Chapter 6: I Ask, You Answer
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On the outside, Jondy wore a very bemused grin, but on the inside, she was cowering. Sure, she was trained to expect anything and everything, and she was trained to deal with even the most difficult of hostages, but never, anywhere, was she trained to deal with her very pissed off older sister. They should have had classes for this at Manticore. They would�ve expected that sooner or later one of us was going to snap on the other. We should have been prepared for this. Jondy was standing off to the side of Zack, with her arms crossed, and her hip thrust out to the side. She kept glancing at Max, never allowing her gaze to linger too long, for fear of receiving the icy stare that Zack was presently getting.
After Max had started stirring in the backseat, and had sworn for a good ten minutes, Zack had finally pulled over in a roadside turnout that they had come across. After turning off the engine, and shoving the keys down as far as they would go in his jeans pocket, he climbed out of the car. Jondy had quickly scampered out her door over to where she stood now so that she could witness the opening of the back door. Zack had taken a deep breath, and then slowly reached down to the handle. Jondy had watched Max�s eyes the entire time, which were following every move that Zack made. She was certain that as soon as the door was opened, Max would somehow lunge out at Zack, and kill him right there on the spot. But that hadn�t happened. Instead, Max stayed eerily calm, and had only moved so that she was upright. That had been about twenty minutes ago, and the two siblings were still deep into their staring contest.
I wonder how come Max hasn�t moved. Falling back on her training again. Never show any weakness to your captor, no matter what advantage they hold over you. I remember that class. That�s for sure. I wonder if she will kill Zack when he finally unties her. That is *if* he unties her. Personally, if it were me, I�d think I�d wait for awhile longer. Give her that extra time to calm down to the level of pissed. I think she�s so livid right now, she hasn�t even registered that Logan isn�t here. Wow, that won�t be a good scene at all. Jondy broke her stare of Zack and looked down the empty road. I wonder how far I�d make it if I started walking right now. Maybe if I left this very second, in the time that it would take Max to break from her restraints, kill Zack, and get the car going, I could be, oh, like two miles from here. Maybe I�ll get lucky and there�ll be a town right down the road. I could hide out there until she calms down. What am I talking about? She�d tear the town down to get to me. She wouldn�t care who I was I don�t think. Ok, must stay here. Maybe with Zack we can hold her down for at least a few seconds.
�Max.�
Whoa! That�s new. Zack *never* starts the conversation. This is seriously treading into *very* dangerous territory now. Jondy looked to Max to see her reaction. Not surprisingly, she didn�t move. Didn�t even flinch when Zack spoke. She simply continued to shoot daggers at him with her eyes.
�Max, this is for your own good. You would have been caught if you stayed.�
Max continued to stare up at Zack. Never moving.
Jondy honed her hearing, and could hear Max breathing very heavily, but keeping it in control. She was beyond pissed. Beyond livid. Beyond any word in the English language for angry. Jondy looked at Zack and could see a bit of fear begin to creep into his normally stoic demeanor. Man, I�d be scared too if Max was after me. I don�t even want to think of what she could do.
�Ok Max, I�m just going to take out the gag. Then we can talk, ok?�
Not a good plan Zack! Not a good plan! Jondy unconsciously took a step back as Zack carefully leaned into the car to untie the seatbelt that was keeping Max from speaking.
Zack backed up from the car, and watched to see what Max would do.
After the gag was taken from her mouth, Max opened and shut her jaw a few times to work the kinks that had developed. She then licked her lips, preparing to talk. After a few tense moments, she looked right at Jondy. �Jondy?�
Jondy licked her lips in worry of what Max was going to say. It�s not my fault that she�s here, right? She can�t blame all of this on me, can she? �Um, yeah Max?�
Max smiled. �You wouldn�t by any chance have some lip balm on you, would you? My lips are kind of dry after such a long car ride.�
Jondy was caught completely off guard with Max�s question. She quickly dropped her hands to her pockets and started rummaging through each pocket she had. �Um, yeah, I do. Um, would you like raspberry, cherry or crystal ice?�
�Cherry would be fine.�
�Uh, sure.� Jondy quickly grabbed the cherry flavored one in her right hand, thrusting it towards Max, dropping the others in the process.
�You might have to help me with that little sis.�
Jondy shook her head, trying to get rid of the sense of dread that was ever present. �Oh right. Sorry.� Jondy took the cap off the stick, and rubbed the substance over Max�s lips. After a few swipes, she pulled back. �Is that better?�
�Much. Thank you.�
Jondy put the cap back on, and shoved the stick in her coat pocket. Noticing that the other two had fallen, she bent to pick them up. This is going good. I think I can handle this. Maybe she won�t kill me after all. I gave her lip balm. Maybe she�ll only maim me instead. Jondy had to smile as her thoughts ran through her head. Tuning back into the real world, she stood up and returned her gaze to her two siblings.
�Ok Zack. I am trying real hard here to comprehend what just happened, and I�m not doing too well. You mind explaining it to me?�
�This is for your own good Maxie.�
�No, no. That�s not explaining what just happened. I don�t want to know why you did it. I want to know what caused you to do it.�
Zack turned around and raked his fingers through his hair.
Jondy could only stand in awe as to what was going on. Never in her life had she seen a discussion this thick with tension. One of them was going to snap, but she didn�t have a clue which one would.
�Don�t you turn away from me!�
Zack whipped around and looked at Max again.
�You drugged me, took me from my home, tied me up, and have left me with no explanation as to what in the hell is going on. So do *not* turn your back on me.�
�They were going to capture you Max. They knew where to find you.�
�I figured that out already Zack. The whole military vehicle set up in front of my crib was a pretty good sign of that.�
�So, I just did the best thing possible. I took you out of a bad situation, and put you into...�
�What, a good one? Trust me Zack, I would rather have stayed than come with you.�
�No, a better one. At least now you don�t have to worry about being captured.�
Max narrowed her eyes. �What I want to know is, how did they know where to find me Zack? Huh? Tell me that one please.�
Jondy watched as her two siblings got angrier and angrier. Max�s last question seemed to hit Zack hard though.
Zack shoved the backdoor in frustration, causing the metal frame to bend.
Max calmly watched Zack�s venting, and raised an eyebrow at his display. �That�ll help Zack. Breaking the car. Great way to explain to me what�s going on.�
�You are so frustrating Max! You still can�t see what�s going on here?�
�Obviously not Zack, because why else would I be asking you?�
�I hate to break this to you Max, but the only one who knows where you hang out, and has the technology to alert Lydecker is none other than your boyfriend.� Zack almost spat out the last few words.
�Logan had *nothing* to do with this. Nothing. So stop bringing him into this. I don�t even know why you constantly have to say that Logan...wait. Where�s Logan?� For the first time since she woke up, Max moved. She whipped her head around and looked throughout the car. �Where�s Logan? Tell me he�s just standing outside.�
�Zack wouldn�t let me bring him Max. I tried. I swear!�
Zack turned to Jondy and gave her an icy glare. Right away she backed off, holding her hands up in surrender. Zack turned back to see Max�s reaction.
�Logan isn�t here? You left him at the apartment?�
�Max! He was the one that tipped Lydecker off! I can�t believe that you�re not seeing this!�
Jondy watched as Max lowered her head. It almost looked as if she was about to cry. Wait a minute. Max doesn�t cry. At least, I don�t think she would. But, I don�t know. Jondy kept a close eye on Max. And then, she noticed that Max�s shoulders were heaving up and down. Whoa. She *is* crying. Damn. She has it bad for him.
Max�s shoulders were heaving up and down as she gathered her strength. She would have one shot at this, and even that was a long shot. When she finally felt that she was ready, she pulled against her restraints as hard as she could. After a few moments, she could feel them giving, and as soon as they broke, she was out of the car like a rocket. Zack was too quick for her, though. Her feelings were beginning to cloud her judgment.
As Max lunged out of the car at him, Zack grabbed her and twisted her around so that her back was pressing against his chest. With one arm, he held her close, as the other one snaked around her neck. Increasing the pressure, he held on until she went limp in his arms.
As Max fell to the ground, only one word worked its way through her haze. Logan.
Guess she wasn�t crying. �Damn Zack.� Jondy walked over to where Max had fallen, and helped her brother put her in the car. As they closed the door, Jondy crossed her arms and smirked at Zack.
�What?�
�Man, she�s *really* gonna kill you when she wakes up this time.�
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The leader of the SWAT team roughly grabbed Logan and threw him into another team member, who easily caught Logan, handcuffed his hands behind his back, and hit the back of Logan�s knees with the butt of his gun, causing Logan to land heavily on the floor on his knees. The sickening crack of bone on hardwood floor echoed throughout the room. Logan pulled at the handcuffs, but two guns on either side of his head, pointing at his temples, caused him to stop.
�Where�s the girl?�
Oh my god, they found Max. Wait a minute. If they�re asking where she is, they haven�t gotten her. But where is she? She was here a mere hour ago. She would�ve come to get me, wouldn�t she? The force of a blow to the back of the head caused by the butt of one of the guns caused Logan�s head to swim, and threw him back into the world. �What girl?�
The leader looked up at her team and laughed. �What girl. What girl? He�s asking us what girl. Can you believe this?� The other men in the team chuckled, but quickly shut up at their leader turned her attention back to Logan. �*This* girl.� He thrust the picture of Max into Logan�s face that she had given him on Valentine�s Day.
Logan looked at the picture and then back into the eyes of the leader. �Never seen her in my life. It came with the frame. I thought she was kind of hot, so I kept it in there, you know, for personal reasons.� Another blow came to the back of his head, causing Logan to fall forward. He was kept in place though, by someone holding onto the back of his robe. His head was swimming once again, and he was finding it difficult to focus.
�Being funny isn�t going to keep you alive.� The leader crossed the room and put the picture of Max on the floor near the door. She looked up at Logan and raised his gun. �If you don�t tell me where she is.....� The leader took her gun, and shot it, letting the bullet explode the picture. �...that will happen to you, and to her, the second we find her.�
Logan looked in horror at his most prized picture. Only one word managed to creep through his terror. Max.
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