The messenger

Here is chapter three hope you enjoy ;) a few people have being asking about the pairings, all I can say for now is that it probably won't be M/A, sorry i know thats not very helpful.

Summary:Max makes some new friends, and gets herself a new toy

Max walked into her her apartment, it wasn't anything amazing, but it still wasn't bad. Max was hoping for something a little more lavish, all she had, had all her life was the cold Manticore barracks. Oh well, i guess it doesn't draw too much attention.

"Damn I'm hungry" Max moved towards the fridge "Score" she opened it to find that it had been fully socked up. She grabbed more or less everything and spread it out over the table in front of the couch. She sat down and began to read the files on 'Blade'. She was startled by a crash coming from the hallway. She crept to the door and slowly opened it to find a gawky looking man sprawled out over the floor underneath a bicycle.

"You cant ride that in here!" a faint voice echoed

"I'm ok!" The man shouted as he saw Max. He stood up and pushed the bike aside "Jam pony Messenger, I've got a package for a Miss Sandra Fielding" The man tried to tidy himself up "Could you sign here please" Max signed and took the package.

"Thank you" The man stood there moving his eyes up and down Max's body, Max suddenly felt very uncomfortable, she fought the urge to smash his face into the wall "Hey, you doing anything tonight?"

"No, I'm busy" Max replied harshly. man, this guy is hopeless.

"Ok, then. Thank you for using Jam pony"

Max shut the door on him and was about to open the package. A few seconds later she threw everything down and ran back into the hallway "Hey what did you say your name was?"

sketchy who was at the other end of the hallway turned his head "Sketchy wha ahh!" the grin on his face quickly disappeared as he rode his bike down several flights of stairs. Max braced as she heard the sound of his body rolling down the stairs. She half-ran to the bottom.

"I'm ok, I'm ok! He pushed Max away as she was helping him to get up

"So, sketchy. I changed my mind, what do you wanna do tonight?"

"I was going to crash, wanna meet around 7?"

"Crash? Sounds good". Crash was a bar where Asha Barlow was frequently seen, it wouldn't look so suspicious if she was meeting someone there.

"you go there often?" Sketchy asked

"No, I've just heard about it, see you there"

Max made her way back to her apartment and opened the package. She threw the paper on the ground and stared at the object, it was just a small plastic box. Max tilted her head and curiously examined it for a while trying to figure out what it was until she noticed the time, it would have to wait. She had being scheduled for a job interview at some place called Aventis Pharma.

She entered the reception at Aventis Pharma when something through the window caught her eye. "Can I help you?" the receptionist asked. Max completely Blanked her out. She left the building and walked over the road, not taking any notice of the car that almost ran into her. There it was. She moved her face in so she could see her reflection on the bodywork, It looked so perfect.

"The Ninja, a great choice"

"How Much" Max demanded, her mind was in another world

"$14,750"

"I'll take it" max pulled a roll of money from her bag and pushed it into the salesman's hand.

He began to count the money "You just carry $15000 around with you?"

"I'm a big girl I can look after myself" "Keys" She demanded

The salesman returned with the keys, max snatched them from his hands "Keep the change"

She mounted the bike, she slowly started the engine savoring the sound. She gripped the handlebars and hit the throttle.

"Wait!" The salesman shouted through a cloud of dust

Max glided trough the streets of Seattle weaving between all of the cars, nothing else seemed to exist, just her and the bike, no Manticore, no mission, no Lydecker. She didn't stop all day. Screw the mission, it can wait

Max slowly came to a halt on her bike as she reached crash. She dismounted before longingly staring at her Ninja, "I wont be long Baby" she whispered as she caressed the bike. She turned and sauntered down the alley past the steam vents to a muffled hip hop beat coming from inside the bar. She opened the door which had nearly fallen off it hinges and entered. she saw Sketchy sat at a small table in the back corner.

"There she is" Sketchy put his hand out and a girl sporting a huge afro unwillingly shoved a ten dollar bill into his hand. "Hey, Sandra over here" Sketchy was waving his arms in the air making quite a scene. "Stop making yourself look like a moron, fool" His friend pulled his arms down" Max let out a small smile as she reached the table.

"I never believed a brotha would see the day when Sketchy gets a woman, and a fine one at that" a man next to sketchy spoke in some kind of incomprehensible accent.

"Slow down" Max interrupted, who said I was ever his woman.

"He did" The girl elegantly extended her hand and Sketchy reluctantly threw the ten dollar bill back at her "I can't believe I was so stupid"

"Sandra, take a seat" Sketchy held a seat out for her trying to be a gentleman, but failed miserably when he knocked his beer on the floor. Max took the seat and decided to ignore Sketch's 'accident'.

"My, name is Max by the way, not Sandra"

"Who was the package for then"

"Sandra is my room mate" She replied hastily

"A package?" His friend asked "I thought Normal had a policy on hitting on customers?"

"since when has any of us listened to Normal?"

"Amen Sketch"

"Anyway, Max this charming man is Herbal, I doubt I will need to explain the name, and this less than charming lady is Original Cindy. Cindy swung her hand at his face, sketchy ducked, but still didn't manage evade the attack"

"Excuse this fool Max"

"Jah, sista has struck him one too many times resulting in brain damage"

"Nice to meet you guys Max laughed" Max had been with these people barely five minutes but there was something she liked about them.

"Would you like a drink Max?" Sketchy offered.

"Drop the act romeo" O.C warned raising her hand once more.

"Yeah, a beer would be great"

"Good, because thats all they have in this dump"

Sketchy returned with a pitcher of beer and placed it on the well worn table, A television screen at the other side of the bar flickered and a pair of eyes on a red and blue background took over the screen and everyone crowded around

Do not attempt to adjust your set. This is a streaming freedom video bulletin. The cable hack will last exactly 60 seconds. It cannot be traced, it cannot be stopped and it is the only free voice left in the city

"Hey, man, check it out - Eyes Only"

"That guy is a hero" A slightly drunk sketchy added

There are certain men who move through the world with impunity. Their actions,no matter how vile are immune from consequence. Edgar Sonrisa is such a man. You've seen him, smiling at political fund-raisers...

So thats eyes only huh? Edgar Sonrisa, maybe he can lead me to this guy. Max made a mental note of everything in the broadcast. Once it was over everyone disbursed and went back to whatever they were doing, and Max joined sketchy, O.C and Herbal. They stayed there most of the night drinking making small talk, and mostly sketchy-bashing. Just as they were about to leave as something caught Max's eye. Sat at a table at the other end of the room was Asha Barlow. A man with spiky blond hair and glasses approached her. Any normal person wouldn't be able to hear their conversation from that distance, but Max was able to pick it up with her feline hearing.

"Hey Asha, Ive got the information you wanted" He handed her a file

"Thanks Logan. Look I've just seen your broadcast. Do you really think you can pull this off?"

And there you have it, as always please review and let me know what you think weather its Good or bad. And thanks to everyone who has already read and/or reviewed. :)