Sebastian. "Chris, Jake, could you help me go over the files we recovered?"

"Sure thing, Sebastian," said Jake. Logan wheeled himself after Max as she headed back towards the door.

"So that's Logan's girlfriend?" Said Jake. "Damn. He always was a hit with women, but…"

"I think he might be the one who's going to be hit," remarked Chris. "I've heard a lot about Manticore technology."

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Tell me what you thought of this one before you read the next.

Incredible, isn't it? Two chapters in a row without really major life or death cliffhangers. Maybe there is hope for me yet.