Author�s notes: I�ve had this in my head for awhile now, and I finally got the chance to write it down. I�d be more than happy to continue if you want me to. Enjoy!
Chapter 1
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Max raced through the streets of Seattle on her motorbike. God she loved that bike. Whenever she was on it, she felt that all of her problems could just be ripped from her soul as the wind screamed by her. And that was what she prayed for tonight. A release from her problems. Sure, she had problems all the time, but today was just a bad day. Not only had Normal been riding her ass all day, but she had gotten harassed by the sector police one too many times, and had at least three greasy guys grab her ass as she tried to do her job and deliver them whatever porn they had most recently sent for. Good god this feels good. I am so glad I can just hop on my baby and let my problems melt away. I think, no, I�m sure, I would literally go crazy if I couldn�t tear down these streets every night. Max wound her way around the desolate city, and finally made her way to Crash. I hope Original Cindy�s here. I need someone to help me let loose tonight. I think I need to have some serious fun, and she�s the best person I can think of to find it for me. Max parked her bike, turned off the ignition, and climbed off her bike. She looked back at her bike as she walked towards the door of the bar, and as she turned around to look where she was going, she ran head-on into someone. �Oh my god, I�m so sorry! I guess I should be more careful about my surroundings.� Max looked into the eyes of the stranger. She was once told that you could forget a person�s face, but you could never forget their eyes. This person�s eyes looked so familiar, but totally foreign at the same time.
�That�s ok. I wasn�t really looking where I was going either, so it�s kind of my fault too. Is that your ride?� The stranger pointed towards Max�s bike.
�Yeah.� Max looked the stranger over now that some verbal contact had been made between the two of them. It was a girl, about Max�s height. Actually, almost exactly Max�s height. She had shoulder length curly blonde hair, that was obviously gelled to stay in place, piercing hazel eyes, and skin that looked to be quite tan. Not natural like Max�s, but one that appeared to be well worked on. The girl had a similar taste in clothing to Max. She wore tight blue-jeans, a tight dark blue shirt that barely touched the tops of her jeans, and a black leather coat. Her boots were black as well, and had a couple of inches of heel, that made her look taller than she actually was. Max�s concentration was broken however, when the girl spoke.
�Nice.� She started to walk towards it. �It�s a Ninja right?�
Max nodded her response.
�Yeah, I thought so. I�ve been looking for one of these. Where�d you get it?�
Max�s curiosity had been peaked. She couldn�t get the girl�s eyes out of her head, but talking about her bike was always a welcome conversation. She walked back towards her bike, and around the other side of it so that she could look at the girl head-on. �I scored it from this guy a couple years back. I saw it, and just had to have it.�
�Wow, it�s great.� The girl ran her hand tenderly over the bike and sighed. �Ah well, eventually I�ll be able to afford one of these. Until then, I can dream.� The girl looked up from the bike, and smiled at Max. �Well, I�ve got to get going. Sorry about crashing into you again.�
�Hey no problem! It was as much my fault as yours.� Max returned the girl�s smile, and waved to her as she headed off into the night. Those eyes. So familiar, but I can�t place them. She shrugged her shoulders, rounded her bike, and once again headed towards the door of Crash. As soon as she walked in, she saw Original Cindy�s back, which was quickly replaced with her face as she turned to see who was coming in the door.
�Hey boo! You just missed Original Cindy�s newest attraction. She is one fine specimen!�
Max could only laugh at her friend. �Are you sure she even swings your way?�
�I don�t know, but if she�s smart she does.�
�So what�s this chick like?�
�Well, she�s got blonde hair, always a turn on, but Original Cindy thinks it might not be real. Anyway...�
Max�s face turned to one of recognition. Probably the girl I ran into. �She got hazel eyes...?�
Original Cindy was dumbfounded at Max�s knowledge. �Yeah, how�d you know?�
�Ran into her on my way in. She seemed nice enough. What was her name again?�
�Original Cindy liked it a lot. It was different, kind of like yours.� She stopped for a minute as if to try to remember it. �Um, it was...Jondy. Yeah, that�s it.�
Max�s face dropped. That�s why the girl�s eyes had looked so familiar, but it still didn�t work out. Jondy had blue eyes. Like Logan�s. So blue that you could never forget them, but this girl�s eyes were hazel. Also, Jondy always seemed to have dark hair, and this girl had blonde hair. Original Cindy thought maybe it was dyed, so it could be, but the eyes were all wrong. It couldn�t be her Jondy, could it?
�What�s wrong boo? Looks like you saw a ghost!�
Just then, Max could hear the undeniable sound of her Ninja being started up. She whipped around, ran up the stairs to the door, and crashed through it, with Cindy hot on her heels. All Max could see was Jondy�s back as she pulled a wheelie on her brand new Ninja. �Damn. Can this day get any worse?�
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Jondy raced through the streets. Not as fast as she normally liked to do, but hey, she had only been in Seattle for a couple days, and even with her photographic memory, she could still get lost. This *is* a nice bike. Good thing that girl showed up when she did. I needed a distraction tonight, and stealing a good getaway bike is as good a distraction that I can think of. There was something about that girl though. Her eyes looked so familiar, but I can�t place them. She couldn�t be from Manticore could she? Maybe Max? Zach said she was in Seattle, but that was awhile ago, and ever since that Eyes Only person alerted us that Lydecker was on to us, she would have moved, wouldn�t she? Maybe not. I mean, I�m still in San Fran, but I can�t leave that place. I love it too much. Leaving was so hard. I know that Lydecker was on to me, but he�ll leave and I can go back. I can�t wait to go back. To sit on the Golden Gate, overlooking the city? How could anyone not enjoy that. I�ll have to try the Space Needle one of these nights. Not tonight though. Tonight I need some quick cash, so I think a little bit of cat burglary is in order. Jondy continued through the streets until she reached the more expensive part of town. She stopped at the top of one of the streets and scanned the area looking for possible targets. It was still relatively early, so she had the better part of the night to plan out her course of action. She kept scanning until she focused on one building in particular. She used her enhanced sight to look at the sign on the side of the building. Foggle Towers. Hmmm. Sounds nice. She looked up the building, looking in each window to see if there was anything of value. She made a mental note of a few floors, and continued her casing of the place. She ended at the top, the penthouse, and was about to look away when something caught her eye. She focused in even closer, and locked in on her target. Bingo. That person�s loaded. Jondy continued to eye her prize. It was a simple statue of the Egyptian Goddess Bast. She pulled her gaze away from the windows to look across the street. There was building there that was taller, making for an easy entrance to the roof top of her target building. She revved up her new bike, turned it around and headed away from the buildings towards her current residence. She needed some supplies if she was going to pull this off.
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�I can not believe this.�
�Boo, it�s ok! We�ll find it!�
�You better be right.�
Original Cindy had actually managed to convince Max to stay at Crash for awhile and have a couple of beers before she went home to sulk. Max loved that bike more than anything else in the world, and someone actually had the nerve to steal it. Original Cindy could not help but feel guilty, because it was the chick she was trying to hook up with that did it, but there was nothing that she could ever say at this point to make Max feel any better.
Max finally found the energy to look up at Original Cindy, who was seated across from her at one of the tables. �Thanks for the beers boo, it�s on me next time.�
�No big dealio suga. You know Original Cindy�s got your back on this. We�ll look high and low tomorrow and find that bike of yours. What say you and Original Cindy go home and sleep the rest of this day away.�
Max slipped down off of the high chair that she was sitting in, and walked over to Original Cindy, and gave her a small hug. �Thanks, but I think I�ll walk over to Logan�s. I feel like sulking to someone else before my evening is complete.�
�And then get some much needed comfort, right?�
Max�s eyes shot up to Original Cindy�s which were filled with a look of complete and utter joy for her friend. �No, but a few games of chess, and a good meal should tie me over until tomorrow.�
Original Cindy laughed at Max�s futile attempt to deny her relationship with Logan. �Whatever boo. See ya tomorrow.� Original Cindy got up and hugged Max, and headed over to the bar to pay their tab as Max walked up the stairs to the door.
Max started walking in the direction of Logan�s. This is going to take forever to get there. Maybe I should just go home. Nah, I feel like I need a good long talk. Original Cindy is a good person to talk to and all, but Logan listens. He isn�t always trying to add in his opinion, and I need someone like that to rant to tonight. That�s for sure. Max continued on her way, knowing full well that she would be walking for the next hour or so.
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Jondy roared up to the building across the street from where she eventually wanted to wind up in. She parked her new found toy in the shadows so that no one would see it. She slowly crept up to the front door of the building, and quickly glanced up and down the street to make sure that no one would see her little break and enter. She saw no one, so she silently picked the lock and slipped in.
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Logan was setting up his equipment for another Eyes Only broadcast when he heard a motorcycle engine down below. Must be Max. I should get this over and done with soon so we can talk when she gets here. Logan�s apartment was dark except for his computer room so that no unnecessary light would interfere with his broadcast. Besides, he had finished everything that he had needed to do that night, and this was his last assignment before he was going to go to bed. Max doesn�t need the lights. I�ll just turn them on when I�m done here.
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Jondy slipped in the door of the building, and quickly scanned the area. She looked up to her left, and noticed a small security camera. Careful not to let the camera see her face, she raced to the stairwell, bag in hand. She went up the stairs two by two, and made it to the roof in a few minutes. A normal person would have been exhausted at this point, but Jondy was not a normal person. She opened the door that led out onto the roof, walked over to the edge and looked out to the building a few stories below her, and across the street that held her precious statue. Satisfied with the plan she came up with, Jondy walked back across the roof, and attached her rope clamp to a rung on the floor, and another to her back. She walked the edge of the building, trailing the rope behind her, and stopped, draping the rope over her shoulder. She took a deep breath and jumped. She put her legs straight out behind her, and put both arms out like wings. She flew down until the rope pulled taught, and started to pull her back up. She flew high above her target building, and when she was at the peak of her arc, she cut the rope from her back, allowing her to land softly on the roof. She slid down the embankment that she had landed on, and walked to the skylight that led to her target. She quietly opened the window, and dropped a rope down. Sliding down the rope with ease, and using her catlike skills, Jondy quietly landed on the floor without making a sound. She cautiously walked around the apartment to make sure that no one was around. It was dark, so she assumed no one was home, but assumptions can be deadly things. Suddenly, she could hear a person talking. Jondy froze for a second, but decided to investigate. She quietly walked to a room that was almost completely closed off from the rest of the apartment. She peered around the door frame and saw a man, sitting in a wheelchair talking into a camera. She glanced at the screens surrounding the camera, and held back her breath. Damn. It�s that Eyes Only guy. Oh well, he�s busy. Gives me time to case the joint. Jondy pulled back from the door, and started to tour the apartment, casually grabbing things that were worth something, and stuffed them in her bag. She came around a corner and stopped. There it is! Jondy eyed the statue and then carefully picked it up, and placed it in her bag. She started to turn to leave when she heard the chilling sound of a gun being cocked right behind her.
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Logan always knew when Max came into his apartment. He didn�t know how, but he always knew. Tonight was no different. Sure, he was kind of expecting her, since he heard the bike, but when he felt a presence in his home, it wasn�t hers. It was similar, but not the same. He finished off his broadcast, and quietly pulled his gun out of the drawer beside him. He wheeled out of the room, making as little noise as he could, and when he turned the corner, his heart almost stopped. A person was in his apartment, and was stealing his things. He raised his gun, and cocked it. �Drop it.� Memories started to flood back to his first meeting of Max. It all just seemed too familiar, but different at the same time. The girl turned around, and put her hands up in the air in surrender, and dropped her bag. As it hit the floor, it opened partially, and one of the objects fell out of it. Logan looked at the girl. She reminded him so much of Max, but then she didn�t. This girl had hair that fell down in curls, but her hair was blonde, not brown. Her skin was pale, not naturally tanned, and her outfit was tight, and black so as to easily blend in with the shadows. Logan looked at the girl�s face and noticed that she held the same look of confidence in her eyes that he had only ever seen in Max. Logan then looked at the contents of her bag. He was half expecting it, but it still startled him. Oh my god. There, lying half exposed was the statue of Bast. The very same one that Max had tried to steal from him too. What is with that statue? Logan looked back at the girl�s face. �You have good taste. French, 1920�s, attributed to Chitarus.�
�Whoever that is.�
�So, what, you liked it because it was shiny?� Wow, even the conversation is similar.
�No, because it reminds me of someone I once knew.�
Both turned to look towards the front door when they heard it quietly open. Jondy took the opportunity to lunge towards Logan and strip him of his gun. Just as quickly, she ran back to her fallen bag and picked it up. She threw the gun across the room, and looked directly into the shocked eyes of the man she was just going to rob. �Look, I�d love to hang and discuss art but I gotta get going.�
�Who are you?�
�Let�s just say I�m a stranger of the night.�
�Logan?� Max�s voice could be heard coming closer.
�Sounds like you�ve got company.� Jondy turned towards her rope, but was interrupted by the voice of the girl, whom she had gotten her new bike from, starting to talk to the man.
�There you are! You would never believe what happened to me today. Other than the fact that I had a horrible day, some chick stole my baby!� Max looked at Logan who was watching something else. Max finally realized that there was someone else in the room. She turned to look at the intruder, and recognized her. As she did, anger flooded throughout her body. �Hey!�
Jondy turned at the shout, and realized she didn�t have time to scale the rope. She smiled at the girl and looked at Logan once again. �By the way, I love your show.� With that, she turned and sprinted towards a window. She crossed her arms over her face and hit the window at a full run. The glass exploded outwards in a diamond shower. Jondy landed with her usual grace and turned to look up at where she had just been. The two people came rushing towards the window, and only looked down at her as she turned away from them, jumped down the remaining stories to her bike, and tore off into the night.
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