"Jesus Christ. It's just a kid!"
Max struggled in a miasma of darkling fragments, pieces of memories, jagged and uneven, refusing to fit themselves back together. They flashed on and off, like a loose television connection. She endured them as best she could, unable to hold onto the individual recollections in her head for more than a second or two.
"...by the time we do, it'll be too late...going to need to finish the mission solo. I'm sorry. But I have absolute confidence in your abilities"
She's searching...somewhere. The scents seem off, the shadows all wrong. Everything is twisted; dimensions make no sense. Suddenly, there's a basement, one she descends into. A voice snaps into focus, pleading, begging.
"Mǔqīn! Hǎo tòng! Hǎo tòng!"
There's a dark shape huddling in the corner, thrashing in absolute agony. Crying and shrieking.
Then the man's voice, the one that demands, all but screaming at her.
"...terminate the target! Do it now!"
Her hands shake. There's something heavy in them. She doesn't want to do what the voice is demanding.
"...I swear, if you disobey my direct order, you will never..."
Max starts to stir, trying to claw her way back to wakefulness, away from the sea of madness she's drowning in. She thinks she succeeds, gasping for breath, but emerges into a pale imitation of wakefulness, all grey twilight shades. Someone is there, all but shaking her.
"Max, Jesus, wake up! It's been like fucking eighteen hours, and the Step-Shit is starting to freak out about you being here!"
Instinctively she jerks, snaps back. The girl with the blue hair fades away, falling back like a train light in a tunnel, running in reverse. She fights, struggles, wrestles with her twilight state of partial wakefulness as if her life depends on it. Then she's falling...
...a short distance, landing on her side with a soft whump.
At last, reality. It resolves itself into sharp, aching relief.
Max groaned, and grabbed the edge of the bed from her position on the floor, peering over the side.
Where the fuck?!
It was curiously familiar. The scent is what got her first: beneath the incense, and whatever skunky scent it was trying to cover up, there was wood. And dust, and moisture. Nameless things that build up to a familiar, primal, instinctive picture. Psychoacoustics were next, the way that the room sounded, the almost sixth sense that gave a room its particular impression. Finally, she recognized some of the contours, the older decorations. As much as there was what she could pick out, there was so much more that was alien: the upside down American flag, Christmas lights, the various slogans, some of them peppered with profanity.
If she didn't know better, she would absolutely swear she was in...
"Wow. You okay there, La Femme Nikita? Sounded like a rough landing."
There was a woman sitting on the other side of the bed, listening to an iPod and eating a bowl of breakfast cereal. Skater punk fashion - white wife beater over black bra - some sort of beanie on her head. An armful of tattoos. Blue hair...
Blue hair?
A vision sears itself into her mind. The memories that Reese gave her, right as he was leaving for Japan.
Max would probably have figured it out in a few seconds, but with her updated knowledge, she intuited her identity without thinking about it.
"Ch-chloe?"
This was impossible. Absolutely impossible. How could she have gotten here? There was no way. None whatsoever. Max had to be dreaming, she simply had to be!
Then please, please don't let me wake up.
Chloe chewed through her mouthful of what appeared to be Fruity Pebbles, swallowed hard and smirked., "I'm wearing her underwear, at least." She then gave a light laugh. "Geeze, you feeling any better?"
Max clambered onto her feet. Glanced down, and saw she was still in her field uniform.
"Yeah...I...I'm fine." she started to answer. "I think? I just don't remember...how the hell I got here?"
Putting the bowl down onto the floor, Chloe rose up and said, "Yeah, you kind of mentioned you'd probably forget what happened. Weird, yeah? So I'm sorry, but I gotta ask: is it meth? Because now that you've had a little rest, you actually look hella awesome for a meth head. You know, 'cause you've got really nice teeth, and clear skin."
Max couldn't believe what she was seeing, nor hearing.
"What? No! Why the hell would you think I'm on drugs? What the fuck? Seriously, how did I get..."
Before she could continue, the realization struck her, like a circuit breaker going off in her brain...
This...this isn't a dream, Max.
...overriding the rest of her actions.
She sprang across the bed, and wrapped her arms around Chloe in a tight hug.
"Oh God! It's you! It really is you, Chloe!"
She didn't want to let go of this moment. Her friend was here; her best friend in the entire world, for over fourteen years. The one she'd been forced to give up hope of ever seeing again. She willed her eyes to keep from welling up with tears, and failed by and large.
Chloe staggered back, unprepared. "Whoa. Okay, not exactly building up your drug-free case here, Mad Maxima."
Max pulled back and wiped her eyes, smiling, and retorted back with a cough, "Oh just...just fucking shut up! I can't believe I'm here, I can't believe I'm seeing you again. You have no idea how much I missed you. Jesus!"
Suddenly it struck her.
The mission.
What day was it? What time was it?
She quickly peered at her lifeclock. She'd shaved some time off her lifespan since she made the initial rewind from Zion. According to the display, it was now...
Monday, October 7th. 10:57 A.M. PDT
Chloe softened a bit, smiling shyly. "Wow. Okay, you do seem a lot more like a normal person now. As cool as it was to see you kick Nathan's ass and shit, I gotta admit, this more cuddly, less cripply you is kinda awesome too..."
Too much was happening all at once, too many differing things. Max gripped at her temples, ignoring whatever the hell it was that Chloe just told her. "Shit! Chloe! I'm...I'm sorry to spaz out like this, but I need a fucking tv or better yet, a computer on the internet. Please! It's literally life or death."
Blinking, fazed by the sudden change in track yet again, Chloe pointed towards a laptop sitting on her old desk. "Seriously. We meet up for the first time in five years, and you have to check your Tumblr feed?"
She ignored her, and instead jumped onto Google, immediately searching for any news stories about New York City. Hell, an atomic apocalypse that consumed the Greater NYC metropolis would have been impossible to not find.
Okay. Let's see...Thunderstorm warnings for New England...Republicans and the President still unwilling to compromise on averting a government shutdown...Buffalo Bills potentially pick up Dennis Dixon...New trial for Manhattan man who claims he was assisting in suicide.
Nothing. There was absolutely nothing. It appeared to be yet another glorious day of total and utter mundanity for the world.
Actually, that wasn't entirely true...
There was a small hit, something about DHS cordoning off a section of Elizabeth Street in Chinatown to investigate a situation that turned out to be illegal basement excavation, but that was it. The whole story was barely a paragraph, and only got any mention because people were complaining about noise and vibration coming from that part of town.
Elizabeth Street? Why...why does that sound so...?
Max still wasn't convinced. She glanced over and noticed.
"...TV. You get cable on this thing?"
"Uhhh...barely. Just the basics." Chloe shrugged, picking the soggy remains of her bowl of cereal up from the floor, finishing it off.
Max turned the TV on, and began to flip through the channels.
But the world stubbornly refused to descend into chaos and darkness. At least, no faster than it was already doing.
She turned it off, slumping back into the chair, and breathed out. "I...I did it. God, I don't know how, but I did it! Everyone's safe."
"Cool. Great. Yay, go Team Max. So what did you do, exactly?" Chloe asked, with a snide demeanor, but playful all the same.
Max blinked.
Shit.
How the fuck was she going to explain anything?
"Um...that's. It's...it's classified, Che." she responded lamely.
Hee hee. Did I call her Che? Haven't had a chance to do that in years. Man, I still can't believe I'm sitting here, talking with Chloe again!
Chloe snorted, rolled her eyes. "Just because I'm not with Homeland Security, and part of your Damocles Imperative secret spy club or something, you can't tell me?"
"It's...'Initiative'. And...shit, how the fuck do you know about that?"
Putting the now empty cereal bowl back down, Chloe tapped her shoulder. "Other than the fancy-ass patch on your fancy-ass uniform? I snuck a peek at your badge while you were sleeping. And did a little research online." The bluenette held up her hands, clearly noticing when Max began to blanche.
"Don't worry. I used my super-secret encryption crazy tech TOR thing for doing it. So seriously, assuming I do believe that you work for the government as a secret agent, what were you trying to do? Stop a bomb, assassinate someone?"
"Mǔqīn! Hǎo tòng! Hǎo tòng!"
"...terminate the target! Do it now!"
"I had a brother, he lived in Brooklyn, and it's all fucking gone now!""
Max came back to herself, as pieces of half-remembered memory fuzzed in and out of her brain, refusing to fully emerge from the dark gaps in her mind.
She bowed her head, and softly said. "You'd never believe me."
Chloe snorted again. "Try me. I've had a real fucked up morning with you."
Max closed her eyes. Sighed heavily.
Fine. Fuck. I'll tell her. She won't believe me anyhow.
"I was on a mission. I...I go back in time. That's my thing, my power. It's why I got taken away from home five years ago. In my original timeline, New York City was destroyed by a fifty megaton explosion around 10:12 A.M Pacific Time. My mission was to go back twenty-four hours, and give my superior officer a package of data, so she could study what happened and prevent it.."
Chloe blinked once. Twice. Pursed her lips together, twitched them back and forth, before drawling in a deadpan tone of voice.
"Oookay then."
Max groaned. "Told you, you wouldn't believe me."
"No, it's okay." Chloe countered. "I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm glad NYC isn't a smoking crater in the ground or something, that'd suck for the tourism industry. Just I don't understand how the hell you were supposed to stop a bomb on the other side of the country if you were on my bed, snoozing your ass asleep for the past hour."
Damn. That's kind of a good point.
Max grasped for an answer for a few moments, before mustering bravado in her voice and settling on, "Because...because time travel...duuuh."
Glancing down at her lifeclock, Max had the initial inklings answer. "I've..it's been more than twenty four objective hours since I started my mission. I...the last thing I remember is starting to rewind back, and then something went wrong. Next thing I know, I wake up here. But according to this..." she indicated the device on her wrist. "It's been a little over two full days. I mean, for me. So I must have rewound a bunch already. Done stuff." She frowned and muttered, "Geezus, I hope I didn't have to double back against my own timeline too much. That'd screw shit up potentially..."
She glanced back up to Chloe. The other girl totally didn't believe a damn word she was saying.
What did it matter? It was probably better that way. Although it would be nice if she had some proof to show her.
Max started to pat herself down, as she remembered.
Oh shit! My Edit Order token! I need that!
"Chloe? Did you see a square of metal around? It'd be onyx colored, smooth, maybe have a bunch of computer ports on it?"
The other girl shook her head. "Newp."
Shit! Shit I've lost the one damn thing I need to prove to everyone that I didn't go fucking AWOL. Great!
Max felt like she should go out and retrace her steps. Demand that Chloe help her comb every square inch of whatever path they took that morning. But for some reason, she just couldn't summon up the fucks required to care anymore. The problem felt overwhelming, and in the face of being reunited with her best friend...
...well, I know what I'd rather be doing. If I'm fucked, let me be fucking fucked. Those assholes have been looking for a reason to crucify me anyhow. I'll...I'll deal with it later.
She brushed back her hair, took a deep breath, looked up once again, and smiled.
"Ha. Ha...so...hi Chloe. Awesome to see you. It really is. You have no idea!"
WIth a sharp laugh, Chloe responded, "Hella yeah, good to see you too, Max! Even if you are half-crazy from the sound of it."
"Uhm...so I seriously don't remember what happened this morning, but you made it sound awesome. Just...please tell me I didn't kill anyone?"
The blunette lit up, and started to retell the tale, her hands animated with energy and delight. "Noooo, but damn if you didn't make Nathan Prescott practically shit himself! Uh, mean, I was a little worried you might kill him, but you didn't, so that's all that matters right? But yeah, uh, I went in to talk to him, because...err...he owed me money. Yeah, bitch owed me money, and he wasn't paying."
"Wait. I know that name. Is this the same guy with the family that's super stupid rich?" Max asked.
Chloe paused. "Oh. Yeah. It is. So like, I know, right? How much of an asshole is he, not paying up when clearly he can?"
Max smirked. It was obvious to her that things were getting a little twisted in the retelling of the tale. She studied Chloe, and couldn't help but think that something must have happened to her. Several somethings. Her eyes took in details, brain went to work, everything they had taught her during her training, getting a read on her old friend. She might not know exactly what or how it went down, but she could see it in her eyes, her body language, the details in her surroundings.
The last five years had not been particularly kind to Chloe Price, nor she to them.
"Right. Go on..."
"So the punk-ass pulls a gun on me. A gun! Can you believe that shit?" Chloe continued, all but strangling the air with her hands. "I was about to totally smack that asshole around, but...you know. I'm pretty cool, but I'm not bulletproof." She removed her beanie, rubbing at the top of her head nervously, before replacing it. "That was when you came in. I mean, I forgot the part where you just ninja'd into my truck and gave me a heart attack and said you needed to sleep. But yeah, you came in and you just...wam bam, fucked up his world!"
She started to laugh, bouncing in her chair, "You were making him your total bitch! Then you somehow knocked him out, took a bunch of his money, locked him up in a girl's bathroom stall, and we bolted. We came here, you crashed on my bed, told me how pretty and awesome and cool I am, promised to pay me two grand, and then fell asleep." The smirk on her lips made it clear she wasn't exactly serious about that last bit. Probably.
Max laughed sharply. She couldn't help it, it was just too damn funny. As much as she had changed, Chloe was still the bright, witty, quick-on-her-feet girl she remembered. Now, there was a rough, cynical edge to her, but she could see how Chloe might have developed down that path.
Wait, did she say I told her she was pretty?
Not that it wasn't true.
"By the way, are you really rich?" Chloe added.
Max blinked. What the hell did she tell her?
"Uhhh..rich? Sort of? I guess?"
She paused. As much as she might want to brag about how much bling she had in the bank, that kind of thing made people go weird. And besides, what did it matter, it's not like she could really get at it anyhow.
"Why, do you still need money or something? Because yeah, I get paid pretty decent, federal agent and all." She crossed her arms and gave the other girl a knowing look. "I mean, do people owe you money, or do you owe someone else?"
Chloe gave her a sheepish glance. "It might be something like that. But I promise, I had the best of intentions! It wasn't like I got into gambling, or spent it on drugs, I was trying to find someone. Who I thought was missing, might be in trouble. Or worse." Her face and tone grew increasingly dark and wounded as she continued. "Turns out she was just a fucking ho-bag skank who likes to pretend she's people's friend and jerk them around. Bitch. But now I'm in debt to this drug dealing asshole who isn't going to just let me walk out of town. I just need to pay him back, and after I do? 'm gone. Forever."
She glanced up, tone lightening, but only just. "Speaking of jerking around, do you really have money you could lend a sistah?"
Max...shut the fuck up right now, you're in deep enough shit as it is, and you're putting Chloe into all sorts of jeopardy.
Max smirked and then shrugged. "Uhh...maybe. Dunno, I gotta see what kinda credit risk you are." She tried to play it cool, and felt like she just took a swing and a miss.
Chloe scowled, and then waved a hand at her, before chuckling low. "I knew you were full of shit, Caulfield." Regardless, her mood shifted to an airier mein, "Still, you helped me get almost half of what I need to pay back." She softened a bit as she said, "That's more than anyone else has done for me in...in years..."
"Oh yeah? What's half? Of the total, I mean." Max asked.
"Uhh, fifteen hundred? We got twelve out of Nathan."
Max checked her pocket. Not that she was expecting to find any money, but she realized there were things in her cargo pants that she couldn't account for, didn't remember having. A quick search turned up several hundred dollars and a receipt from a Bank of America ATM on 45th Street. In Manhattan. Timestamped around 3:07 A.M, October 7th. Just a few hours ago.
The fuck? How did I end up in New York?! I wasn't supposed to go anywhere near there. I mean, I can't! I can't teleport, I don't have that power! The whole mission was just me going back to Zion Control twenty-four hours in the past. How the hell did I end up in New York, and then in Arcadia Bay? In less than twelve hours. What the hell is going on!?
She started to count out three hundred bucks, which looked to be just under half of everything she was carrying on her. Holding out the pile of twenties, she said, "Well..uhh...here. That gets you halfway to your goal now, right? I mean..." Max glanced to the side, brushing the hair out of her face. "I could probably get you the rest but...but my gut is telling me I shouldn't touch my bank account until I figure out what my situation is...how much trouble I might be in. For all I know, I've gone rogue, and there's a fucking good reason for it."
I really hope not. That would be stupid for me to give away all that money if I might need it. Still...fuck it. It's Chloe! Holy shit! It's Chloe! I'm so happy to see her!
Chloe slowly took the wad of bills, with a look of disbelief etched across her face.
"You're...just giving me this?"
Max smirked. "I kind of figured that was the plan, Che. I mean, you're really in trouble right? This'll help you?"
Looking away, as she quickly crammed the money into her pants pocket, Chloe quietly responded, "Christ, Max. Five years. Five fucking years, and you come back, and just...help me? Like no time's passed at all. I mean, I've changed, you know? I mean, I'm not...I'm not the same..." She took her hat off, and bowed her head, screwing her face up into a mask of frustration. "I don't know if you're playing a long con, or if you're still the best friend I don't deserve having anymore. Shittiest part is that I can't make up my mind yet. But I really want it to be the latter. So I'm just asking you, please don't fuck with me, okay Max? Please be for real."
Chloe leaned in, gave her a hug, and whispered. "And thanks. Okay?"
Max hugged her back. Tightly, and maybe a little overlong. Chloe pulled back, and they just glanced at each other. She felt a heat rising up to her face, smiled and looked away, blushing.
What...what the hell...am I feeling right now?
"Yeah, yeah, you're...Pirates always gotta stick together. That was the Pirate Code we swore, right Cap'n? Arrg." Max smirked, trying to play it cool again, bringing up the old childhood reference.
It made Chloe laugh, and that was all Max needed from the moment. "Ha ha! Yeah! But something tells me I'm gonna be playing Will Turner to your Captain Jack Sparrow for a while. Dude, seriously, you need to tell me how you know kung-fu. Like now!"
That was about the time that Max's bladder really began to make its displeasure known to her.
"S-sure, Chloe. I promise I'll tell you everything, even though I really, really shouldn't. I'm just...so tired of hiding it all now." She smirked as she continued. "I mean, I'm assuming fifteen hundred bucks'll buy me some shut the fuck up from you while you listen to everything I'm about to say? But first: uh...the bathroom still in the same place it was five years ago? Bladder is starting to kick my butt."
"Hah. Yeah, go nuts." Chloe waved a hand towards her door.
She laughed to herself and shook her head.
"We'll never get to that damn story at this rate."
Chloe suppressed a giggle as Max all but flew out of her bedroom to go take a leak.
She gathered up all the cash she'd managed to come into this morning, and stashed it away in a small lockbox under her bed, shaking her head in disbelief.
Halfway there. Can't believe it. Can't believe it's Max. And...and she seems okay now! Right? I mean, she's not all creepy and disjointed like she was an hour or so ago. And shits happened to her. That much is obvious. She's not the same doofy - but so adorable - kid that I last saw five years ago. But she's still Max. I can see that. I mean, she probably thinks the same thing about me.
She paused, stared out the window.
Does she still see her best friend, too? Or this punk ass loser I've turned into?
"No. Stop that shit, none of that." she whispered to herself. "Max is back, and she needs help, and I need help, and...and this is what friends fucking do for each other. This is...this shit is all...
...destiny? It seemed kind of weird, her coming back, just when she absolutely needed a friend herself,. Not to mention she's now someone with an exciting bag of tricks in her arsenal! But working for the government? Who does that? Who seriously takes a kid, and forces them to work for the government?
She chewed it over for a few seconds, then realized her own dim view of most authority sources and figures these days.
OUR fucking government. If there was a good enough reason for them to do it, sure. I could see them pulling that shit.
Her train of thought was interrupted as the bedroom door closed, and Max leaned against it, sighing in relief as she returned.
"Oh shit. Thank you. I've gotten too good at learning how to ignore my bladder, but when it hits critical mass, you know...get out of the damn way!"
Chloe winked. "Well, I'm glad we won't be rolling out of here on the yellow tide."
"Ha ha! Oh God, gross!"
Max then sighed, and pushed back. "Okay. Seriously. Are you ready for a story? I mean, before I tell you..." she got quiet. Serious. Even shy. "This is seriously classified shit, Chloe. Okay? You can never, I mean, never ever tell anyone. Especially the government, if they catch up with me and you. As far as you know, I ran from school because I couldn't take the academic pressure there anymore. You got it?"
"Yup. I promise!" she answered with a joking gesture, her hand raised up like she was a Boy Scout.
Max frowned. "I'm fucking serious, Chloe! Like cancer. Please, please don't treat it like a joke." There was something more behind her eyes. It wasn't that she was angry at her. More like...
...afraid. Jesus fuck, she's really afraid for me here. God, either this is for real, or she's got some serious delusions worked up.
"Alright." she said, in a soft, earnest tone. "I promise. For cereal."
Max gave an impish grin. "Wow. I used to say that. Like all the time. Haven't though, been at least a year or two."
"I was just hanging on to it for you, keepin' it safe. You can have it back now, m'lady." She stuck out her hand, as if holding out an invisible physical representation of the catchphrase to her. Max totally went along with it, 'grabbing' it from her and fake curtsied. "Thank you, oh my hero."
Opening up a drawer and starting to get out the makings to roll herself a particularly huge joint, she asked. "Hey look, do you mind if I get blazed? Something tells me that no matter what your story actually is, I'd really like to be medicated for it."
"Go ahead. I don't care." Max said with a shrug.
"Really? You aren't gonna arrest me or anything, Miz Federale?" Chloe teased.
Max groaned. "Jesus. Fuck those DEA guys! We had someone transfer over to our base security department, and he was a fucking skeezebag. Always hitting and creeping on me, and I'm like 'Shit. I'm seventeen. What the hell?' Rodriguez nearly burned his balls off when she found out. So yeah, fuck those DEA guys in the dickhole."
Chloe snickered, and started to go to work. "Damn woman, you sound hella tense. The Max I knew would never go off on an awesome rant like that. So...uh, you wanna hit it with me? Least I can do for you, seeing as you pretty much saved my ass from dying today."
Chloe glanced over to Max and blinked. It was hard to describe, but it was as if one second, she was in one position, and the next, she was in just a slightly different one. But there was absolutely no transition between the two; rather, it occurred in a jerking, instantaneous jump.
Max's expression morphed just as quickly. "Chloe! Fuck! Change of plans, put that shit away. Right now!" Before Chloe could say anything, the other girl started to wave her hands. "No! No time to argue. In about..." she glanced at the weird wristwatch thing on her arm. "Four minutes, thirty eight seconds, some...David? Whoever David is, man, he's an asshole! I just spent three or four rewinds trying to figure out how to deal with him, but he's going to burst in here, and grill you about taking one of his guns, and smoking weed. And then he's going to totally freak about my uniform and shit. So put the weed away, hide your guns, and...shit, I need a change of clothes anyhow! Do you have anything?"
It took a few seconds for Chloe to process everything; shit was just flying at her, too much, too fast. How the hell did Max know about her idiot ass of a stepfather? Although all the shit she said was going to happen sounded like him; God, she never could fucking stand that bastard. But the notion that he might be coming to bust her for shit was enough to get Chloe springing into action, hiding her drug stash, making sure both of the guns were well out of sight, and then turning to the closet.
"Y-yeah. Rachel...she...there's a bunch of her clothes left behind in my closet. I was gonna burn them or sell them for money, just haven't had the chance. Sorry, they're all covered in skank at the moment."
Max dashed into the closet and called out. "Wow. Hate to be this Rachel person. What'd she do, steal your boyfriend or something? Screw you on a drug deal?"
Chloe laughed bitterly as she sprayed air freshener around the room. "Boyfriend?! Fuck no, if anything she...she was...fuck, it's not important right now, Max! Is the Step-Dick really coming? I mean, how the hell do you know for sure?"
"Because I can rewind back from the future, remember? Just trust me. I've got an idea, and I need you to totally play along, okay. It's gonna look stupid weird, and I'm gonna say some crazy stuff, but you can't crack up or make it look like I'm anything other than totally serious." She paused, and added, softly. "For cereal."
Chloe clamped her hands over her mouth to keep from laughing. Max called out, "Sixty seconds until he bellows. Are you ready?"
"Yeah! Do we fuck him over and make him look stupid?"
"Dunno, I guess we're about to find out, but we'll hopefully keep him off your damn back. Okay, shut up, here we go."
Exactly fifty-five seconds later, there was a slam, and David called from down the stairs.
"Chloe, are you up there?"
"I most certainly am, Stepfather Dearest." she replied, in the sweetest sarcastic voice she could muster.
Holy shit, Max was right! Heh heh. You got nothing on me now, Step-bitch. Not when this gal's got her own private bodyguard. Nice to have the upper hand over him for once.
Not missing a beat, he clomped up the stairs, "I'm coming up, we need to talk."
Quickly sitting on the edge of her bed, legs crossed, picking up a random book, she began to casually pretend to read it, and called out, in a playful sing song voice. "Door's not locked, so help yourself! I'm just in here, broadening my mind!"
David Madsen stepped in, his mustached face turned up in a grim, cold expression that made him seem like he was gunning for a fight.
"What's going on in here?"
"Geeze, just trying to read. I do that sometimes, you know? Read? Like a book. You're so friggin' paranoid."
"Yeah, combat will do that to you." He retorted. "Chloe, a couple of people told me you were hanging around Blackwell today. I want to know why."
"Oh, nice!" she frowned, uncrossing her legs. "Not even 'Is it true?', you just jump straight to demands."
"Chloe..." he growled.
"Fine! Jesus, yes! Ugh! I was hanging around the outside of Black-hell, removing a bunch of the posters I put up about Rachel Amber. Now that we know she was totally faking it and just being a big-ass attention whore. Sorreeee for trying to clean up after myself. You know? When I was totally broken-hearted and busted up because she was playing me for a fool and making me think she was dead or worse?"
This seemed to mollify him, if just barely. "You know it's private property, and you're not a student anymore. So just...just don't come hanging around, alright? Now, one of my guns is missing. Did you take it?"
Peevishly, she rolled her eyes and rose up from the bed. "No! God, you know I'm into gun control, why the hell would I even touch one of your penis-rods. Jesus..."
He stuck out an angry finger in her direction. "Hey! I don't need to take that kind of talk from you! And damnit, Chloe, I can smell the grass you've been smoking in here again!"
She threw up her hands, raising her voice, because she knew he was totally making shit up now. There was no way he could tell through all the air freshener she put up; it was the good odor destroying stuff, like the pros use for new cars.
"Now you're just fucking fishing around! Guns, weed, you're tripping balls! I try to be nice to you, for once, for Joyce's sake, and you just barge in here and start bullying me around. It's not like you're a real cop, you're just a security guard at that stupid school!"
Before either of them could continue, Max smoothly emerged from the closet, calling out "Hey, you're right Chloe, they totally fit me. Thanks!". She'd completely changed: attired in one of Rachel's old riotgrrl collections, made up of a black Sex Pistols t-shirt, tight but ripped black jeans, and a red flannel shirt.
W-wow. She looks really good!
Great, more like! Better than Rachel wore it, and despite how much she hated her now, Chloe had to admit her old girlfriend was gorgeous. Without the bulky coat, and armored uniform, she could really appreciate how trim and muscular Max was. Practically sculpted. Chloe could just imagine what she looked like, underneath the loose flannel and...
Head back in the game, Chlo!
Max glanced up to David, smiled brightly and held out a hand. "Oh, hello sir."
David glanced suspiciously at Max, and at her outstretched hand, pointedly not taking it.
"Who...who are you?" he asked. "I don't like strangers in my house."
"It's not your house, you damn well know..." Chloe began.
"Chloe!" Max interrupted, in a firmly chiding but friendly tone. "Don't be mean. I'm trying to introduce myself. Sorry, sir. My name is Maxine. Maxine Caulfield. I'm an old friend of Chloe's. I used to live in Arcadia Bay, but I went away to school five years ago. I was just visiting, and the stupid airline people lost my luggage. You know how that goes, right? So she was nice enough to let me borrow some clothes in the meantime. Sorry, I didn't mean to be deceptive, changing in the closet like that, but I was..ah...well you know, half naked and getting dressed."
Chloe had no idea how she was pulling it off, but at this moment, everything about Max screamed, "I'm the trustworthy, squeaky-clean friend you want your kid to have!" From the wide, almost vapid smile on her face to the ramrod straight way she carried herself, as if she were standing at military ease.
Oh...God. She's laying it on hella thick. How the heck is she doing that?
David nodded, a disbelieving look on his face, although one that was rapidly starting to fade. He hummed in the back of his throat and murmured thoughtfully. "Caulfield? Caulfield. I think I remember Joyce mentioning the name. She had good things to say." His eyes narrowed again. "But people can change. Especially over five years. For instance, you'd be a little younger than Chloe, from what she told me. Shouldn't you be in school?" He started to point an accusing finger at her.
Good luck, Max. Step-dick is sooo hella paranoid. he's trying to see right through whatever act you're cooking up.
Max didn't flinch, or betray one second's worth of doubt or nervousness. Everything about her bearing continued to radiate the confidence of someone who had absolutely nothing to hide.
"Of course, sir! You're right to be suspicious! I actually graduated from school a few months early. I'm taking a couple weeks off and visiting people, reestablishing some old friendships." At this, Chloe noticed she turned to look straight at her. "I'm supposed to go to the University of Virginia next, but I deferred for a year. I actually have to go back home soon, because I've got my last month's worth of JROTC commitments to fulfil."
Chloe noticed how much this caught his attention. She became all but forgotten as he turned his focus all on Max. The deception seemed to be holding so far, because he was easing up. She could feel the bro-rage vibes coming off him start to dial down.
"Junior ROTC? Oh yeah? No kidding. Planning on continuing that in college, I hope? And do you have a particular track you're shooting for?" he asked.
"Of course, sir!" said Max. "And yes, Navy. Although I'll be honest." At this she leaned in and stage whispered. "I'm just doing that so I can eventually cut over to the Marine extension through the NROTC program."
Again, David looked Max over, appraisingly. "Marine? Well, it looks like you've got the build for it." He then crossed his arms, the skeptic wall returning. "But they're gonna work you three times as hard as anything you may have gone through so far."
"Oh! I certainly hope so, sir! It's not worth doing if it's easy." she chirped back.
Now, he laughed and shook his head with bemusement. Actually laughed, genuine and easy, a sound Chloe hadn't heard from him before. Ever. Not once. At least that she could remember.
"I'm an Army man myself. Served in the Gulf."
Max acted a little flustered for a moment, but it was clearly meant to be an act. "Oh nooo. I hope you won't hold it against me then. You know the old rivalry. I have a lot of respect for the Army, but it's just not the path I want to go down. But thank you for your service, sir. I hope that when I get my chance, I do our country proud as well."
Again, he laughed low, actually clapping a gentle hand on Max's shoulder. "No worries, Cadet. Anyhow, welcome to my home. I hope...she...isn't being a bad influence. Like all her other so-called friends are."
Chloe did her best not to scowl as she was referred to.
"Oh, no no! I mean, she's changed a lot, but she's still Chloe. I'm really excited to see her after so long!" As Max gave her a winning smile, Chloe felt her heart jump, just a beat.
D-damn Max. I hope that was really you, a moment ago...not just faking.
"Also...and I'm sorry sir, I don't mean to pry, but I have to be honest." Max continued. "I can't say what Chloe does when I'm not around, but I've been with her all morning and she hasn't done anything illicit or illegal. I'm actually...ah...I'm a straight-edger, sir. No alcohol, no drugs, I won't even touch caffein. Chloe knows that, and she wouldn't make me feel uncomfortable around her."
Chloe tried not to bite her lip as she watched David glance between her and Max, clearly struggling to make a decision. After a few more seconds, he nodded firmly to the other girl. "Alright then. Good to meet you, Maxine. I'm glad to see that Chloe has at least one friend not trying to drag her down. Good luck next year in college. I'm sure you'll make a fine Marine." He glanced back towards her. "You could learn a lot from her, Chloe."
He quickly headed out the door.
Chloe stared back at Max for a long few seconds, still reeling from what she had just witnessed. Watched as Max loosened up, literally shaking her head and limbs a bit as if washing herself off in a shower, and then leaned close to her, whispering.
"Holy shit! The stick...up his...what an ass! He's totally like this one bitch I know back at Zion Control, except she wouldn't have fallen for that Polly Platoon act I just pulled off." Max then started to march in place, making a mocking salute and turning around in place as she did.
Chloe clamped both hands over her mouth, tightly sealing away the hysterical laughter threatening to blast out from her lungs. She fell back and collapsed on her bed, curling up into a little ball of mirth. Max sat next to her, grinning lopsidedly as she patiently waited for her to calm.
"That." Chloe began. "Was hella-mazing. There's no way he's a match for you and me now. That was an epic win! And a scary one! God, I'd almost think you were a sociopath or something, the way you just switched that shit on and off."
Max shook her head, and sighed. "I went through a lot of psychological ops training. Ways to lower people's suspicion and guard, and then get the hell away. I don't think I can keep up with the strain of running with that act for hours or days nonstop, but a situation like that, especially where I've had a few rewinds to study him as a person...yeah. I suppose I am kinda scary. And I hate to say it, that was actually fun!"
Sitting back up to join Max on the edge of the bed, Chloe said, in an honest tone of voice, "Well, you saved my ass. Again. You're becoming like my personal angel-slash-bodyguard. A gal could get used to this treatment. I think I feel a song coming on."
"Swear I will kick your ass instead of saving it if you start singing Whitney Houston!" said Max.
Chloe took in a deep lungful of air and started to belt out, "And IIIIiiiiyeeeiiiiii. Will alllllwaaays love...ack!" She was pushed over onto her back, Max jumping on top, and mercilessly tickling her sides. "Now comes the tickleboarding, bitch!" she cackled with glee.
Chloe squirmed and shrieked. "Ah! Max! Ha-ha-hahahaha! Stop...no fair! I swear, I'm gonna pee!"
Max barely relented. "Oh, you always say that, dog. But you're in my power now!"
They stared at each other, both growing suddenly quiet, Max having pinned Chloe's arms above her head with one of her hands. As one, they both blushed and looked away, before starting to giggle softly again.
"Wuss." Chloe teased.
"Hey, don't make me take it to eleven, yo. I will totally tickle your ass until doomsday." Max shot back. She scrubbed at her face with one hand, and when she pulled it away, her expression was much more serious.
"Chloe? No-no offense, but what the hell? Why did your Mom and Dad get divorced? More important, how the hell does Joyce end up marrying a fascist dick like Paul Blart, Mall Cop?"
Chloe bristled a bit; four years down the line, and it was still a sore subject. She had to actively fight back delivering a rather acid comment.
Shit. Max doesn't know. Not that there's no easy way to tell her but...
She bowed her head, and stared down at the floor. "There wasn't a divorce, Max. Dad, he...he's dead. Car accident. Was a few years back.
It was a good ten seconds before Chloe realized that the other girl had completely failed to respond. She craned her neck and looked back. Max was stiff as a statue, like she had been completely shocked, blindsided. Tears were starting to well up in her eyes.
"That impossible! It can't be. Chloe! He can't be dead, not like that...not after I..." Max swallowed back hard, still not meeting her eyes. "W-ait..when? When did it happen? How did it happen?"
Chloe hugged herself, braced internally. It was still painful to talk about, even after all this time. There weren't many people in the world she'd make herself relive that day for. But Max...she earned it. Even before everything that happened today. Chloe wasn't blind, she knew that William was like a father to her as well.
Fuck, what a shitty way for her to have to find out.
"It...ah. Was in November, about four years ago. November 7th, God knows I'll never forget the day. 1:35 PM. Um, you remember Alyssa Anderson?"
Max could only nod once, just barely.
"Yeah, well, not long after you left, she got big into volunteer service and shit. Reading to blind kids, Habitat for Humanity. Was...just crazy. I still don't know if she did it to be a suck up or something, but anyhow, she was off to like, the old folks home that day, and wasn't fucking watching where she was crossing the damn street. Dad, he was walking home with some groceries, and he saw what was coming."
Oh God. Still...still hurts...
She started to rock back and forth. "Didn't even stop to think. I mean, that's what people who saw it all told me. I wasn't there. But he just rushed up, pushed her out of the way. Asshole driving the car was using his cell phone, so he wasn't paying attention either. Everyone but Dad was just...just fucking up, you know?"
Max rose up from the bed and drifted towards the closet.
Chloe continued, "Anyhow, a couple years later, Joyce and the Douche were hitched. Never really forgave her, and...and...hey, where are you going?"
Max has reached into the closet, grabbing her coat, and throwing it around her. The look in her eye was absolutely chilling. Like something vital and irreplaceable shattered, a fire that could never be relit guttered out. She made a beeline for the front window, and started to climb out.
"Max?" Chloe asked. "Max, what the shit? Where are you going?!"
In a tight, tiny, faraway voice, Max responded, "O...out. Out, Chloe. I can't...I can't let you watch what's about to happen. Not again. Don't want you to see it. I don't want to fight with you again. Please just..." she bowed over, shuddering, like she was about to vomit. "Just give me some time, okay? Going to the lighthouse, I think. I'll...be back."
Chloe just watched as Max jumped off the roof, landing onto the ground with an acrobatic roll to blunt the force of the impact, and then pulled herself up, drift away. It pained her deeply to watch her friend slowly head out, growing smaller and smaller; a very real part of her was so frightened that after having come back, Max Caulfield was heading out into the sunset, never to be seen again.
She had to take it on faith that this wasn't the case. She'd know Max for a long time, and Chloe had never seen her upset like this before. She had to respect her wishes. Give her an hour, go look for her, hope for the best.
O-okay God. Please...don't take my angel away.
A/N: Hey Swanketteers, It's Black Swan Saturday! Cory and Lyta are back to give you the fourteenthest chapter yet!
I gotta admit...this chapter and the last one were probably my most favorite to write so far. They also probably went through some of the most editing sweeps before publishing. I really got to get my butt in gear and actually write the rest of chapter 16, and finish up chapter 20.
Fun fact: The Children of Hypatia (from chapter 13) were originally supposed to be the "antagonists" in the very first plot treatment of this series. And now they barely get a passing mention in a conspiracy website. Funny how details change during development.
So, as always...gonna do my best to try and keep something in the hopper and keep to a schedule, but with crazy shit in my life and the holidays coming up, we might run out of buffer by years end. Worry not, worst that happens if we might have to drop to once every two weeks for a while...on the other hand, maybe I'll get a lot of writing done during my weeks vacation next month too!
Oh! And happy N7 Day, all you Mass Effect fans! Be sure to cosplay as Harold Vakarian ;-)