5 months ago
A loud knock came at Max's apartment door. Thankfully, Kendra wasn't home, there was no doubt in her mind she'd naturally gravitate toward Zack's statuesque, yet surfer-like exterior. She liked them blonde and hard, and that was exactly what Soldier Zack was. Max let him in.
He rushed in, passing her with an odd glance at her wardrobe.
"What? It's nearly 2 a.m.," she defended, looking down at her black tank top and kitten-printed pajama pants.
He shook his head. "Get dressed. Something's going on right now – it's our opening."
Max hurried to her room, leaving the door scantly ajar as she changed into her black jeans. She pulled her black zip sweater over her head and shoved her feet into her boots.
"Tie 'em on the way, let's go," he instructed.
Max followed him out to his truck and they sped to the locale at which she'd find Mr. Logan Cale.
"Make sure you make an impression," Zack said. "Our intel on this guy suggests he's pretty thick, so give him a reason to seek you out."
Max nodded, one boot pulled up to the seat as she made quick work of the laces.
"He thinks he's a vigilante, but he's in over his head."
The truck pulled up to the harbor.
"Where do I meet you?" Max asked.
"Call me as soon as you're free. Let me know if you get anything."
"Of course." Max hopped out of the truck and headed toward the docks.
The action-packed part of the night was quick. Her mark was about to become someone else's bullet magnet. She noticed the gun a full minute before Logan had turned around. Quickly, Max incapacitated the shooter, who'd clearly been twice her size. She feigned surprise, as if she hadn't meant for Logan to see her do that, and spun to 'inadvertently' show him her barcode and 'accidentally' drop her Jam Pony Sector Pass. That way, if he didn't return it to her, she could see him again under the pretense of getting that pass back.
"Hey!" He shouted after her, but she'd blurred into the darkness and headed home.
The next day, Logan Cale was already at her place of employment when she arrived, rain slicking off her coat and hat in a flurry of droplets.
"Hey!" called Normal, stepping out from behind the dispatch station. "Watch where you're flinging that!"
Max huffed, using her fingers to brush water off of her sleeve, not caring where it landed. "It's raining cats and dogs out there," she retorted.
She saw Logan out of the corner of her eye and intentionally ignored him.
"Doesn't mean you can shake out your fur in here like one," Normal said, meeting her defiant stare. "Bringing in the street filth…"
Max took her cap off and shook it toward Normal's very dry feet, rainwater sluicing off of it. "Won't happen again, boss." She could almost hear Logan's smirk.
"See that it doesn't." Normal gestured behind Max. "You got a visitor. Been asking for you for a half hour, but as I told him," he paused, looking at Logan, "Missy Miss has got a piss-poor work ethic and I'd be lucky if she came back at all."
Max whipped her head toward Logan and her eyes grew wide.
"Make it quick," Normal said.
She approached him with a false look of worry plastered to her face. Had to. A man like Cale had to always feel like he had the upper hand, the superiority – financial, career, moral, all types.
Logan put both expensively-gloved hands out in a gesture suggesting no harm.
"How'd you find me?" she asked, keeping her distance.
He fumbled around in his long beige coat and produced her sector pass from his pocket.
Like a charm, she thought of the improvised plan. "You found my sector pass," she probed, purposely angrily.
His brows turned up in confusion. Probably figured she'd be grateful.
Max reached out for the pass, and Logan snatched it out of her reach, an amused half-smile hitching up his lips.
"Home girl, is this tall piece of upper end crust botherin' you?" Max's coworker, a dark-skinned beauty who'd introduced herself as Original Cindy, asked from across the room.
Max and Original Cindy made fast friends the day Max started at Jam Pony. Her dark hair fell lightly in tight corkscrew curls, carefully controlled (except on days like today when humidity had an influence), and her stylish way of communicating screamed out that she was different – colorful, creative and fun.
Logan was again taken aback and distracted as he considered Original Cindy's intended barb, giving Max ample time to grab her pass.
"Stalker much?" Original Cindy added.
"I got this," Max assured her. Original Cindy sauntered to her locker and Max turned back to Logan. "Thanks for brining my pass. Hard to go about Sectors without it," she baited him.
"Hard? Don't you mean 'impossible'?"
She feigned accidental slip of the tongue. "Yeah."
He eyed her a moment – a moment in which Max refused to back down under his scrutiny. He traced a path from her eyes to the outline of her plump lips, then started to let his eyes wander down further.
"I don't have any money for a reward," she prodded again. Appeal to his sense of being privileged, hell, over-privileged. Make yourself a cause, a victim to rescue.
He looked up and moved his mouth like he wanted to say something but couldn't find the words. "No, that's not what –" he paused, then calmly said, "Have lunch with me."
Max changed her expression from unyielding to coy surprise. She managed an embarrassed chuckle. "Um, thanks for the offer, but I got plans." She nodded to Original Cindy.
"Oh." He looked down and back up, hope in his blue eyes. "Tomorrow, then?"
Max smiled flirtatiously and shook her head. "I don't go out with guys whose first names I don't even know."
As if only just occurring to him, Logan's brows shot up. "Logan Cale," he announced, removing his glove and sticking his hand out.
Max reached out her still-gloved hand to his and shook it firmly and quickly. "Max Guevara. But you knew that from my Sector Pass."
He gave her an easy smile and released her hand. "Now that you know my name, how about that lunch?"
Max pretend-considered it. She already had plans to meet up with Zack to go over the mission progress. "I'm sorry, I already have plans."
He looked disappointed, and she could see him working out that maybe he was getting the brush-off. The look in his eyes shifted to something cold, icy. "Well, then, maybe you can help me out with something. It requires your special set of skills."
"What? Delivering packages?"
He gave a placating smile. "I meant your other, more specialized, skills."
"I don't know what you're talking about," she said with a flair of impatience and anger. She began to turn, but Logan caught her by the elbow, turned her toward him, and spoke lowly.
"You saved my life last night." His lips thinned into a firm line while he considered his next words. "I really need your help. Unless you want to explain to your boss, there, what you really are."
Blackmail already? Geez, must be desperate. "Oh yeah? And what's that?" she pushed out through gritted teeth. Time to see if he took the bait, if he did his research, if the mission was on track.
"A genetics experiment gone wrong."