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PAGE 1

Content: violence and sex (they're married, it's not like it's a sin.)

Author's note: This story won't really make any
sense unless you have read the first story "Choices"
But I think this could be read alone as well.

*****

5:15 p.m.

She opened the door silently as possible, and was surprised

how it made virtually no noise at all. <Logan always

loved to make sure things were in working order> She

closed the door, and moved silently through the building.

She was glad she had kept the house key to this place,

and was still a little surprised how her ex still wanted

her to have a key to *his* house.

There was no one in the living room except for an elderly

woman asleep on the overstuffed couch. Valerie took

stock of her old place. In all this time Logan never

changed the furniture. It all looked exactly the same

as when she lived here, right down to those 'Scientific

American' Journals he kept in a stack on the coffee

table.

Valerie moved over to the bookshelf against the

north wall. There were *some* things that were

different about this place. All the photos of her

and Logan were gone. Now there were ones of him

and his new wife, on their wedding day, when she

was pregnant, and many of their baby, either alone,

or with them.

She picked up the closet one, and examined it,

a smile tugging at her lips. He looked like

him. Wonder if he looked the same in real life.

She placed the picture back where it was, and

walked off to the hall, careful not to wake

the old woman, couldn't have her interfering.

She reached the nursery and made her way over

to the crib. Peering down at the small child

something tugged at her heart. She had never

had the chance to be the mother to Logan's

children, and now the thought of another

woman given the opportunity made her angry.

She reached down and gently picked up the

infant. His little eyes opened, and he pondered

her with a wary look.

"It's okay little one." she reassured, in a soft

tone "I'm just gonna take you on a trip." She walked

out of the nursery and into the living room.

The woman was still asleep, and that made Val's

life all the more easier "Let's go take a ride."

she said to the infant, before walking out the

door as silently as she came.

*****

5:45 p.m.

"..and then Skethcy landed flat on his ass"

"That sounded like an interesting thing to watch" Logan replied

through the phone.

"Funny as hell" Max said with a smirk, from her end. She

was just telling Logan the latest escapade of Sketchy and

his amazing 'bike tricks' "Are you at home now?" she added

to her husband.

"Yea" he responded, shifting his cell phone so he could

dig out his key with the other "It didn't take that as

long as I thought to pick up some gouda."

He had just come back from the local store with the

ideal topping for his fetuchini al pesto. Max loved

this dish, and had called him earlier to tell him how

she hadn't eaten a thing all day except for some Doritos

at lunch break, which was cut short thanks to Normal's

'work 'till ya drop' ethic. Logan knew that since she

was still breast feeding Jesse that she needed extra

calories in her diet. And so he suggest his culinary,

artery clogging masterpiece, both for their son, and

because she sounded so damn cute when she whined to

him like that.

"That's good to hear baby" Max responded "'cause this

woman is *starving*." There was some noise at the other

end, followed by Max's voice proclaiming "he's my

husband you moron." She removed her hand from the

receiver "Sorry, one of the new guys thought I

shouldn't say 'baby' over the phone. I swear he'll be

a miny Normal before his first week."

Logan laughed at that "That would be a bad situation."

"Tell me about it" Max said straight out "Is it still

okay for Cindy to come over?" she added.

"Of course it is sweetheart" Logan began "She's a friend

of yours, and you don't have to *ask*, we're married, it's

just as much your house as it is mine."

"I got it" Max replied "I just wanted to make sure

her reservations were confirmed" she finished teasingly.

"Yes they are" Logan told her inserting the key into

the lock.

"Well then I'll let you go so you can prepare" she

replied with a smile.

"Okay I'll see you in a bit angel."

"Bye baby" Max said, shooting a 'don't even think about it'

gaze at Mason, who was about to say his remark from earlier.

"Bye" Logan said in reply, hitting the 'end' button. He

turned the key in the lock, and soon realized that the

door was already opened. That was weird, he was sure

he locked it before he left. Maybe Mrs. Culverson went

out for a minute and forgot to lock it again.

He entered his penthouse and shut the door behind him.

"Back so soon?" Mrs. Culverson said from her spot on

the couch.

"The market was unusually less crowded then it

normally is" Logan replied unearthing the gouda

from the plastic bag. He looked back towards her

"Thanks for watching my son on such short notice."

"It was my pleasure" Mrs. Culverson responded "That

is the sweetest baby I ever sat for, didn't even

make a sound" she smiled at Logan "He must get that

from his father, because any man who goes out for

expensive cheese so he can make his wife one of her

favorite meals has to rank high on that scale."

"Your flattery is greatly appreciated, but really

not needed" Logan replied walking into the kitchen

He unwrapped the cheese from the plastic it was in

and began to crumble the dried mass into a shaker.

Mrs. Culverson stood up from the couch and made

her way over to the kitchen. She sniffed appreciatively

at the rich aroma of pesto sauce "Your wife is a lucky

woman, my husband can't even boil water."

Logan smiled as he stirred the bubbling green sauce

"Kinda sounds like my Max, she re-built the frame to

her motorcycle once after it got messed up by some idiot

car, but when it comes to cooking, let's just say it's

a gray area" He closed the lid to the pot and addressed

the elderly woman again "I'm gonna go check on Jess,

could you make sure that this doesn't boil over?"

"Of course" she responded.

Logan smiled his thanks "You are a wonderful woman"

he smiled again as he saw her blush.

"Save that sweet talk for her" she said, shooing him

away from the kitchen.

Logan walked down the hall towards the nursery.

He pulled the door opened slowly, in case the baby

might still be asleep "Hey Jess, let's go watch

daddy cook-" he stopped in mid sentence when he

saw that the crib was empty.

He raced back out to the kitchen "Mrs. Culverson

did you move the baby anywhere?"

"Why no" She responded stirring the sauce with a

wooden spoon "He is still in his crib"

"No he's not" Logan replied, seeing her shocked

look.

"Where could he be?" she asked, becoming concerned

as well.

"I don't know" Logan responded in a panicked voice

The two adults began to do a through search of the

penthouse, but there was no sign of the baby.

After Logan came our from checking the bedroom, a

horrifying revelation dawned on him <Oh shit, the

door was unlocked> He ran back out to the living

room, and examined the front door "Mrs. Culverson

did you go outside at all?"

"No" she replied negatively "After I set Jesse down

for his nap I sat down to read."

"This door was unlocked when I came home" Logan

said "And I remember locking it after you

came" his voice took on a higher tone of worry

"Did anyone stop by after I left?"

"No" she answered again "I sat here the entire

time reading before I fell asleep-" she broke

off as she realized the meaning of her statement

"Oh my god Mr.Cale I'm so sorry"

Logan didn't respond he just ran out into his hallway.

His eyes scanned up and down the corridors, there was

no sign of the baby. "*Jesse!*" he called out, his voice

reverberating against the walls <he's a two month old

baby dipwad, he can't talk yet> He dashed back into

the house and grabbed his cell phone from where he left

it on the table. He hit speed dial two, and tried to

collect himself before the call went through.

"I am so sorry, so sorry" Mrs. Culverson kept chanting

from her position behind him.

"It's not your fault" Logan reassured, running an

aggravated hand through his hair. The other party

on the phone picked up "Matt it's Logan" he began

and said one of the things that every parent fears

"My son is missing."

*****

Jam Pony X-Press

5:53 p.m.

"Max it's for you" Normal shouted to her.

She got up from her place on a crate by Cindy and

strolled over to the counter

"Make it quick" Normal said handing her the phone "This

is on company time"

Max glowered at him before placing the phone to her

ear "Yea"

"Max it's me." Logan said from his end

"Checking up on me?" she teased

"I wish that was the case."

"What's wrong?" she asked, sensing that something happened

"Jesse's gone" came the reply

"What do you mean *gone?*" Max shouted so loudly that everyone

stopped to stare. She lowered her voice "gone where?"

"I don't know" came her husband's panicked response

"When I got home the door was unlocked and-" he paused

to catch his breath "he wasn't in his crib"

"Oh my god" Max stated in disbelief, this seemed like

a horrible dream "I'm coming home" she announced

abruptly ending the call.

She sprinted to where she had left her jacket and yanked

it on her body.

"What's wrong boo?" Cindy asked seeing the frantic

look in her eyes.

"Jess is missing" Max got out, jamming her hands into

her leather riding gloves.

Cindy stood up "What happened?"

"I don't know" Max answered sounding as panicky as

Logan did on the phone "I need to get home" she

raced out to the entrance of Jam Pony, where her

Ninja was.

"Where are you going?" Mason asked going after

her and grabbing her by the arm "Work isn't over"

"Get the fuck out of my way you prick!" she snarled

kicking him in the chest so that he realized her arm.

She jumped on her Ninja and sped towards home.

*****

6:15 p.m.

Max had made it to the penthouse in record time,

going 75 miles all the way. The elevator ride

seemed to take forever, and when it finally dinged

on her floor she practically pulled apart the doors

and raced out into the hall.

As she neared her house she could see officers with

the Seattle PD lining the hall. Her door was opened

and yellow police tape was stretched out across

the frame. She ducked under that, but a hand stopped

her from going inside "You can't come in here Ma'am

this is a crime scene."

"This is my fuckin' house!" she growled back, and the

officer let her go. She walked through the doorway,

the place was crawling with cops.

"Max!" Logan called out to her where he was talking

to his friend Det. Matt Sung.

She approached him, and they met halfway "I can't believe

this is real." she stated, surveying the scene "All the

way up here, I kept saying that this was just some crazy

nightmare."

Logan embraced her hard "I wish it was"

Det. Sung approached them "Mrs. Cale?" he said

addressing Max.

She pulled apart from Logan and looked at Matt.

"I'm Detective Matt Sung of the Seattle PD, I just want

you to know we're doing everything we can to find your

baby"

"How did it happen?" she demanded

"From what we have right now it looks like someone

came in and kidnapped him. Mrs. Culverson said she

fell asleep about fifteen minutes before Logan

came home, which leaves plenty of time for someone

to take the child out of his crib and leave without

notice."

Max was satisfied with that statement up to a point

"But it couldn't be just anyone off the street Det."

she shifted from Logan, asserting her knowledge of

forced entries "The door was unlocked, which means

that they somehow manipulated the locks. The person

had to know exactly where we live, otherwise it would

have taken to long to locate the building, find the

correct floor and *then* still manage to pick the

locks and leave all in a period of about fifteen

minutes."

Sung was impressed by her knowledge, and collectivenss

of the situation. She didn't fit all the other profiles

of the panicky mothers.

"That's a possibility Mrs. Cale-"

"Call me Max" she interrupted

"Max" Sung finished "I'll have my team look into it, also

I'll need a recent photo of the baby"

Max nodded and walked over to the mantle. She pulled

out a small framed picture of Jess. It had been taken

by Bling, and showed Jesse smiling away in that little

custom made NY Knicks Jersey.

She handed it to Matt

"This will be fine" he said looking at it

Max nodded again, feeling tears prick the corner of

her eyes, along with another type of 'wetness' making

it's presence known along her shirt.

"Shit" she cursed to herself "I have to take care of

this" she said to Logan and retreated towards the

bathroom. She retrieved the electronic milk extractor

from under the counter. It had been a baby shower

present from Kendra, but Max hadn't used it that

much. Usually she was home when Jess had his feedings.

The machine's suction felt strange on her breasts,

so cold, not like Jesse's warm baby breath. Her

eyes teared up again, who could do this to them?

She switched off the machine, moving at first to

clean it, but decided to screw it, she had more

important things to worry about. She left her

soiled shirt where it lay, and pulled on the

first thing that she found clean in the hamper,

which happened to be Logan's old MIT sweatshirt.

She left the bathroom hurriedly and rejoined the

others a second later.

Det. Sung was no longer talking to Logan, he was

now helping another officer dust for prints

around the door.

"Anything?" she called out to Matt, moving to

stand by Logan.

Matt looked up from his task "We got a few prints

around the door knob, Mrs-I mean *Max*" Sung

corrected himself before going on "You're probably

right about our guy knowing where to find you,

but that doesn't mean they have to be a smart

kidnapper" He finished up and stood to face her

and Logan at eye level "Were almost done collecting

here, and then we'll run the evidence with the

guys in forensics"

"How long will it be 'till you know?" Logan demanded

"With the finger prints, it shouldn't be to hard, we

just have to run it against the ones in the database"

Matt reassured them "It should take a few hours"

The other officer's were packing up their equipment

and beginning to file out the door. Sung stared to

leave as well, but not before addressing Max and Logan

once more.

"I call you the second we get the prints run"

Logan nodded "Thanks" he voice was devoid of all

emotion, he just felt dead inside.

Matt left them, the door closing silently behind him.

Max turned towards Logan with a sad gaze. It was one

that he had only seen once before, when she had a

seizure caused by her labor, one that almost cost

Jesse his life. "This can't be real" she whispered

brokenly, the sadness in her eyes intensifying,

and she uttered one word "Why?"

Logan embraced her again, drawing her head into the

hollow of his shoulder "I don't know baby" he answered

sadly, and felt her start to cry. This released the damn

in him as well, they clung tightly together, feeling the

aftershocks of the terrible event that occurred that day.

*****

Unknown Location

"God *please* stop crying" Valerie spoke harshly to

the wailing infant.

He had been doing this ever since she left with him

in the car. Thinking that he might be hungry, she tried

feeding him. Okay so she tried giving him milk, knowing

*full* well that it wasn't healthy for a baby, but she

sure as hell didn't have any baby formula on her, and

going out to get some was out of the question. Knowing

Logan, he probably had the whole Seattle PD canvassing

the city for this baby.

Jesse continued to wail, his little face becoming

redder.

"You sound like your daddy when he screwed me"

Valerie stated bluntly, drawing up vivid images

from memory of those passionate filled nights.

She shifted Jesse in her arms so that he was

looking her in the face "Does mommy scream

as loud as you do when she comes?" she couldn't

believe she was having this discussion with

a two month old baby, but it's not like he

would say anything she didn't want to hear.

"I'll bet she does" she smiled lazily  "Something

as dark as her probably has a deep throaty yell"

her last words were tinged in bitterness.

Val had only met her once, but that encounter was

enough for develop a disliking for the woman.

Physically she was striking, dark eyes, long curly

raven hair, and a chest that she would kill to have.

But that was not the root of her distaste for her.

It was her attitude. The ways she talked to her ex

made Val realize that Max was someone who did not

take crap from anyone.

Oh sure *she* was like that herself, after a couple

of beers, but this woman, the way she talked to Logan,

she had a certain edge that Val lacked. Logan *never*

talked to her like that, even when she was drunk. He

always treated her like a delicate flower, being

careful to make sure she didn't break. But he was

edgy with Max, shooting out comebacks as fast as

she gave them to him, never once breaking their

banter to ask if he said something that could have

upset her. He knew that she was strong, and that

she didn't need anyone to coddle her. This revelation

was what drew her over the edge.

And now to see the living, breathing creation of

their love bound in the same strength, it stirred

her hatred all the more. She had originally just

planned to take Logan's little 'wifey' hostage,

but knew that taking the baby would hurt her

far more then anything she could do to her

physically. Although Logan would be caught in

the crossfire of her little game, it was

something Val was willing to risk. After all

she wasn't married to him anymore was she?

She set Jesse down on the crappy excuse for a

bed, and made her way over to the dresser.

She checked the clip on her hand gun, happily

noting that it was full. <At least that little

perp didn't rip me off when he sold it to me>

She replaced the gun on the rotting dresser.

Opening the little refrigerator, she produced

a bottle of Scotch. She sat down on the nasty

mustard yellow blanket and began to down

the alcohol.

"This should make that crying of yours less

annoying" she said with a sleazy smile, and

raised the mouth of the bottle to her lips

again.

*****

Downtown Seattle

19th Precinct

9:15 a.m.

The Next Morning

Detective Sung was sitting at his desk when Max stormed

up to him "Why the hell didn't you call? You said

it would only be a few hours" her tone was razor

sharp from the sleepless night she just came out of.

"We had a major robbery at Chase National Bank Max,

so I was kinda tied up with that" he stood up to

meet her angry gaze.

"Oh so *my* son's kidnapping suddenly got pushed

to the side? Is that what your saying?" her

words were livid.

"You know that wasn't the case" Matt interjected.

He gestured for her to sit.

Max flipped the wooden chair around and angrily

sat where he indicated.

"We are *still* trying to find who took your baby

Max, despite what you think, but this is a broken

city, there is a lot of stuff that can go down"

He moved to lean against the front of his desk.

"Sorry" she finally admitted "I just didn't sleep

last night" she placed her hands on the back of

the chair.

Matt touched her shoulder softly "It's understandable"

He picked up a file from among the pile of others

that littered his desk "I *did* find something"

Max immediately perked up "What is it?"

Det. Sung sighed slightly "I'm afraid our guy is

a little smarter then we thought he would be. There

weren't any finger prints on the knob except for

Logan's, and I as sure hell know he wouldn't try

to take his own son"

"Dammit" Max cursed under her breath "That fucker

was wearing gloves" She ran a frustrated hand

through her hair.

"That's what I gathered as well" Sung agreed, and

added "You seem to know a lot about this type of

thing, do you work in law enforcement?"

This produced a small smile from her "I'm a bike

messenger Detective, the only enforcing I do is

making sure people sign for their packages"

Matt smiled slightly at her remark "You'd make a

damn good cop."

"If there were such a thing anymore" Max responded.

She looked up at Matt "excluding you of course,

you seem pretty decent"

"Thanks" Sung replied "I try to come off that way"

Max gave him a half grin "Better then most" she got

out, suddenly feeling her body tremble.

Matt noticed "Are you okay Max?"

"Fine" she returned, producing her pill bottle from

her leather jacket pocket. She popped open the bottle

and shakily downed two into her mouth. After the

Tryptophane took effect, the seizure stopped "That

got it" she muttered. All the stress she was experiencing

wasn't doing good things to her brain's seratonin levels.

She looked back up at Matt "These things can be a real

bitch"

He nodded, suddenly realizing where he remembered her

from. She had been arrested about a year ago, for

breaking into a hospital for stealing drugs, most

likely the same ones she had with her. Now he knew

how she knew so much about forced entries. He had

helped break her out, Logan telling him that without

the medicine that she tried to steal, she would

lapse into a coma and eventually die. He had often

wondered what happened to that spirited woman that

Logan had wanted him so desperately to break out

of jail. Now he knew, Logan had *married* her.

"You remember me don't you?" Max said straight out

"Deleting my file didn't erase your memory"

Matt nodded "Who could forget a woman who tried to

jump the fence while on of our prisoners distracted

the guards by singing opera?" he said this quietly

so the other officers wouldn't hear. Arrest or not,

she was a decent woman, and he didn't want to land

her back in jail.

"Yea" Max remarked "It was one of those 'magical nights'"

Her pager beeped, she pulled it out from the carrier

clipped to her waist "Work asap" it read. She sighed.

"Trouble?" Matt remarked

"My boss is bitchin' me for being late" she replied,

replacing it at her waist. "I better get going"

she stood up "It'll be a welcome distraction to

just sitting at home"

Sung stood up, in a polite gesture. "Call me if you

can think of anything else we might find useful"

He placed a hand on her shoulder again "I'm gonna

find him Max" he looked at her with a strong gaze

"I promise you."

Max nodded softly, and turned to leave, maneuvering

her way through the maze of desks.

Matt watched her retreating figure. He really felt

for her and Logan. Having three kids himself made

him well aware of the pain of a missing child could

bring.

Officer Jonson placed a file on his desk "Got one

for ya Matt, an auto theft case"

"Give it to someone else" Matt said, handing the file

back to him "I have a more important case I'm working

on"

*****

Jam Pony X-Press

10:35 a.m.

"Where have you been?" Normal pounced on her as soon as

she entered the building "You are thirty minutes late"

Max blatantly ignored him, leaning her bike against

a wall and retreating to her locker.

"Any news?" Cindy said approaching her

Max pulled out her navy blue baseball cap and angrily

slammed the door to her locker. She turned to face Cindy

with teary eyes "No"

"Oh boo" Cindy replied sadly, she hugged her friend tightly.

Cindy pulled back after a moment "Who the hell could do

something like this?"

"I wish I knew" Max sad voice suddenly became angry "I'll

beat the shit our of them when I find out who it is" she

yanked her hat on backwards and walked to retrieve her bike.

After she recovered her wheels she sunely made her way over

to Normal. "Got any for me?" her voice was completely

deadpanned.

Normal threw a small box at her "this one goes out to that

little marine shop by the water front"

Max sighed "That's a long way for this puny thing" she

complained jamming the package into her backpack.

"Well if you want this job you'll do it" Normal informed

her, and added "Speaking of puny things" he held up a small

rattle "I believe this belongs to your little rugrat"

Max snatched it from him "Where did you get this?" she

demanded

Normal didn't answer fast enough for her liking because

she soon jumped over the counter and had him by the

collar "I asked *where* did you get this?" her anger was

livid. She pounded him against the wall for emphasis

"Answer me!"

"Max stop!" Cindy called out going through the metal

door that led to where she was. She grabbed her by the

arms, trying to pull her off him.

Max eventually let go of Normal, but she still remained

only centimeters from his face "Do you know where he is?"

she was now screaming.

"No where who is?" Normal asked confused "All I know is

that I try to do you a favor giving you back this nasty,

slobbery piece of plastic and you attack me" he pushed

Max back with his arms to get her out of his personnel

space "You are a loose cannon girl, I could fire you

for this"

"Whoa now" Cindy said, holding back Max with her arm, seeing

her about to jump again. "No one is getting fired okay?"

she turned towards Normal "Her son has been kidnapped"

Normal looked at Max in disbelief "Well why didn't you

say anything about it?"

Max didn't answer him, breaking loose from Cindy's grip

she wheeled her bike out the building. "I got shit to

deliver" she announced over her shoulder, not turning

around.

After she was out of sight of the others she examined

the small plastic rattle, looking at the tiny finger

smudges that Jess's little hands had made all over the

handle.

She hastily wiped away the tears that had fallen from

her eyes, placed the rattle in her jacket pocket and

began the long journey to the waterfront.

*****

"Does that meet your approval Logan?" Matt's voice asked

over the phone.

Logan stared at the flyer that his friend had faxed to him.

Jesse's picture had been enlarged and placed in the center.

And below that it read : JESSE TREVON CALE Missing: April 15,

2020 DOB: February 6, 2020 Age: two months If anyone knows

anything about this missing child contact Detective Matt

Sung of the Seattle Police Department's 19th Precinct.

555-2486 ext. 124.

"It looks just like what it's suppose to look like" Logan

replied, stating the obvious.

"I mean is there anything else you think I need to add?"

Matt asked.

"How about what I plan to do to the perp who did this?"

"Logan, I doubt my superiors would allow you to stab our

suspect with the blade of a bayonet and *then* empty

the shells into his heart"

"It works for me" Logan spat out.

"For now let's stick with what we have" Matt replied.

pausing briefly before adding "We'll find him Logan"

"You better" was all Logan said before hanging up.

His door opened, revealing Bling who approached him where

he was seated at his computer chair.

"I heard about what happened" he said

"News travels fast" Logan mumbled to himself spinning the

chair around to face Bling.

"Are the cops looking into it?" Bling asked

Logan shoved him the flyer "Hot off the press this morning"

his words were laced in bitterness. "No one's gonna pay

attention to a flyer like this" his expression was angry

"People just throw these kind of things out with the trash,

no money, no sex, just a *boring* story about another missing

child."

Bling ignored his remark "How's Max holding up on this?"

"About as well as I am" Logan replied hastily. He ran an

aggravated hand through his hair. "It's so quiet without

him here." he added suddenly.

Bling placed a firm hand on his shoulder "It'll be loud

again man, don't worry." he hoped his words sounded

encouraging.

They lapsed into silence which was broken several seconds

later by the ring of the phone on Logan's desk.

Bling made the move to answer it, when Logan didn't "Hello?"

he paused briefly "Hey girl, how ya doin'?" he paused again

looking at Logan "Yea he's here, hang on a sec." he placed

his hand on the receiver "It's your woman" he handed Logan

the phone.

"Hey baby" Logan said, once the phone was up at his ear.

"Hey" came her soft reply.

"How are you doing?"

"Hangin' in there" she responded honestly. "Normal so graciously

gave me back a rattle that Jess left at work one da-" her voice

broke on a choked sob at the last word.

"Sweetheart, are you still there?" Logan asked, not being

able to hear her anymore.

"Yea." she finally responded weakly, sniffling "still here"

"Will you be okay?" he asked concerned.

"Not until I get my son back." she responded.

Logan felt the twinge at his heart that his wife was

experiencing at that same moment across town "Me too."

he replied.

"I gotta get moving." she said "I'm suppose to be delivering

a package here."

"Where would that be?" he responded curious.

"Maryana."

"Normal made you pedal *way* down there?" he asked stunned

"That's fifteen miles away from Jam Pony."

"It's a good distraction." she stated

He caught her meaning, and didn't press the subject anymore.

"Then I'll let you go."

"Okay" she responded "Bye Logan"

"Bye" he said, and caught her before she hung up "Max?"

"Yea?"

"I love you baby."

"Love you too." she answered back, disconnecting the call.

Logan hung up from his end. He stood up to face Bling.

"You wanna go get some coffee? Just sitting here is

driving me insane."

"Sounds good bro." Bling responded to his friend.

Logan snatched his leather jacket from where it

was draped on the back of his computer chair.

He grabbed his keys off the marble counter top,

along with his cell phone.

Bling killed the lights, and locked the door, and

the pair left the penthouse silently.

*****

Unknown Location

The bottle of Scotch was long gone. Val laid horizontally

across the bed, her legs dangling off the end.

Jesse had managed to fall asleep for a brief moment,

but being only two months old, and also having his

mother's odd sleeping patterns he was soon wide

awake. He began to cry again, his diaper soiled,

and now he was developing a rash from not being

changed in almost a day.

Val came out of her alcohol induced haze and looked

at the infant "Your just like the damn energizer bunny."

she sneered drunkenly. Her head throbbed like a bitch,

so she reached for the bottle of aspirin that was at the

corner of the 'night table'

It helped clear out the cobwebs, but now she could hear

every pitch of the infants cries.

"What is it that you want?" she growled, staring him in

his red eyed face. A fowl smell assaulted her senses.

"Damn" she muttered pinching her nose "You dropped a bomb."

She needed to change him, the smell was starting to make

her nauseous, however she had no diapers on her, so she

settled on ripping off a corner of the bed sheet instead.

She changed him out of his soiled diaper and into her

little improvisation. "All better." she announced, but

Jesse didn't believe it, because he continued to cry.

Val was at the end of her rope "SHUT UP! PLEASE!" she

chanted. But he couldn't, he did what he only knew to

do at his age, he wailed.

*****

Seattle West Side

Black Market 'Shopping District'

12:25 p.m.

"Hey gorges, back it up over here."

Max stopped her pedaling, and turned to face the man

behind the booth with a scowl "What the hell do you

want?"

The man held up his hand "Hey calm down sugar, I just

want to offer you some of my quality merchandise."

he held up a small test tube containing white LSD

crystals.

Now Max was not normally a patient woman, and what

little she did have had left during the last day

from hell. She dismounted her bike and prowled up to

the guy.

He obviously thought she was interested because he

started in on his 'sales pitch' "This is the good

stuff, one hundred percent pure trippin' power-"

his marketing strategy was interrupted by Max's

leather gloved hand crushing his trachea.

"You tryin' to sell angel dust to a nursing mother?"

her voice had a definitive growl.

"Didn't know you had something to feed." he squeaked out.

"Yea well I do." she snarled, increasing her grip on his

neck "Next time it would do you good to ask." she abruptly

let him go, where he landed in a unceremonious heap at her

feet.

"By the way, your pitch really sucks." she left him

lying in the dirt, and returned to where she left

her bike.

She peddled on for about a few more minutes, before

nearly running into a small boy who came across her

path. "Hey Niko, where you headed?"

The small four year old Chinese boy looked up at

her "I got this for mommy." he held up a small bag

of tea leaves "She ran out."

Niko's mother worked a medicine booth on this strip.

Under the counter stuff, Max had bought many a bottle

of Tryptophane from her, even when she didn't need

them. She knew how hard it was trying to get by with

little money. "I'll walk you home." she announced

suddenly, this place was not exactly safe for a child

to be out alone, even in broad daylight.

She dismounted her bike, and walked with Niko to his

mother's booth, which doubled as a home by the small

shed like building behind it.

"Here's you tea momma." Niko announced once they approached

where she was working.

The tall woman with long black hair said thank you in Chinese

to the oriental man who had just bought some aspirin from her,

and turned to her son "Thank you Niko, put in the house for

mommy please?"

Niko nodded and went in back of the booth.

"Hey Ju-Yin." Max called out to the woman.

She obviously didn't realize that she was there because

she looked up surprised  "Max" she smiled "It's been

a while." she placed the bills she had just received

in her dented cash box. "You haven't been around to

see me in a while, you find another supplier?"

"Fraid so." Max admitted, pulling off her left leather

glove, revealing the jade wedding band on her ring finger

"'Cept I told him I wanted more then just pills."

"You finally hooked up." Ju-Yin said examining her hand.

"About damn time." she admired the band "He must be worth

a lot, purple jade is a bitch to find, and even more to

buy."

"He is." Max admitted, when Ju-Yin released her hand.

"But I didn't just shack up with him for his money.

He's sweet, and has this amazing body." she grinned

sinfully at the thought.

"You gonna show me a picture? Or leave me to use

description?" Ju-Yin asked, closing the lid to her

cash box.

Max pulled out a small picture she placed in the pocket

of her jacket. She normally didn't carry around anything,

except for some lip gloss, but after what happened, she

needed something to feel close to her son.

Ju-Yin took it when she handed it to her "He is handsome."

she agreed, looking at the photo of Logan and Jesse that

Max had taken about two weeks ago. "Is that your baby?"

Max nodded.

"Boy or girl?" It was hard to tell by the photo.

"Boy." Max answered "His names is Jesse"

"That's the same name on the poster the Sector Police stuck

on my booth." Ju-Yin announced, handing Max back her photo.

Max was confused "What poster?"

Ju-Yin placed her hand near the roof of her booth and pulled

something off of it. "See for yourself."

Max took it from her. Her expression clouded over as she read

the information that Det. Sung had printed up.

The light went on in Ju-Yin's head "It's your son isn't it?"

Max nodded slightly, shoving the flyer back at her.

"I'm sorry." the other woman said taking it from her,

when Niko walked back out. "Do you want me to help you

momma?"

"Not today sweetie." Ju-Yin said to her son "There isn't

that much business."

Niko noticed the flyer she had in her hand "Did anyone find

that little baby?" he asked with all the concern of a four

year old.

"Not yet." Max answered

"How do you know?" Niko asked defensively, well as defensive

as a little boy could get.

Max approached him an knelt down to his level "because that

is my little baby."

Niko looked at the flyer and the back up to Max "You are his

mommy?"

Max nodded.

The small boy hugged her "Then I *really* hope he is found."

Max hugged him back "Thanks hon. I appreciate it." she released

him and stood back up.

"You oughta think about getting a gun." Ju-Yin said out of the

blue "If you do find out who did this you might need it. Word

is babies are expensive."

Max was horrified as she caught the hidden meaning behind

her words. She herself was well aware of the circle who

sold off children for medical research, but she never thought

it could happen to her child.

"There was a woman who bought one here a few days ago."

Ju-Yin went on, breaking Max's train of thought. "She

said that she had a baby of her own to protect. Seemed

strange though, she looked like upper society and she

bought from us." Ju-Yin stated.

Max to thought this was odd "Why would an upper crust

by a rod from the Lower Markets?"

"Beats me." Ju-Yin replied, straightening out her merchandise

"All I know is that Bilone was happy for the business. She

dished out a lot of money for it."

They were interrupted my the beep of Max's pager.

She checked it "Where the f**k are you?" She sighed,

and looked back up to Ju-Yin "Gotta motor, my boss

is gettin' pissy again."

"Take care of yourself Max." Ju-Yin stated, wrapping her

arms around Niko. "I hope your son comes back to you safe,

and if you need anything that the mainstream doesn't sell,

come by."

Max smiled "I will." she laid down two twenty dollar bills

on the wooden 'counter.'

Ju-Yin opened her mouth to object, but Max interrupted her.

"Consider this a down payment for my next visit." she smiled

at her and Niko and walked back over to her bike.

They watched her pedal away. /Being married to wealth hasn't

changed her/ Ju-Yin though with a smile placing the bills along

with the others. She made a mental note to say a prayer to Budda

for Max's son's return.

*****

Jam Pony X-Press

"Where were you?" Normal demanded, after Max walked back into

the Jam Pony headquarters "You were gone for almost an hour."

"It's a long way to Maryana last time I checked." Max growled

back. "I delivered your precious package, so why are you bitchin'

me out?" she retreated to her locker, not waiting to hear another

one of his idiotic responses.

She dropped her backpack into the metal storage space, and

slammed the door shut again, and then at a second thought,

she re-opened her locker, and yanked out the cell phone she

kept in the front pocket of her backpack.

She walked back out of the cubby of lockers, to get better

reception. As she approached Normal's desk he raised up his

hand "Phones off limits Max, you suck all this companies

money with that running mouth of yours."

"Relax" Max responded annoyed, making a big show of

holding up her cell phone. She hit speed dial one.

Getting the answering machine at home, she proceeded

to hit the next speed dial button, Logan's cell.

This time someone answered "Hello."

"It's me." she replied

"What's up?"

"I need to talk to you."

"You are." Logan pointed out.

"I mean not over a line that can easily be traced." she

responded quietly.

"Okay then hang up."

Max became confused "What?" she then felt a hand on her

shoulder, and automatically whirled around in defense.

Logan stood there, his hands in a surrendering gesture.

"Don't do that." she ordered closing her cell and

placing it in her jacket pocket.

He did the same as well "Sorry, I was just in the

neighborhood, and thought you could use this."

he held out a steaming syrofoam cup of Colombian

Supreme.

"Thanks." she said taking it and drinking appreciatively.

"So what did you want to tell me?" Logan asked

"Not here." Max responded snatching his arm, and dragging

him over to the lockers.

"What's up?" he asked once they were out of earshot of the

others.

"I think I have something on Jess."

Logan looked at her, all serious "What is it?"

*****

ten minutes later.

"..and she didn't say who it was?" Logan asked after hearing

his wife relay the events of the previous hour.

"Just that she was rich." Max responded "which is strange

considering the location."

Logan nodded, agreement written on his face "Did she

talk to this guy at all?"

"A little, but nothing more then a few casual words among

retailers." she replied.

"But what makes you think this has anything to do with

Jesse's disappearance?" he asked, confused.

"Mother's intuition." she replied. "I don't know Logan."

she added, seeing a small amount of disbelief in his

eyes. "I just have a feeling about this."

"But the police can't go on a feeling Max." he shot back.

"I'm not asking them to." She stood up.

"Your gonna talk to this man, J.J. Bilone, yourself?"

"Yea, so what?" she responded, starting to walk off.

He followed her "Max-"

"What is your problem with this?" she turned to face him.

"Don't you want to know?"

"Of course I do." Logan said in his defense. "But we need

more to go on then a hunch."

She whirled on him "Since when have my urges ever steered

you wrong?"

Both Max and Logan were so intuned to themselves, they didn't

realize the crowd they were attracting.

"I didn't say they did." he responded.

"But that's what you were implying." she retorted

"There was no implication Max." he replied "I'm just

saying that you sometimes your urges have consequences."

"Like when?"

"Not counting all the others, how about the one eleven

months ago?" he spewed out the words before he realized

what he was saying. /Oh god, I didn't/

He could see rage written on her face "Max I-" he was

interrupted by her backhanding him across the face.

There was an eerily silence that settled on the place.

Everyone had seen what had just happened.

Logan took a minute to straighten out his glasses, and

wipe the trickle of blood her maneuver had drawn. "Max.."

he began again.

She interrupted him by shoving a piece of paper in his

face. "This is the place, meet me there at four. if you want

to go on my 'hunch' that is." she whirled around, and faced

him on a second thought, just like that other time she was

this pissed at him. "And as for my 'urge' I'm not the one who

said it would all work out." she stormed off to retrieve all

the accumulated packages that she let pile up because they

were to far to deliver. "I'll be out for a while again."

she snarled to Normal. She shoved them all in her backpack

and yanked her bike from against the wall.

Logan watched her go, her posture rigid./There you go

shooting off that wise ass mouth of yours boy/

Herbal approached him, with a tissue "Thought you might

need this."

"Thanks." was all Logan said, taking it from him.

Cindy had just come in as Max left. "What the hell happened?"

She took in Logan's appearance "What did you do?"

"You should've seen it." Sketchy responded to Cindy's question

"Logan said something or other to piss Max off and she knocked

him one."

"What did I tell you about that?" Original glowered at him.

"There's been enough ass kicking today Cindy." Logan shot

back hastily, placing the paper Max shoved at him in the

pocket, and chucking the bloody tissue in the trash.

"You better damn well apologies for whatever it was." she

said to him.

"I'll grovel my heart out later." Logan responded, walking

out of the building.

Cindy just rolled her eyes "This is why men are second class

citizens."

******

ChoicesII pg .2