"I thought you'd be up here." Logan sat down beside her. "You sure you're up to this amount of exercise." He didn't want to smother her, but he couldn't help but be concerned. It had been a week since they had broken her out of Manticore. Max had basically slept the whole week away, waking only to get something to eat.
"I'm fine." Max smiled at his concern. "Did you get hold of Jondy?" She had been so exhausted that she hadn't had a chance to catch up with her sister. She was worried that Jondy had headed back to Canada or San Francisco where Zack had found her.
"Yeah." Logan nodded. "She's been staying at your place with Original Cindy. She's even got a job at the 'Crash'." He chuckled when he remembered what Original Cindy had told him. "Apparently business has doubled since she started working there two days ago."
Max laughed. "That's Jondy for you. Lydecker used to use her as the distraction." She caught the confused look on Logan's face. "You have a, let's say a tavern, completely surrounded with the enemy. One very pretty, but pale little girl comes stumbling out of the woods. Where is your attention going to be?"
"On the little girl." Logan realized what Max's point was. "While the troops move in behind, catching the enemy off guard."
Max nodded. "Jondy was always terrified of guns. The thought of having to compete in the field monovers just about made her yak, but she could attract the attention of everyone without trying. She also has a talent for the medical profession."
"That would explain how she got herself up and moving around with a gunshot wound in her side." Logan shivered slightly. "I'm heading back down. You coming?"
Max nodded. "In a minute." She just needed a few minutes alone. Everything had happened so fast. It seemed as though, one minute they were breaking into Manticore, then the next she was trapped there and then she was free again and asleep in Logan's bed, with him watching over her from a chair next to the bed. She needed time to catch up, not only with what had happened, but with her sister.
Logan understood. He stood and headed back the way he had come up. "See you soon." As much as he wanted to stay with her and protect her, Logan knew Max could look after herself. If he tried to hang onto her too tight, she would only pull away.
Donald Lydecker sat in a dark corner at the Crash. Watching the people laughing and playing pool around him, he realized that any of them could be one of his Manticore kids. He had heard from a friend, that there had been another attack on Manticore. One that had landed Renfro in the public hospital connected up to a respirator. Lydecker felt some sense of satisfaction knowing Tinga's murderer had gotten back some of what she had delt out, but also a sense of regret at what seemed a lifetime of work destroyed.
Out of all of the people in the bar, the one that seemed to keep catching his eye was the redhead behind the bar. He couldn't quite put his finger on what it was about her that kept his attention. Sure, she was attractive. The fact that every male in the place couldn't keep his eyes off of her was proof of that. It was her face that looked vaguely familiar to him. She had a mixture of sweet innocence and strong determination written all over her.
"Jess." The owner of the bar walked up behind her. "Do you think you could dazzle the guys at that table over there." He gestured to a table near the far wall. "They're getting a bit rowdy and upsetting the other customers."
Jondy smiled at him. "Sure Stan." She finished pouring a picture of beer for the customer she had been serving and then swung her legs over the bar. Each of the men at the table stopped mid action as she approached them. Jondy could smell the reek of combined alcohol they had consumed from where she stood. "Getting a bit rowdy aren't you boys?"
"Can I buy you a drink?" The invitation may have sounded more appealing if it hadn't come out as a slur. As it was, the goon that issued it, fell onto the floor and immediately fell asleep.
One of his friends chuckled. "Tim never could hold his drink. What are you drinking?" His eyes roamed the length of her body.
"Milk." Jondy waited for the men to stop sniggering before she lent forward and looked the man straight in the eye. "What's the matter? Aren't you and your friends man enough to drink milk with me."
"Stan! A round of milk over here." The man stood and held out the chair that Tim had been sitting in for her. "Take a load off."
Jondy stepped over Tim who was still asleep on the floor and sat down. That was when she saw someone sitting in the dark corner. Focusing her vision, she got a clearer sight of who it was. Lydecker. How long had he been there? Logan had told her that he and the others had used Lydecker's help to get into Manticore the first time. There had been something about Logan's tone that told Jondy that he didn't trust Lydecker as far as he could throw him.
Stan brought over a pitcher of milk and five glasses. "There you go. Hey Jess. Logan phoned before. He says he's bringing Max down here. He seems to think she's going a bit stir crazy being stuck in his apartment all day."
Jondy nodded. "Thanks Stan. I expect she is. Max is more of an outdoors girl." She smiled at the owner as he cast her a protective look and walked away. "So I gather you all have names. I've met Tim here." She looked down at the floor as she started to pour the milk.
"I'm Brock." He seemed to think he was some sort of leader to the group. Brock draped his arm around the back of Jondy's chair. "This is Thorne, Davis and Jimmy." He lent forward. "And you are just what I've been searching for."
Jondy couldn't believe men were still using such cheesy lines. "No. I'm Jessica and so very much out of your league." She skulled down the milk and licked her lips. "Thanks for the drink Brock. Gotta get back to work."
Thorne, Davis and Jimmy hid their grins behind their glasses of milk, which they quickly drank when Jondy looked over at them. Brock sat fuming, his arm still draped over the back of the chair which Jondy had just vacated. No woman had ever turned him down.
"Thanks for bringing me down here Logan." Max walked into the bar as Logan held the door open for her. "I seem to have spent all of my time sleeping." She had been upset that Krit and Sil had returned to Canada while she had been asleep. Logan said that they had stopped off to say good bye but had not wished to wake her.
"No problem." Logan glanced around the crowded bar. "You obviously needed the sleep. Jondy's still using the name Jessica. I guess she's playing it safe incase anyone from Manticore is still sniffing around."
Max nodded. "Better to play it safe for a little while longer." She saw Original Cindy sitting with her Jam Pony co-workers. "Come on. Jondy will find us."
Logan smiled to himself. This was the Max he knew and loved, the one with the take charge attitude. Max's friends all hugged her, a mixture of concern and relief that she was alright written over their faces. They were a good bunch. Everyone of them went out of their way to make Logan feel as though he was part of the group.
"So when are you coming back to Jam Pony?" Sketchy leaned closer. "I think even Normal misses you."
Max chuckled. "I'll have to consult my Doctor." She looked up as Jondy put a pitcher of beer and two glasses of milk down on the table. "What do ya say Doc?" She pushed one of the glasses of milk over to Logan.
"I'd be happier if you took a couple more days off." Jondy picked up an empty pitcher. "We'll see how you're feeling tomorrow."
"You're a Doctor?" Sketchy was impressed. But then when it came to women, it didn't take much to impress Sketchy.
Jondy winked at Max and Logan. "Let's just say I have the medical profession in my genes." She turned and headed back to the bar.
Sketchy cast her an admiring glance. "Gotta love those jeans." He faked innocence when Original Cindy smacked him around the back of his head. "Ow. What did I day?"
Logan walked over to the bar where Jondy was serving another customer. "You alright? You seemed sort of edgy." He had noticed her watching something in the shadows.
"Lydecker's here. You have to excuse me if I'm not exactly thrilled to see him. He's been watching me all night." Jondy kept working. The last thing she wanted to do was let Lydecker know he had just found another of his X5 kids.
"Do you think he knows who you are?" Logan figured Jondy was probably wise to keep her true identity from Lydecker.
"No. I don't think so. That's the bonus of using a foreign accent for so long, it becomes like second nature." She grinned. "Problem is, I can't remember what my real accent sounds like." She frowned at something over Logan's shoulder. "Damn. Not again." She swung her long legs over the bar and squeezed past Logan. "Duty calls."
Logan looked over to see what was wrong. A fight had started in the back of the bar. He noticed Max had gone from her seat. Instinct told him, she had gone to help her sister.
Brock swung his arm back, a broken bottle in his hand. "You think it's so funny? How about I cut you another smile."
Davis smashed the top of another beer bottle and took a similar stance. "Bring it on Loser. You know why Red over there knocked you back? Because she has taste."
As the two men charged at each other, Max and Jondy stepped in grabbing an arm on one man each. "You're over the limit." They spoke and moved a one. The cracking of breaking wrists seemed so loud as both women bent the men's wrists backwards disarming them of their broken bottles. "Time to leave." The crowd around them, all hit the floor as the men went flying out the window.
"Good job I made so much in tips tonight." Jondy picked up the broken bottles off of the floor. "That's the second window I've had to have repaired this week."
Max frowned at her sister. "But you've only been working here three nights." She sat down at the bar. This was as good a time as any to catch up. "So how long were you planning to stay."
Jondy shrugged her shoulders. "I'm not sure. I have a friend looking after my place in San Francisco, so there's no great hurry. He knows the situation."
Max raised an eyebrow. "He? Situation? You have a he in San Francisco and you came here in heat and jumped a guy called Edward. What am I missing?"
Jondy rolled her eyes. "It's not what you think. Devon is gay for one thing. I came out to Seattle about four months ago to try and catch up with you. Zack told me where you were." Her eyes sparkled teasingly. "Never told me about Logan though." Jondy had always known that Zack cared about Max in more than a brother cares about his sister way. "Anyway, by the time I got here I was in heat and got distracted."
"By Edward. The same guy you put in the hospital." Max knew there had to be more to Jondy's story. Her sister would never just not contact her without good reason.
"Yeah, that's him." Jondy kept working as she talked. "So there's Edward snoring his head off and me wondering what the hell I was thinking, you know the drill." She waited for Max to nod before she continued. "Then I hear my phone beep and it's Devon texting me. So I phoned Devon and he had just seen a message come across his television with a warning for any X5's. So I left, didn't even say good by to Edward and the rest is history."
Max nodded. "Well that explains everything. Zack said that you lived next to the Golden Gate bridge."
Jondy smiled. "It's a beautiful view from the top. You'll have to come visit me when it's safe enough to go back."
"Sounds good." Max couldn't believe it had been so long since they had escaped from Manticore as children. "What time do you finish?"
"Not for a few hours. Why? Do you want your bed back?" Jondy laughed. Neither of them slept unless injured or ill.
Max looked over at Logan, who was giving her the space she needed and chatting with Herbal Thought. "I think I'll be able to stay put at Logan's place for a little longer. I'm sure he'll tell me if he gets fed up of me."
Jondy struggled to hold back a smile. "Max, I've seen that look that Logan has on his face every time he looks at you, on many men. He's not going to get fed up of you anytime soon."
Max smiled to herself. "I guess. I see Lydecker's hiding in the shadows. He been there all night?"
Jondy nodded. "Most of it. You should have seen his face when you and Logan walked in. First time I ever saw him look as though he was going to pass out."
Max shrugged her shoulders. "Probably thought he had seen a ghost." She rose from the bar stool. "I'll catch you after work. I think I'll take advantage of Logan's King size bed."
"And where will Logan be?" Jondy's face was the picture of wide eyed innocence which Max knew she was faking.
"Well, I thought I might take advantage of him as well." Max grinned mischievously. "What do you think my chances are?"
Jondy laughed. "I'd say incredibly good." She waved good by as Max walked off with Logan beside her.
Mathew ran down the darkened alley. He didn't know why he was being followed, but he had a feeling it had something to do with his brother, Edward. All of his troubles had started the day after his twin brother had been killed in a hospital of all places. His apartment had been broken into and ransacked. His car blew up in the car park minutes before he got into it and now he was being followed. He hadn't had a decent night's sleep since this had all started. Mathew looked around his surroundings. He needed a place to hide so that he could get his breath, then he saw the bar. It was dark, a perfect place to hide. Checking the way was clear, he ran into the bar and found himself a dark corner. The bar was so full nobody even gave him a second glance. Letting out a sigh of relief, Mathew closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.
Logan closed the door behind him. "Did you find out what you wanted to know from your sister? You two were talking for quite a while." He sat down beside Max on the sofa.
Max pondered his question for a moment. "Not really. I guess I got a quick summary of the last few months. It's a bit hard to talk when Jondy's trying to serve customers at the same time."
"I thought you women could multi task and parell process like there's no tomorrow." Logan teased. "So I'm guessing Jondy's going to be staying at your place for a while."
Max nodded. "Think you can put up with me a little longer? I'll even let you have your bed back." She smiled.
"You keep the bed, we'll work something out." Logan eyed her suspiciously as she edged closer. "You're feeling much better aren't you?"
Max looked Logan straight in the eye. "Actually I think I had better get to bed, I told Jondy I'd catch her after work, so I've got a few hours to kill." She crawled into his lap. "What to do, what to do."
Logan pushed her hair out of her face. "Are you sure you're up to this." Much as Logan would have like to jump her, there on the sofa, Max had been recovering from major surgery.
Max started nibbling her way up Logan's neck. "I got my Doctor's clearance and everything." She impatiently pulled his jacket off and tossed it on the ground. "Why? You want to diagnose me?"
Logan chuckled as he followed her lead and removed her jacket. "That would involve extensive testing and we only have a few hours before Jondy finishes work."
Max nodded with mock seriousness. "You're right. Better get started."
A few minutes later there was a trail of clothes leading to Logan's closed bedroom door. Bling walked into the apartment, took one look at the trail of clothes, smiled, turned and walked back out of the door. "Max must have fully recovered." He chuckled to himself and pushed the down button on the lift.
"Mister." Mathew could vaguely make out the husky feminine voice through his sleep. "Mister. It's time to go home. I have to lock up." Mathew suddenly realized where he was and woke up with a start. Looking up to see where the voice had come from, he saw the bluest eyes he had ever seen.
"I'm sorry. I hadn't meant to be here so long." The woman in front of him took a step backwards, uncertainty written all over her face. Mathew realized he must look terrible but he wasn't sure what he had done to unsettle this woman. "What's wrong?"
"Edward?" Jondy took another step backwards. "How the hell could you still be alive?"
Mathew rolled his eyes. "I'm not Edward. I'm Mathew, his brother. Who are you? One of the many women he slept with once and then dumped." He took in the view before him, trying not to be too obvious. This woman was way out of his brother's league. Although she was dressed in black jeans and a blue man's shirt knotted at her waist, she had a sense of class abut her.
Jondy looked him up and down, not completely convinced. "I didn't stick around long enough to be dumped." She crossed her arms in front of her. "Brother or not, you still have to leave."
Mathew nodded and stood up. As he headed for the door he saw the woman reach up to grab her jacket. The movement caused her shirt to ride up slightly to display her pale skin and a scar on her side. It looked very new as it was a red contrast against her white skin. "What happened?"
Jondy gestured to the door and locked it after them both. "Your brother shot me." She pulled her jacket on. She looked at her watch. Jondy seriously doubted Logan and Max would remember to meet her. "Well, nice meeting you, good night." She turned and started to walk away.
The gunfire was deafening in the silent street. Mathew and Jondy both hit the ground as bullets bounced off the building behind them. It took Jondy seconds to realize the bullets weren't aimed at her. Looking up into the buildings around them, Jondy recognized the uniforms of the Manticore soldiers. She groaned. "I just know that I'm going to regret this." Crouching in a nearby doorway she sprung towards Edward and pulled him behind a car. "So what sort of deal did you make with Manticore?"
Mathew looked over his shoulder at her, trying not to focus on how close she was to him. "Who the hell is Manticore?" Every time he took a breath he could smell her perfume. "How the hell did you move so fast?"
Jondy didn't get a chance to answer his questions as a car came screaming down the road and stopped right in front of them. The door flew open. "Get in!" Jondy came face to face with Lydecker. "Now!"
Jondy nodded to Mathew and scrambled into the car behind him. "Go!" The car went screaming into the night. It made her skin turn cold just being in the same car as Lydecker.
Lydecker turned to Jondy as he steered the car around the corner. "Want to tell me what that was all about?"
Jondy arched her eyebrow. "If I knew, I wouldn't be sitting in a car with you. I'd be fixing the problem. Besides, they weren't firing at me. Why don't you ask him the question." She gestured over her shoulder at Mathew.
"I don't know." Mathew ran his hand through his dark hair. "Things just started happening about a week ago."
Lydecker pulled the car over and turned to face Mathew. "What sort of things" He still couldn't make out which one of his kids the redhead was, but he knew for sure now, she was definitely an X5.
Mathew shrugged his shoulders. "I dunno. Like my place getting trashed, like my car blowing up, like people shooting at me."
Lydecker thought about the information he had just been given. "What happened a week ago?" He turned back to Jondy. "And where do you fit in?"
"Hey, I just pour the drinks." Jondy opened the car door and got out. "By the way, his brother died a week ago." She didn't wait for a response, she just started walking down the road.
Mathew watched her for a moment. "She's right. It all started when Edward was killed." He glanced over at Lydecker. "No offence, but I think I'll stick with her." He climbed out of the car and followed Jondy.
Lydecker grinned to himself. "You're probably safer with her." Suddenly he realized which one of his kids she was. "Jondy. Some things never change. You're still a distraction." He chuckled to himself as he turned the car around. Maybe there were still a few people he could get information out of.
Logan woke to hear the sound of running water. "Max?" He was starting to wonder if last night was a dream.
"Yeah." Her voice came drifting out of the bathroom.
"You alright?" Logan was wondering if there would ever come a time when he wouldn't worry about her, if he couldn't see her.
"I'm fine." Max turned the water off in the shower and walked back into the bedroom, a towel wrapped around her hair and dressed in Logan's bathrobe. "What about you?"
Logan nodded. "I'm fine." He frowned. "What's that smell?" He put on the spare robe that Max handed him and eased himself into the wheelchair. He reached out and tugged on Max's hand so that she would bend down to his level. "By the way, Good Morning." He kissed her lightly on the lips.
Max beamed. "Good Morning." She pushed his wheelchair lightly. "Come on. Let's find out what that smell is and then you can feed me."
The two of them moved into the kitchen. They were more than a little surprised to see Jondy, Bling, Original Cindy and some complete stranger in Logan's kitchen making breakfast.
Original Cindy nudged Jondy. "These two must have been too busy to hear the break in last night. Nothing stolen, but what's with all of those clothes Bling found on the floor?"
Jondy struggled not to laugh as she handed Max a glass of milk. "Probably that phantom love bugler we keep hearing so much about. You know, leaves a trail of clothes to the bedroom ..."
"And a huge smile on the victims faces." Bling chimed in. "Did you two play cops and robbers last night?"
"More like Doctors and nurses, I think." Original Cindy handed Logan a plate heaped with food. "Original Cindy has been diagnosed before."
Logan rolled his eyes at their teasing. He looked over at Mathew. "Do we know you? You look sort of familiar."
Jondy sipped a glass of milk. "Think of him in a hospital bed and me in a nurses uniform."
Logan face registered his shock. "Edward? I thought the hover drone killed him."
Jondy nodded. "It did. This is his twin brother Mathew. It seems Manticore didn't know Edward had a twin anymore than we did, cause they were using him for target practice last night."
Max looked Mathew up and down. "And he's here why?" She couldn't see what Jondy had seen in his brother if they were identical twins. There was nothing outstanding about him.
"He followed me home after I rescued him and we had a close encounter of the Lydecker kind. He drove us out of harms way." Jondy wasn't exactly impressed that he was still around either.
Mathew watched the people around him. "Are you telling me, these people want to kill me because I look like my brother? What did he do? Sleep with somebody's wife?"
"He tried to sell Jessica here off to the highest bidder and they didn't want to pay." Logan wasn't any happier about Mathew being there, than the women were.
Max glanced over at Logan. "You think Manticore want Mathew dead because they think he's Edward?" She turned to Jondy. "Just how much alike is he to his brother?"
Jondy flicked her hair over her shoulder with her hand. "I thought he was Edward. He even wears the same aftershave. Talk about Demons from the past." Mathew was making her nervous just being in the same room, but she hadn't known what else to do with him. She couldn't just leave him the streets to be killed.
Bling shook his head. "I don't think Manticore assume Mathew is Edward. It's more likely they're tying up loose ends and making sure Edward didn't tell anyone about the deal he made. They probably assume with the two of you being twins that you were close."
Mathew shook his head. "We barely spoke. No offence." He turned to Jondy. "But what's so special about you? Why would somebody kill to get you?" Mathew had to admit to himself that he could barely keep his eyes off of her, but he couldn't imagine why anyone would pay to get her or kill for her. "You're not a whore are you?"
Every face in the room threw Mathew a dirty look. Jondy nudged Max. "That's one I've never been asked before."
Max shook her head. "Can't say I've had that particular question aimed at me either."
Logan and Bling looked as though they could happily throttle Mathew where he sat. Logan eased himself back into his wheelchair. "If Manticore has relocated, which they'd have had to after the damage we did last week: Where would they have gone? Better yet: Where is the hover drone coming from?"
Original Cindy frowned. "You think that they're coming from two different places?"
Max nodded. "They did before." She looked over at Jondy. "You up for a trip down town?"
Jondy shrugged her shoulders. "Sure, why not. I don't have to be at work for a while yet."
Max's eyes widened. "I was supposed to meet you after work last night." She turned to Logan. "We forgot."
Original Cindy grinned. "You two got busy and lost track of the time? Original Cindy remembers what that's like." Her grin widened when Logan and Max started to blush. "That good huh?"
Max struggled not to smile. "I'd better go and get dressed." She started walking towards Logan's room, picking her clothes up from where she had left them the previous night.
"Yeah. Me too." Logan started to follow Max.
"Oh no you don't." Jondy grabbed hold of Logan's chair. "I only have seven hours before I have to go to work." She lent over his shoulder, her long hair draping down the side of her face. "I get the feeling if you two get into a room alone, we'll never find out where the hover drone is coming from."
Logan turned his head slightly, so he could see Jondy and chuckled. "Busted. You going to leave Mathew here?"
Jondy stood up straight. "Would you mind? Can't exactly take him with us. He'd be like a sitting duck."
Logan nodded. "Sure. No problem. I'll see what I can find out this end."
Original Cindy picked up her back pack. "I'd better blaze before Normal tries to fire me again. I'll swing by and pick Mathew up after work." She slapped Logan on the back as she walked past. "I think you have enough house guests at the moment." She waved goodbye without turning back. "Later."
Max came back from getting changed. "Let's go. We can start with the place they were keeping the last hover drone." She shrugged her shoulders. "Failing that, we can try where they were keeping Tinga." She waited for Jondy to nod her agreement and then bent down and kissed Logan quickly. "See ya later."
"Be careful." He called after the two women, but they were already out the door. Logan watched Mathew pace around his kitchen. "So. How are we going to convince Manticore that you're not Edward and don't know what he's done?"
Mathew stopped pacing. "I'm up for any suggestions." He looked over at the front door. "Hey, what can you tell me about Jessica?" He saw Bling and Logan roll their eyes. "What?"
Lydecker watched the Manticore soldiers going through the motions around the special operations building where Tinga had been kept. Manticore were so predictable. Trying to rebuild what his kids had so matriculately destroyed. He smiled to himself. It would never be as good as the original. After all, they didn't have him. Several of the doctors that had been involved in the early stages had been assassinated. Renfro was still hooked up to machines and monitors in the public hospital. Although he had heard she was still issuing orders from her hospital bed, Lydecker seriously doubted she had a say in the operations happening before him now.
"Wishing you could go and play with the other monsters?" Lydecker turned to find Max and Jondy standing behind him. "What? Surprised to see me? I just bet you are." Max's eyes shot daggers at him. Logan had told her that Lydecker had hesitated when it had come to blowing the DNA lab.
Lydecker ignored her verbal jabs and turned back to watch the movements around the special operations building. "They're trying to rebuild. They must be keeping the X7's in there somewhere. Can't understand how they got the funding." He shook his head in disbelief.
Max let out a short sharp laugh. "Probably thought it was worth spending the money to keep their science experiment going."
Lydecker shook his head again. "With Manticore getting attacked twice by the X5's, they wouldn't want to risk the possibility of loosing the X7's in a third attack." He glanced over his shoulder. "By the way: Nice accent Jondy." He could sense the young woman flinch behind him. "How did the two of you find your way back here?" This place could only hold bad memories for Max, he knew that. He could see that night so clearly. Max sitting in a pool of liquid holding Tinga in her arms.
"We followed that." Max was looking up at the sky, where a hover drone floated above them.
Jondy started to back away pulling Max with her. "Time to go. Now!" The words barely left her mouth before the hover drone started firing at Lydecker.
"Looks like your friends at Manticore aren't too happy to see you." Max grabbed Lydecker by the collar of his jacket and tossed him into his nearby car. She threw the gun off of the back seat to Jondy, who was still outside the car. "Aim for the red light." She jumped into the driver's seat and started the car.
Just as Jondy fired off a shot, so did the hover drone. Jondy leapt out of the way, but caught a bullet in the shoulder. The hover drone wasn't as lucky. Jondy's shot was spot on. The machine hit the ground right in front of the car. Jondy pulled herself into the backseat of the car. "Go!"
Max shoved the gear into reverse and floored the gas pedal. Once they were a decent distance away she slammed the gear into first and drove towards Logan's apartment. The exploding hover drone could be felt through the whole car. "Jondy. How bad's you're arm?"
Jondy pushed the collar of her shirt aside slightly and peered underneath. "Not bad. I should be able to patch it up at Logan's."
Max pulled the car over to the side of the road. "We'll walk from here." She had no desire to let Lydecker know where Logan lived. "As always, it's been a slice of life." She mockeningly saluted Lydecker as she climbed out of the car.
Donald Lydecker knew his 'kids' well enough to know that even if he followed them, they would loose him in some alley. He had taught them well. Besides, he knew where he could contact them. The bar they had all been at last night.
Logan was so used to Max picking the lock and letting herself in, that he didn't even look up when the two women walked back into his apartment. "Find anything?" His eyes locked onto his computer as his fingers rapidly hit the keys on the key board.
"Yeah." Max sat down on the desk next to Logan's computer. "We found Lydecker sniffing around the place Manticore were keeping Tinga. Jondy even did some skeet shooting." She giggled at the confused look on Logan's face. "She got rid of the hover drone that's been shooting up the place."
"Are you both alright?" Logan turned his chair so that he could see both Jondy and Max. It was then he saw the blood on the arm of the shirt Jondy was wearing. "Is that bad?"
Jondy shook his head. "No. It's just a scratch. I'm going to need to borrow another shirt though."
"Mathew! Can you get the first aid kit out of the bathroom and a clean shirt from my wardrobe." Logan motioned for Jondy to sit down so that he could get a look at her arm. "Are you alright to take off this shirt?"
Jondy stifled a smile. "Of course." She unknotted the shirt and carefully pulled the shirt over her head to reveal the singlet top she was wearing underneath. "I really should send for some of my clothes, but I didn't want to risk putting Devon in danger."
"So Devon's your boyfriend?" Mathew tried to sound casual as he walked into the room with the first aid kit and a clean shirt. He was surprised to see the bloodied mess that Jondy's arm was in. "So, do you get shot a lot?"
Max took the first aid kit off of Mathew. "It's beginning to look that way." She started to clean up Jondy's arm. "You know, if you keep this up Jondy, we'll be able to play dot to dot with your scars."
Logan handed Max a dressing. "I thought that you two would heal fully and not scar. Who is Devon?" He winced at the sight of Jondy's wound.
"A gay friend of mine." Jondy watched Max dress the wound. "It's really not as bad as it looks. I seriously doubt it will leave a scar." She slipped the shirt that Logan handed her on and knotted it at the waist. "I'd better get to work. See you later." She walked out of the apartment as though nothing had happened.
"Shouldn't someone go with her." Mathew was still staring in the direction that Jondy had gone in. "I mean, she could go into shock or something."
Logan shook his head. "You haven't figured out yet that she's not like regular girls, have you." He could see Max trying to hide a smile, out of the corner of his eye. "Didn't you notice that she's sort of different?"
Mathew shrugged his shoulders. "I'm still trying to work out why someone of her class would ever give my brother the time of day, let alone sleep with him."
Max heard Original Cindy knocking on the door. "Oh Jondy doesn't sleep." She stood and went to answer the door. "Looks as though you're on the move again. Original Cindy's here to pick you up."
Mathew glanced over to Logan. "I didn't mean sleep in the sense of ....."
"She's teasing you." Logan wheeled himself back over to his computer desk. Giving Original Cindy a quick wave hello, he went back to work on his computer.
"Are you sure you want to take Mathew back to our crib?" Max eyed Mathew dubiously. "He keeps eyeing up Jondy."
Mathew was confused. "Who's Jondy?"
Logan looked briefly over his shoulder. "Jessica is Jondy. Don't try anything with her. She doesn't need the trouble."
Original Cindy huffed impatiently. "Are you ready to go?" She nudged Max. "Don't worry Boo. I've got sister girl's back"
"Thanks." Max stood aside to let Mathew and Original Cindy out the door. "Hey. Can you tap back into that Chinese satellite that you tapped into when Zack and I tried to get Tinga back."
Logan nodded. "Sure. Is that where Manticore are operating out of?" Max nodded. "You and Jondy going to break in there tonight?"
Max stood behind him. Bending over enough to rest her chin on Logan's shoulder, she watched the activity on the screen in front of them. "No. They're gonna expect that. Best we leave it until tomorrow. With that hover drone out of action, they'll have to double the troops."
"So you want me to keep an eye on them, why?" Logan turned his head slightly so that he could see her.
"Lydecker told us, if we blew up the DNA lab, Manticore's big wigs would pull funding and close the operation down. That possibility would have doubled when Jondy, Krit and Sil blew the power grid and generator." Max chewed thoughtfully on her bottom lip.
Logan could see where Max's thought process was heading. "So why are they still operating? Unless the Manticore big wigs don't know what's going on."
Max smiled at him. "You read my mind. Is there any way you can tape this so that Jondy and I can watch it tomorrow?" She smiled sexily at Logan. "I'd hate to miss something important."
Logan matched her look with his own. "I think that I can manage that. Why don't you go and see if our friends left us something for dinner while I set this up."
"OK." Max headed for the kitchen. Opening up the fridge she saw that their friends had left them enough food to last the week. "Jackpot."
Logan wheeled his chair into the kitchen behind her. He looked in amazement at his fully stocked fridge. "How long were they all in here?"
Max burst out laughing. "They could have been here all night. I don't think we would have noticed."
Logan joined her laughter. "You're right." He pulled Max into his lap. "I wonder how long it would take them to stock up the wine."
Max raised an eyebrow. "Only one way to find out."
Bling leaned on the bar and waited for Jondy to make her way up to his end of the bar. "So, what's the plan with Mathew?"
Jondy shrugged her shoulders. "Try to stop him from being shot. That's about all I've got for the moment." She placed two bottles of wine on the counter in front of him. "Can you drop these off at Logan's for me. I figure I owe him at least that considering I keep using his shirts."
Bling nodded. "Sure. I'm positive they won't even hear me go into the apartment." Jondy flashed him a smile. "So did you and Max find anything out while you were looking for that hover drone?"
"Yes. Hover drones are great for target practice." She poured a glass of water and put a couple of ice cubes in the glass. "Aren't they?" Jondy pushed the glass over to someone beside Bling.
From the icy expression on Jondy's face, Bling could tell without looking that Donald Lydecker was sitting beside him. "So there's one less hover drone protolling the city. That's not necessarily a bad thing." Bling remained facing Jondy.
Lydecker took a sip of the water. "Of that particular modified model, I couldn't agree more. Let's just hope Manticore didn't modify any others." He lent forward slightly. "Let your sister know Renfro was released from hospital today. She's still connected to a load of machines, but it's my guess she's still giving out the orders." He picked up his glass and walked over to a table in the corner.
Bling could see the muscles in Jondy's face relax when Lydecker moved away. "Still don't trust him do you? Even though his life is on the line."
Jondy shook her head. Her red mane cascading over her shoulders. "It's a bit hard to trust someone who stood aside and watched while experiments were performed on you. Even if his arse is on the line, Bling...." She looked him straight in the eye. "He's still the same person that wanted to put myself and my family back in a cage. Leopards don't change their spots and neither do animals like him." With that she turned and walked down the other end of the bar.
Bling watched Jondy serve the customers down the other end of the bar for a few minutes. No way should anyone try to keep someone like her in a cage. Waving good bye he grabbed the bottles of wine and headed for home.
Jondy moved silently into the apartment, careful not to wake Original Cindy or Mathew. Pulling off her jacket, she tossed it onto the sofa and sat down beside it. Kicking her shoes off, she pulled her legs up. She hugged her knees, rocking back and forth slightly. Running the events of the day through her head, she tried to fit all the pieces together. Nothing made sense at the moment. She heard somebody moving behind her. "What are you doing up at this hour." She didn't have to turn around to know Mathew was standing behind her.
Mathew moved Jondy's jacket so that he could sit beside her. "I was waiting for you to come in." He saw the look of suspicion cross her face. "I was thinking, is there some way that we can let these Manticore people know that I'm not Edward. You know, one where none of us get shot."
Jondy thought about it for a moment and then shook her head. "I don't know right now Mathew. The people at Manticore tend to shoot first and ask questions later.
Mathew nodded that he understood. "It was just a thought. Anyway, thanks for saving my butt. My brother didn't exactly give you any reason to help our family out." He lent forward and kissed her on the cheek. As he pulled away he made the mistake of looking into Jondy's big blue eyes. There was such uncertainty in those eyes. As Mathew lent forward again, he felt someone grab hold of the collar of his shirt, stopping him.
"Oh no you don't" Original Cindy's voice echoed in the quiet room. "You leave sister girl alone. She's already had enough trouble from your family." She looked over at Jondy who was struggling not to laugh at the shocked expression on Mathew's face. "You eaten yet Boo?" Jondy shook her head. "I thought not. I saved you some dinner."
"Thanks." Jondy swung her legs over the arm of the sofa and pushed herself over. "You'd better let him go. I don't think he'll try anything else tonight."
Max rewound the tape that Logan had set recording the previous night while she waited for Jondy to arrive. Logan was asleep in the bedroom so the whirring of the rewinding tape sounded so loud. Max heard the click of the front door opening. "Hey Jondy. In here." A couple of seconds later her sister walked into the room.
Jondy's face creased into a puzzled frown. "What are you rewinding?" Her expression changed into a teasing grin. "You and Logan didn't tape your activities last night, did you?"
Max rolled her eyes. "No. Logan linked into a satellite and taped the actions of our friends at Manticore. Probably not ideal viewing over breakfast, but wanna watch anyway?"
"Sure." Jondy sat crossed legged on the sofa. "Logan still asleep?"
Max nodded as she handed Jondy a glass of milk and a bowl of cereal. "Yeah. I didn't want to disturb him. How are things going over at my crib?"
Jondy took a sip of milk. "Oh the usual. Mathew thanked me for saving his butt, then tried to make a pass at me, which was halted by Original Cindy. Ate dinner, went for a walk. Nothing new."
Max giggled. 'Nothing new for you anyway." She sat down beside Jondy and pushed a couple of buttons on the remote. Silently they both watched the screen in front of them. Max frowned. "What is wrong with this picture."
Jondy was also frowning. The movements of the soldiers weren't typical. "They're trying to cover up that they're working out of that building . Which means ....."
"The committee don't know that Manticore is still operational." Max finished off for her. "Logan and I figured that out last night. How the hell are they getting the funding?"
Jondy turned to face Max. "Lydecker said that Renfro is out of hospital. She's still connected up to a load of monitors, but that doesn't mean she can't sign off orders."
Max followed Jondy's line of thinking. "Especially if she's falsifying the orders so that the committee thinks they're for something totally separate from Manticore."
Logan walked into the room. He had heard the two women talking so had showered and changed and put on the exo skeleton to give them more time together. "Morning." He kissed Max on the top of her head. "You two watching last night's tape?" He saw the two women nod out of the corner of his eye while he watched the screen. "They don't exactly look like the military type."
Max nodded. "That's the general idea. Think you can break into Manticore's computer so we can take a peak at their supply records."
Logan headed towards his computer. "I'm on it?"
Jondy remembered what Mathew had asked her last night and got an idea. "Hey Logan. Mathew asked me if there was a way to let Manticore know he wasn't Edward without any of us getting shot at."
Max was confused. "But it's not Manticore that's not in the know, it's the committee. The supplies Manticore are using are probably listed to another outlet anyway."
Logan understood what Jondy was getting at. "So we can change the records and email a copy to the committee and bring them up to speed. They'll put an immediate stop to the funding and whoever has signed the orders in the first place."
Jondy nudged Max. "This guy of yours is pretty damn smart."
Max nodded. "He's pretty damn hot as well."
Logan chuckled to himself. "Ladies, I'm still in the room." His fingers moved rapidly across the keys on the key board, his gaze fixed on the screen. "What exactly are we looking for?"
Max stood behind him watching the data flash across the screen. "Anything signed off by Renfro. There." She pointed to group of orders.
Jondy joined them. "Infirmary, kitchen and safe house." She read off the supposed locations for delivery. "I don't think so."
Logan looked up at Max. "Where do you want the location changed to?"
Max scribbled down the waterfront address. "Here's the address. Look at the dates on these orders. She cleared them from her hospital bed."
"I take it, Renfro's not a woman that takes defeat easily." Logan started changing the location address'. "Unfortunately for her, neither are the two of you."
"Two against one. I like those odds." Max grinned at her sister.
Renfro sat up against the pillows on her bed. It still hurt to breathe, but she would not be taken down by a science experiment. "Can someone bring me my lap top." It even hurt to speak.
A nurse hurried into the room carrying the laptop and an envelope. "This was just delivered for you." She handed over the envelope and set the lap top down on the bed. "I took the liberty of signing for it."
Renfro ripped open the envelope and checked for anything that would tell her who the sender was. Apart from her own address there was no markings on it. Frowning she started up her computer and reached into the envelope to pull out the contents. All that was in it, was a computer disk. Pushing the disk into the hard drive she opened the files on the disk. Suddenly the screen was covered with an assortment of strange characters. "No!" She had inadvertedly put a virus onto her computer. Everything was gone.
Outside the house Jondy and Max sat on the hood of Logan's car, while Logan spoke to someone on his mobile from inside the car. Renfro's scream could be heard from where they were all sitting.
"Thank you for using Jam Pony couriers." Max spouted off brightly.
The two women laughed at her joke and climbed into the car. Logan switched his phone off and started the car. "Are you two sure you don't want to take my car to go and see Charlie and Case?"
Max shook her head, her face full of sorrow. She and Jondy had decided to travel to see Tinga's husband and son to let them know what had happened in person. "No. You might need it. Besides, we move quicker on foot." They could get past the sector police easier as well.
Logan pulled the car over near the checkpoint on the outskirts of town. "Call me when you get there." He desperately wanted to go with them, but he knew that this was something Max felt she had to do herself. He was slightly reassured that she was taking Jondy with her. "Be careful." He watched the two women climb out of the car.
Max waited for Jondy to get out of the car before leaning back in. "We will. Stay out of trouble." She kissed him good bye and moved back out of the car, shutting the car door and waving as she and Jondy started on their way.
Logan watched them until they ducked out of sight and then headed home. Thanks to his link into the satellite they had all witnessed the committee closing Manticore for good. Not wishing to risk Manticore finding another loop hole, Max had suggested putting the computer virus onto Renfro's computer.
Original Cindy has said that she would put up with Mathew for a couple more days just so that they could be sure that it would be safe for him to return home.
Bling stood watching Logan stare out of the window into the dark. "Max just phoned. She and Jondy are staying with Charlie and Case. She said they'll be back in a couple of days."
Logan nodded absentmindly. "They want to spend some time with their nephew. Try and make up for his mother not being able to be there."
Bling chuckled at the depressed look on Logan's face. "Max will be back soon enough."
Logan turned to look at his friend. 'I know. I just got her back and she's off with Jondy. I just wonder if this is how it's always going to be."
Bling understood where Logan was coming from. "That's what you get for falling for a genetically engineered woman. Come on. I'll buy you a beer."
THE END
