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 Chapter 6: Hide and Seek

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Logan turned off the recording equipment, pulled off his earpiece, and sighed. �Do you think she saw it?� Logan spun his chair around to look at Bling, who was standing in the doorway. �What if she didn�t see it and is trying to call me? I don�t even want to think what�ll happen if she gets caught.�

�I�m sure she saw it Logan. If not, just run the hack again until she does. For now, all we can do is wait. If she saw it, she�ll be here soon.�

Logan rolled past Bling into the living room of the cabin, sighing as he went. �I know, but I�m still worried about her.�

�She�s a big girl Logan, she can take care of herself.�

Logan rolled in front of the fire, and watched the flames dance as he not so patiently waited for the one person that he cared for more than life itself.

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Max flew back to Jam Pony from the coffee shop, gave Normal some lame excuse about why she wouldn�t be in for a few days, and then raced home to change her clothes and bike. She made a quick glance around her apartment to make sure that nothing was out of the ordinary, and then grabbed her bike, and pushed it out of the room. Down on the streets, Max weaved through the hoards of people, taking closer notice to the back alleyways and such. Now that Logan had pointed out the fact that there were a lot more crimes going on than normal, Max began to notice them. Almost every alleyway she passed, someone was getting mugged. Normally she would have stopped to help at least a few of the people, but for now, she had to get to Logan to see what was going on. Just before she hit the checkpoint to get out of the city towards Logan�s cabin, Max�s pager went off. She looked down to see the number. Damn. Original Cindy. How did I forget to tell her that I was going away? She�s going to be pissed at me if I don�t call her back, but I can�t. She�ll have to wait a few days. Max continued on her way, and made it to the checkpoint. She pulled up the back of the line, and waited for what seemed like an eternity to make it to the front. For once the guards weren�t being too picky about who they let through, and Max made it through with relative ease, and only had to use a few of her �charms�. As she sped down the deserted highways, the only thoughts that weaved through her mind were ones that made her even more apprehensive to get to Logan.

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Jondy sat there dumbfounded. Logan had just warned the two of them that Manticore was basically after them, and Max had just bolted. Jondy didn�t know what to do. Her first instinct was to follow Max, but for some reason she knew that that wasn�t what Max wanted her to do. Besides, if she just upped and left, she�d be out of a job, which was something that she drastically needed to blend in. Oh my god. What have I done. Jondy put her head in her hands. I just called Zack yesterday from my own phone to report as to my situation, as well as Max�s since I was the closest X-5 to her. If what Logan said is true, Lydecker heard my conversation. He knows where we are, and where Zack is. How could I have been so stupid? At the very least I should have called him from a payphone. What am I going to do? I can�t call him, can I? Then Lydecker would definitely know where we were if he somehow missed the first call. I have to warn him somehow though, but how? I can�t even ask for Max�s help now, because I don�t know where she�s going. Logan said his safe house, but that could be anywhere. Maybe if I think enough, I can figure it out. Right now, the only thing I can do is to live my life as normally as I possibly can, and try to not talk on any type of communication devices. This�ll be tough if I get paged. Oh well, I�ll have to deal I guess. Jondy got up from her spot on the couch, and walked out of the coffee shop to her bike in a daze. Get your head in the game soldier, Lydecker could be anywhere. Jondy shook her head, as if to get the cobwebs out, got on her bike, and peddled back to her place of employment to continue her day as if nothing was wrong. She got back to work a few minutes late, and ignored everyone in the place as she walked back to her locker. Realizing that she was alone, Jondy leaned her forehead against the cool metal of her locker door. She was so deep in her own thoughts, she didn�t even hear Barry come in the room.

�Hey kid, what�s up? You�re never late coming back from lunch.�

Jondy jumped slightly at the sound of Barry�s voice, and turned to look at him, giving him one of her many practiced fake smiles. �Nothing Barry, I�m fine.�

�Really? You don�t look so great.�

I really don�t feel up to working after this little revelation. Maybe I can use my looking like death and pass it off that I�m sick. Yeah, let�s do that. Jondy glanced to the floor. �Actually Barry, I�m not feeling too well. Would you mind if I took the rest of the day off?�

�Of course not Jondy. Take as long as you need. Just make sure you take care of yourself.�

Jondy gave Barry a sheepish smile. �Thanks Barry. I will.�

Barry gave Jondy a wide smile, and turned to leave.

Jondy watched as Barry left, and felt good about getting some time off. This�ll give me time to figure out what the heck is going on. Maybe Max will be back tomorrow, and can tell me just what the heck is going on. If I could figure out where this safe house is, I can even go to her. I�ll think that over tonight. Jondy opened her locker and a small piece of paper fell out onto the floor. Curious, Jondy bent over to pick it up. What�s this? Jondy opened it up, and saw that it was a note. She began to read.

Jondy,

Oh crap. Tonight. I completely forgot! What the heck am I going to do? I can�t even call him to tell him not to bother, and I won�t see him at all for the rest of the day. What can I do? Barry. Jondy quickly gathered the things she needed from her locker and sped to the front desk. She looked around for Barry, who for once, wasn�t there. Jondy turned towards the little gathering area, and walked up to a couple of riders that were on their break. �Hey, do either of you know where Barry is?� The one rider simply pointed behind Jondy. Jondy turned and saw him walking up to his desk. I guess even bosses take bathroom breaks. Jondy ran towards the desk, and stopped short of bowling it over. �Hey Barry, I�m heading out now, but can you do me a favor? It�s nothing big.�

�Sure Jondy, what do you need?�

�I was supposed to meet Justin tonight, and I�m really not feeling up to it, and since I haven�t had the chance to hook my phone up yet, I was wondering if you could give him a note for me?� Jondy spit out her speech, and prayed that Barry would do this simple task for her.

Barry looked up at Jondy. He knew that she and Justin had something going on, but neither of them were letting it affect their work, so he had no qualms about it. In fact, he found it kind of sweet since they met at his place of work. He could see the regret in Jondy�s eyes about having to break her date. Reaching down under the desk, Barry took out a piece of paper, and a pen, and placed them in front of Jondy. �Just write whatever you need to here, and I�ll make sure that he gets it.�

Jondy looked down into the eyes of her boss. He was becoming a close friend to her. �Thanks Barry.� Jondy took the pen, and quickly scrawled out a note.

Justin,

Jondy looked down at her handiwork, and the �kisses� part of the note. Not totally like Max. We�re both subtle, but I have to add in a touch of flair here and there. Satisfied with her words, Jondy folded the paper, and gave it to Barry. �Thanks again Barry.� Jondy turned around and headed out the door, on her way to her apartment so that she could pack her things and move once again. Dumbest thing I could have ever done, calling from my home. That�ll teach me. Well, if Logan�s out of town, maybe I can just hang at his place for a few days............

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Logan couldn�t handle just waiting around for Max anymore. The wait was getting too much for him, so he decided to throw himself into work. He had managed to hack into the communication lines of a couple of phone companies and had recorded some of the more interesting messages. One in particular had caught his attention, and as he became more and more engrossed in what the two parties were saying, he was unaware of the sound of a motorcycle roaring to a stop just outside the cabin door.

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Max pulled her motorcycle to a stop, unhooked the bag off the back, which contained a couple changes of clothes, and preceded to climb the stairs to the door. As she was about to open the door, she could hear voices. Very familiar voices. Being as quiet as she possibly could, Max opened the front door, and dropped her bag off to the side. As she crept deeper into the cabin, the voices became clearer.

�Yeah, and I got a job too. I�m really liking it here. I think I might even stay instead of going back to San Fran. And don�t even say that it�s not safe, because I think I�ll be ok.�

�What have you got on Max?�

Max froze at the mention of her. Whoever these people were, they knew about her.

�Personally, I think you should just give her the number so she can call you herself.�

�Out of the question. If I gave her the number, she would compromise the rest of us.�

�Did my plan work?�

�No Zack, it didn�t, and I�m glad it didn�t. I�m sorry, but I can�t be involved in your little plan to make Max leave Logan and Seattle. Those two were meant to be together, and I�m not going to step between them.�

�When did I suddenly become involved in this?� Logan muttered as he heard this little revelation.

Logan�s in on all of this? Ok, that�s it. Time to make my presence known. Max walked into the room, keeping her eyes on the floor. �Ok, that�s it. I�m really...� Max looked up and saw only Logan in the room. Confusion hit her until she heard Jondy and Zack continue their conversation.

�I�ll call you if anything goes down. Until then, consider this the last time I talk to you. Max and I were close when we were young, which is probably why we�re so similar now. And since Max would hang up on you, that�s my thought exactly.�

With that, the line went dead. Max looked at Logan, who was sitting in shock. �Logan. I�m sorry, I didn�t think...�

Logan wheeled up to Max. �It�s ok Max. I�ve found a few of these conversations. For some reason your siblings all decided that this was the best week to check in with their CO. I�m thinking they had it all wrong.�

Max smiled at Logan�s conviction. �Can I listen to the others?�

Logan smiled when he saw Max�s face soften with one. �Of course.�

The two of them sat down, and began to go through all of the conversations that Logan had managed to copy.

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Jondy paced through Logan�s apartment, half admiring her new digs, and half trying to figure out where Max had gone. Ok, think about this. Logan said he wanted to meet her at his safe house. Now, the guy probably has tons of safe houses across the city, and in different cities, but Max seemed to know which one right away. Ok, so they had to have been there before. Logan did say HIS safe house though. Maybe that�s a clue. Nah, �his� could just mean one that he uses for his Eyes Only work. Jondy sat down on the couch and put her head in her hands. She closed her eyes, and tried to go through all the conversations in her head that would have anything to do with safe houses. Zack. Wait a minute, why did he suddenly pop into my head? Probably just because I�ve totally made him a target. No, that�s not it. Hmmm. Safe house. Zack. With Max. Wait, that�s it! Jondy leapt up from the couch and ran through Logan�s apartment, looking for anything that would confirm her assumption. She found the picture she wanted. It was Logan standing in front of an old cabin. That�s it! This is so it. Of course. Zack told me how he and Max had stayed at a cabin before they were to make a run for Canada. He never did say why they didn�t make it, but this is why! It was Logan�s cabin, and Max for some reason came back to Seattle for him! This is where they are! Jondy dropped the picture, and ran out of the apartment, on her way towards where she prayed the cabin might be.

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Max leaned back in her chair and let out a large sigh. She and Logan had stayed up well into the night, pausing only briefly to wish goodnight to Bling, listening to conversations of her siblings, who were all giving out their locations. None of them were safe, because even if they didn�t reveal their location specifically, Lydecker would be able to trace wherever the call came from, and find where they were. �What are we going to do Logan?�

Logan was beyond tired. His thought processes were down to almost nil, and here was one of the most intelligent people in the world asking him for advice. �I don�t know Max. There�s no way to warn any of them. Our only hope is that Zack saw my broadcast, but that would only happen if he were in Seattle. Do you know if he was by any chance?�

Max raised an eyebrow at Logan�s question. �Do I ever know what that man is doing? He only drops in to try to take me away from Seattle, and then disappears for months on end. I�m the only one that doesn�t have that number, remember?�

Logan took off his glasses so that he could rub his sore, tired eyes. �You�re right. I�m sorry.� Logan thought for a few seconds, and finally a plan began to develop in his over-worked mind. �Why don�t I just broadcast across the country again? It seemed to work the last time.�

Max felt a bit of energy spark into her as Logan told her his idea. She almost jumped up to hug him, but held herself back. �That�d be great. Why you do that, I�ll make some sandwiches. Do you want one?�

Logan smiled a weary smile at her. �Yeah. Thanks.�

Max trotted off towards the kitchen, and Logan set up his equipment to begin his broadcast. As soon as he finished the recording, Max walked into the room carrying two plates that each held a sandwich, and two bottles of water. As she handed the one plate to Logan, she noticed him looking at her. �What? Do I have something on my face or something?� Max pretended to wipe her face with her sleeve, and was relieved when Logan chuckled slightly.

�Max, we have to talk.�

�Uh-oh. I don�t think I like this already.�

�Hear me out.�

Max wolfed down her sandwich, and noticed that Logan simply put his aside. She looked into his eyes, but quickly looked elsewhere when she saw the intensity that was radiating out of them. �Ok.�

�I�ve been... an idiot these past few days. I am so sorry I wasn�t at my apartment that night. I should have been. I found the note you left me, and...�

Max abruptly got up from her chair, and grabbed her plate, fully intending on leaving this conversation. �Logan it�s ok, never mind.� As she turned to leave, Logan�s voice stopped her.

�I think we can make this work.�

Max stalled for a moment, but her inner voice told her to run, and that�s exactly what she did. She ran, right for the kitchen. She put her dish in the sink, and leaned over the counter, breathing deeply to calm down, all the while letting Logan�s words sink into her head. Suddenly, Max realized that her inner voice was gone, and the only thing that seemed right at that moment, was to go back to Logan. And Max did just that. She turned from the kitchen counter, and walked straight into the room she had left Logan in. He was still sitting in his chair, not having moved an inch from when she left him. She walked up to him, knelt down, and enveloped him into a hug. �Thank you.�

Logan pulled his head back a bit so that he could look into her eyes. Their faces were so close together that he could hardly focus on her eyes. �For what?�

�Everything.� Max almost whispered her answer.

Logan went on impulse, and closed the distance between them. He placed his lips on hers, and together, they fell into heaven, oblivious to the world around them.

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Jondy hopped off her new newly �acquired� bike, and ran to the door of the cabin. Ok, that was a good guess that the cabin was north of the city, but it makes sense since Max and Zack stopped here on their way to Canada. But we can�t forget the good people at Manticore that taught me to track people so well, otherwise there is no way in hell I would have found this place. Jondy pulled out her trusty lock-picking equipment, and expertly picked the lock on the old door. She burst through, and could see the back of Logan�s wheelchair. She headed right towards it, oblivious to what she would interrupt. �Max! Logan! I made the dumbest.... Oh my god.�

Max and Logan reluctantly broke their kiss and looked into each other�s eyes before looking at the person standing in the doorway.

Jondy was laughing on the inside, but her face was completely emotionless. �Max, if I�m not allowed to get any tonight, then neither can you. As for our little predicament. I made a huge mistake, and Lydecker knows where we are.�

Max smiled at Logan, and then stood up to face Jondy. �Well, I guess it�s time that we start making a plan to get out of our little predicament.�

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 Chapter 7