Chapter 2: A New Job
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Logan wheeled backwards, away from the window, and slowly turned away from the broken shards of glass that were left attached to his wall. He was in shock, not only from having an intruder in his house, but one that obviously was related to Max. �What in the hell was that?�
Max turned at the sound of Logan�s voice, but her mind was still going over what had just happened. �As far as I can tell, that was Jondy.� Max walked towards where Logan had parked his chair. �But, I don�t know for sure. I mean, on the surface, yeah, it�s probably her. I ran into her earlier tonight, and Original Cindy told me that this girl�s name was Jondy, but the Jondy I knew had brilliant blue eyes, and dark hair like mine. This girl has brown eyes and blonde hair.�
Logan watched Max as she sat down on the couch, resting her head in her hand as she propped her arm up against the arm of the couch. �You know Max, there are such things as color contacts. They�re hard to find, but I�m sure if she is your Jondy, she would be able to steal them easily if she knew where to look.�
Max looked into Logan�s eyes. �Yeah, but I haven�t changed. Why didn�t she recognize me?�
Logan could see the pain that was creeping across Max�s face. �I know you don�t want to hear this, but, maybe she doesn�t want to get to know you. Maybe she�s happy with the way her life is now, and doesn�t want to worry about screwing up her image of you.�
Max looked down at the floor. What Logan was telling her was right, as much as she didn�t want to admit it. She herself had built up such a strong image of Zack, and then when she finally found him, he wasn�t anything like what she had wanted. Maybe the same thing would happen with Jondy. But, it couldn�t be like that with Jondy. Jondy and her were so close. �But why is she here in Seattle then? Wouldn�t Zack have told her I was here? If she didn�t want to destroy her image of me, why come?�
�I don�t know Max.�
Max looked up at the broken window. �We�re going to have to get someone to come in and fix this. Otherwise it�s going to get cold in here.�
Logan turned to look at the window, and then looked back at Max and smiled.
�What?�
�Well, since this has happened to me before...�
�What are you getting at Logan?� Max couldn�t help but smile.
�I�m just saying. Since this has happened to me before, there�s some wood left over from the last time I boarded this up, down in storage. You could go get it and we can board this up.�
Max pouted, keeping in with the joking mood that was going on between them at the present moment. �Why do I have to go get it?�
Logan was happy with the way this constant light-hearted bickering was going. He looked down at his chair and then back up to Max with sheepish eyes. �You mean to tell me you expect a man in a wheelchair to go all the way downstairs, pick up some heavy boards, and then come all the way back up? What kind of person are you anyways?�
�What kind of man are you? Making a girl do his dirty work.� Max smiled at Logan, and seeing the sheepish look in his eyes, she gave in. �Fine. But you owe me big for this one.�
�Oh really? As I may recall, it was YOUR family who broke this window!�
�Hey! We don�t know that for sure. All I�m saying is that I expect something in return for busting my ass for you tonight.�
�You do, do you?�
�Yeah. I do.�
�Well, I�ll have to see what I can cook up while you�re gone. How�s that?�
Max turned her face away from him, and looked back at him with a grin on her face. �I guess that�ll have to do. See ya in a bit.� Max got up, spun on her heels, and walked out of Logan�s apartment, with a grin firmly plastered on her face.
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Jondy flopped down on her futon, and pulled her bag of goodies beside her. She started to root through the bag, and pulled out her prized possession. The statue of the Egyptian goddess Bast. The goddess who comprehends all goddesses, eye of Ra, protector, avenger, and destroyer, giver of life, who lives forever. But most of all, the statue represented something much greater to Jondy. It reminded her of her sister Max. Max, the one she had the most in common with. The one she had to leave behind. The one that more than likely didn�t make it out alive. But then again, maybe she did. That girl. The one at the club. The one I acquired my bike from. The one at the apartment. It couldn�t be Max though. If it was, she would have followed me out the window. No, she wouldn�t have, because that would have exposed her to that man. But if she just walked into his apartment, he must know her. He must know something about her. No, he wouldn�t. Max is too smart for that. She wouldn�t let anyone know who she was. Especially Eyes Only. He would turn her in. It couldn�t have been Max. It just couldn�t be. Jondy sat up, and put the statue back into her bag. I�ll try selling these tomorrow. Maybe since I�m going to be here for awhile while Lydecker scopes out San Fran, I should get a job. I�d get one at the same place that that Original Cindy girl works at, but she said her boss sucked. Maybe I�ll find another bike messenger service. It�d be great exercise. Jondy got up from her futon, and pulled it down so that it formed a bed. She walked over to the closet where she kept her bed sheets, and on the way, shoved her bag into a cabinet. She pulled out the necessary blankets, and a couple of pillows. Jondy liked the fact that she never needed sleep, but she figured now would be as good a time as ever to get a couple of hours of shut-eye in. Who knows what the next week would bring for her. After making her bed, Jondy went into the bathroom to get ready for bed. She quickly brushed her teeth, and as she was washing her face, she noticed a slight tremor in her right hand. Damn it. Jondy opened up the medicine cabinet that was right in front of her, and pulled out her bottle of Tryptophan. She hastily opened the bottle, and reached in with her fingers to pull out two of the pills. She popped them in her mouth and dry-swallowed. She watched her own eyes in the mirror as she waited for the medicine to take effect. She moved her eyes to look down at her hand, and it finally stopped moving. Letting out a big sigh, Jondy replaced her pills in the cabinet, and walked out into the living room of her place. She walked through her small apartment, and ended up at her closet doors. She opened them up and pulled out an oversized t-shirt, and a pair of cotton pants. She changed right there, and threw her catsuit in a heap on the floor of the closet. Closing the doors, Jondy turned and headed towards her bed. Suddenly feeling very tired, Jondy crept under the covers, and closed her eyes, thinking of the day�s events.
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After much arguing and difficulties, Max and Logan finally got the window boarded up. Exhausted, Max collapsed on the couch and watched Logan as he wheeled up to her. �How are you going to get home?�
�Why, what time is it?�
�Late.�
Max looked down at her watch and frowned. Four o�clock. �Oh geez, I have to be at work in like three hours. It�s going to take me at least half that time to walk home. Good thing I don�t need a lot of sleep.�
�You can always stay here you know, and I could drive you to work in the morning.�
Max looked up at Logan. She could see that he was silently pleading with her to stay, but she knew she couldn�t. �Thanks, but I better be going. Good luck on finding someone to fix that window. I�ll be by tomorrow. Maybe you could find something on Jondy for me?�
Logan was disappointed that Max wasn�t going to stay, but he knew that it was a long shot anyways. �Sure. I�ll see you tomorrow.�
Max got up and nodded. �Yeah. Tomorrow.� Max walked around the couch and headed towards the door. Logan watched her as she went, and after she was out of his sight, he could hear the front door open and close. He shook his head, and wheeled towards his bedroom. I�m tired. I�ll worry about finding someone to fix the window in the morning.
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Jondy woke up after only a few hours. She got up and staggered to the kitchen to make herself some coffee. She sat down at her kitchen table and slowly sipped the refreshing liquid from her mug, while staring off into nothingness, her mind free of any thoughts. After finishing her coffee, Jondy got up and started to get ready for the day. On her way out, she grabbed a piece of toast, and walked over to her motorbike. She wheeled it out of her apartment, and headed down the streets, looking for a payphone so she could look up any bike messenger services in town. She pulled over at the first payphone that she saw, and parked her bike. She pulled out the very well-worn yellow pages, and starting flipping through the pages. Finally ending at the one she wanted, Jondy traced her finger down the page, and stopped at the list of bike messenger services. Better Messenger Services, Deliveries Are Us, Jam Pony X-Press, Pickup and Delivery Service, Rapid Delivery Service, Send and Receive Messenger Services. Hmmm, I like the name of this Jam Pony one, but I think I�ll go with this Rapid Delivery Service. It sounds more like my style, quick and to the point. Jondy quickly embedded the address of the company into her mind, as well as a few others, got on her bike, and made her way to the headquarters of Rapid Delivery Service. She parked her bike outside of the building and walked in. The building seemed alive with people. They were everywhere. Coming, and going, taking packages, and bringing others back. Jondy looked around to get a sense of where she may soon be working. The walls of the place looked completely sterile, just a simple tan color. Near the back of the building were a row of lockers, and a couple of doors that must have led to bathrooms or storage rooms. To her left were a bunch of tables and chairs under a large TV set, that a bunch of people were hanging out at. As she walked in further, she could see a desk with a bunch of packages piled neatly behind it. Jondy walked up to the desk and rang the little bell that was sitting on it. A short, bald man jumped up in a motion that would have startled a normal person, but Jondy stayed perfectly still. �Excuse me sir, I was wondering who I would talk to about getting a job here. I�m willing to work a lot of hours, and I am very self-motivated. I have very good communication skills and I get along well with others.�
�Well, I can always use a few more people around here. Even with the Pulse, people still are sending out packages at a daily rate. What�s your name?�
Jondy looked at the man standing in front of her, and stuck her hand out to shake his hand. �Jondy.�
The man took Jondy�s hand and shook it. �Pleased to meet you Jondy, I�m Barry. I�m basically the boss around here. So you want a job, hmmm? Well...� Barry reached under the desk and pulled out a piece of paper. �All you need to do is fill this out, and we�ll get you started today. Do you have your own bike?�
Jondy took the piece of paper and pen that Barry extended to her, and quickly glanced it over. �Actually I don�t right now. Is there by any chance a bike here that I could borrow?�
�Of course. I�ll get Jared to go in the back and grab one for you.�
Jondy smiled at the man. �Thanks. I�ll just go fill this out.� Jondy turned away from Barry, and headed over towards the area that housed the tables and chairs. She sat down at an empty table, and began to fill out the form. Just as she was nearing the end, a voice interrupted her concentration.
�You Jondy?�
Jondy looked up and saw a thin man, about 25 looking down at her, with a bike leaning against him. �Yeah.�
�I�m Jared. Here�s your bike.� The man leaned the bike against the table that Jondy was sitting at, and turned to walk away. Jondy could hear a phone ringing, and noticed that it was coming from the man�s coat. He reached into his pocket, and started talking into the phone. As he talked, Jondy took in his appearance. He seemed to be only a bit taller than her, he had dark brown eyes, and dark brown hair, that was almost completely covered by the baseball cap that he wore. His jeans were extremely baggy, and might even have been dangerous to ride in. He wore an oversized t-shirt, and a dark blue vest. His face was very pale, almost as though he was either extremely stressed out, or just plain tired.
�He�s always on that phone.�
Jondy broke her eyes away from Jared to look towards the voice that was talking to her. She turned to see that a boy had sat across from her at her table. She studied him closely, much in the same way that she had Jared, only moments before. This guy, like Jared, was extremely skinny. His face was pale as well, but his was more from lack of sun, than anything else, something that was not uncommon in rainy Seattle. He had spiked blonde hair, and bright blue eyes. It also appeared as though he was trying unsuccessfully to grow a beard, because all he had were a few straggly hairs on the bottom of his chin. He�s kind of cute. He totally reminds me of that guy whose apartment I broke into last night. Not quite as handsome, but pretty close. Jondy looked at the guy�s clothes. He wore baggy blue jeans, although not as baggy as Jared�s, a tight white t-shirt, and a bright orange vest that had obviously seen better days.
�Jared�s into the whole dealing thing, you know, like with gangsters and stuff. That�s why he�s always so stressed out. Always talking on the phone trying to make another deal. Oh well, he�s making more money than I am. Hi, I�m Justin. What�s your name?�
Jondy smiled at Justin. She got the feeling that the two of them would become close friends in the not too distant future. �Jondy.�
Justin smiled back at Jondy. �Jondy, that�s an interesting name, how did you get it?�
Not even fazed, Jondy started into her well used lie. She hated lying, but it was better than trying to explain everything about her life, not to mention, less dangerous. �My parents were into the whole strange name thing. And, this is the one that I got. I like it though, because I�ve never met anyone else with the same name.�
�I�d guess not. So what are you doing in Seattle? I�ve never seen you before, and you look a little too tan to have lived here for any amount of time.�
�Yeah, I�m actually from San Francisco. My roommate�s parents came to live with her for a few months while they searched for a permanent residence of their own. I hate being crammed into a little space with a lot of people, so I decided that I�d come here while they were at my place.�
�But why come to Seattle? Why not just hang out in L.A. or something closer to San Francisco?�
�Well, when I was younger, I got separated from one of my sisters, and I heard awhile ago that she might be living here. So, I kind of thought that while I was out of a home, I might as well go somewhere that I might have family.� I hope he buys all of this. It�s not completely a lie. I mean, the part about my roommate, sure, that�s a lie, I don�t even have a roommate, but the part about finding one of my sisters is partly true. Ok, it looks like he�s buying this. Good. I don�t want to alienate myself on my first day on the job.
�Makes sense. Well, I�ve got to get going, and start delivering some packages. I�m sure I�ll see you again soon. It was nice meeting you.�
�Yeah, you too.� Jondy watched as Justin got up, smiled at her, and walked out of the building, clutching a package in his arms. Jondy quickly finished filling out the form, and walked back over to the front desk, wheeling her bike beside her. �Here you go Barry, is that all you need?�
Barry scanned the form, and nodded his approval. �Yup, that�s it. You can start right now if you would like. Do you need someone to go with you on your rides? I�m sure I could find...�
�No, that�s fine. I think I can handle it myself.�
Barry looked at his watch, and then looked at Jondy. �Well, it�s getting close to closing time, so I�ll only send you on one run. It�s an easy one too. Here you go, it�s for a ...� Barry grabbed a small package, and looked at the address label. �...a Reagan Ronald. Jam Pony X-Press.� Barry looked up at Jondy and smiled. �Remember...�
�Bring back the signature. Got it.�
�Good girl. You�ll work out just fine here. Tomorrow we�ll set you up with a locker, and get you a backpack to carry these packages in. See you in about an hour!�
Jondy took the package from Barry, smiled, wheeled her bike out of the building, and started out on her very first run at her new job. She wound her way through Seattle�s streets, and only found herself slightly lost a few times. Eventually she made it to the Jam Pony building. She parked her bike outside, and walked into the bustling environment that was so different from her work place. Unlike the plain walls of Rapid Delivery Service, Jam Pony�s walls were filled with graffiti and murals that added a lot of color to the place. People were everywhere talking to their friends and co-workers, as a very high strung man behind the desk shouted out deliveries that no one was willing to pick up. Good thing I didn�t pick this place. I don�t think I could handle this level of chaos. Jondy walked up to the desk. �Excuse me, I have a delivery for a Reagan Ronald. Do you know where I could find him?�
�That would be me girly. Thank you, now, if you would please move, I�m trying to run a business here.�
�I need a signature.� Jondy thrust her signature pad in front of her customer, and as soon as he finished signing it, she snatched it back away from him. The faster I get out of here, the better. Jondy headed out towards the door, grabbed her bike, and started on her way back to her own headquarters. As she was riding, she kept having the feeling that someone was following her, but every time she looked back, there was no one there. Shrugging off the feeling, Jondy rode into her place of work, and stopped at the desk. �Here�s the signature Barry. Is that all for today?�
Barry took the signature pad out of Jondy�s hands, and looked it over. �That�s it Jondy. If you�ll just put the bike over in the back there, you can use it tomorrow as well, and until you can afford your own.�
�Thanks Barry, I�ll see you tomorrow!� Jondy waved goodbye to her new boss, and headed out the door, taking the keys for her motorbike out of the pocket in her jacket. Maybe it was because she was looking down, or maybe it was because it came so fast, but either way, Jondy could not react to what happened next. One moment she was calmly walking towards her bike, the next she was being slammed into a wall with an arm pressed firmly against her neck. Jondy did not even have the time to react.
�Those keys would be mine.�
Those were the last words that Jondy heard before she blacked out.
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