Graceful Soldier
Chapter Four: The Intervention
"Not going to work," Joshua proclaimed, sadly shaking his head, as he sloppily carried the supplies into the empty room, setting them down haphazardly upon the table, a frown etching itself upon his face.
"It's a distraction," Max Guevara informed him. "In order to make this believable, we need a distraction."
"Max, you're asking him to do it without inspiration- isn't that a little steep?"
"No, Alec, it's called progress. Joshua doesn't need to be in a set environment to get the creativity flowing, he just needs-"
"A hell of a lot of luck?" he quipped, rolling his eyes. "Yeah, that'll happen. Hey, I know. Why don't we just go up to her front door and knock? I mean, all things considered, I hear it does wonders these days in getting someone's attention."
"And I think we should try and have a valid reason," she put in. "Newsflash, all right? We're not even supposed to know where she lives. "
"So we just add a little color. It's not like he has to do it himself. You just take a few dabs here, a few smudges there, and you've got a masterpiece, huh?"
She sighed, crossing her arms neatly over her chest. "Can you please just focus for five minutes?"
"Last I checked, our five minutes were already up, and I'm not going to sit around here and wait for dog boy to paint us a Picasso. He wants to go along with it, fine. But a grown man needs to eat, okay?"
"Last I checked, there wasn't exactly a grown man in this room," she challenged, raising an eyebrow.
"Are they always like this?" Donald Lydecker interceded, lightly scratching his chin, as he lended a brief gaze to Logan Cale, his expression clearly perplexed.
"Pretty much."
"And Max thinks she's going to win the heart of this woman by painting her a picture."
"Look, let's cut the small talk, all right?" The cyber-journalist met the other man's stare without the slightest flinch, his blue eyes training themselves upon his face. "Your source…is he the guy that contacted you from the diner?"
"I trust that's correct," he added lightly, clearing his throat.
"So he's been tailing us," Logan countered, raising an eyebrow, "under your supervision, or so you'd suspect."
"He told me you'd only just left when I received the call. I don't have a name, and I didn't ask whom he worked for. It's not exactly on my agenda these days to make more enemies."
"Oh, I highly doubt that."
"Listen-"
"But you're sure he's basically a double-crossing son of a bitch of his own accord," the younger man abruptly put in, cutting him off.
Lydecker's mouth tightened into a hard, impatient line. "Son, you're a man who knows how to get word to the public. Given the chance, wouldn't you think about cashing in if you played your cards just right?"
"Yeah, and the funny thing is, I think I've got a full deck right about now."
"You still don't trust me."
"Someone sent those men after Max," Logan put forth. "Someone saw her as a threat. Someone wanted her eliminated. No, it's nothing new- but I still want to find out who this someone is."
"Blaming me isn't likely to take your worries away."
"No, but it might bring me some comfort."
"And have you once questioned what you took on with this? Have you once questioned the implications of what it might do to you to find more than you were meant to? I know you love her, son, but she'll always have you on the run. She's not going to settle down and decide on gifted children with a white picket fence- it isn't in her DNA to claim a bright future with maternal instincts. Surely you've come to grasp that by now."
"Max knows what she's doing," he whispered.
"Max knows who she is- what she is," Lydecker confirmed. "And for her, it's always been enough." He considered a moment. "Of course, even the best soldier is entitled to one weakness...one single flaw that taints and corrupts them beyond your control."
"I wouldn't call love a weakness," Logan murmured. "For her, it's always been a strength."
"Logan, would you please tell Alec that his presence here is destroying Joshua's inspirational technique!?"
Logan immediately lit up at the sound of her voice, his gaze traveling in her direction. She'd since changed into a pair of loose gray sweats and a baggy navy hooded sweatshirt, and yet the attire seemed to compliment her frame rather well. "Alec mentioned that the widow may attend a function here or there. Something that would have supported her late husband's business etiquette."
The other man carefully nodded. "These women thrive on the success of the fortune left to them- doesn't really matter if their husbands are deceased or not."
"So she most likely isn't too distraught, and probably never was."
"Money is something that's always been high on the list of things people can't refuse. I trust you remember the reward I put out for Max when she was spotted on South Market Street?"
"Cashing in," Logan quipped, rolling his eyes, as he recalled the conversation of only minutes earlier.
"It wouldn't be wise. You'd run into trouble the second you reached the door. These are usually by invitation only and require some kind of clearance."
"So find us some."
"Look, son, I wasn't screwing around when I told you how bad this is. You're not in the position to make demands that may as well have you killed."
"And you're not in the position to make demands about what the hell I'm going to stand for and believe in."
"The popular theory would be that you used her to further your own cause."
Logan gritted his teeth out of pure frustration, trying hard to maintain his composure, as he gently rocked back upon the heels of his feet, his hands throwing themselves into the pockets of his jeans. "It was never about that."
"You can continue to tell yourself that," he stated, obviously amused, "but deep down inside, you were too moved by what she could do to help you fight the effects of Post-Pulse society. You saw her as a way in."
"Yeah, and maybe she should've killed you when she cornered you at the door back there. Would've saved us both a lot of trouble."
"You don't need to be doing this," he tried again. "You don't need to be out here looking for a lost-"
"Max needs to know. And as far as I can tell, so do you."
"You'd be sadly mistaken."
"Oh, really?" Logan turned to him once more, his eyebrows arching themselves in bewilderment. "Then why are you here? I mean...why are you still helping us, if you're just planning on quitting and running off again?"
"You saw the pictures, didn't you?"
Logan tensed. "What about them?"
"Before I got myself into a jam, I had a nice little chat over the phone with someone who was all too eager to tell me what they represented."
"I'm listening."
"I was told that they had a story behind them- a...legend, if you will. This pertained to a Kiloma Indian burial site, most likely circa the 1800's." He paused a moment. "I had no idea they had such a vast history behind them and I was just as baffled as you're looking right now when he told me. I had this strange feeling I was really onto something, and I was right."
"What kind of history?" Logan prompted, crossing his arms over his chest.
"According to what he all too willingly confided in me, it was about a group of white fur traders who had kidnapped a rather young girl from her tribe. They more or less coerced her into bearing them a child with a young boy they also happened to have with them. Now, he was supposedly well over six feet tall. He'd been described to me as only being around fourteen years of age."
"The baby wasn't normal, was it?" he asked him quietly.
"That's correct. It was stillborn and strangely deformed. Now after having yet another, there didn't seem to be any comforting words said until the third child came into the world- they seemed pleased by it, oddly enough. Killed its mother and took it." He frowned. "Thing of it was, the painting on that wall, the symbol...seemed to hint that Manticore had gone well beyond its years and had facts stored away that I never even knew about. When I tried to bring him the originals, I was run off the road."
"And yet you're still here to live and tell us about it."
"There's something at stake here. Something these men want their hands on awfully bad."
"The scenario with the third child obtaining a kind of sacred value, so to speak, goes back to the days of White's snake cult. Your archaeologist friend left behind a message you never got," he finished, shrugging. "Max was there at the same site you were, and I did a little research myself- so the Kiloma background you were given is accurate. When she tried to get White's son back, after we both thought he'd been kidnapped, the guys that she came face to face with put up quite a fight and basically kicked her ass. She thought they were transgenics at first. I got a hold of some footage showing them doing leaps and bounds to enter White's place and the flags went up. No barcodes though. Just a hell of a lot of strength."
"You found the symbol elsewhere, didn't you?" Lydecker whispered.
"Mesopotamian burial chamber, as far back as 5000 B.C. and more from an Andean tomb in Atacama, Chile in 2000 B.C." He sighed. "Second-century Etruscan catacombs, seventh-century Northumbrian Celtics, the list could keep going. Max was a bit skeptical on the whole genetic engineering concept heading that far back in time, and I'd have to agree without question, but there's definitely a major connection in all this. They tell you anything while they were torturing you to death?"
"The girl," he replied simply.
"I'm sorry...girl?" Logan questioned sharply, confused.
"Jess."
"What about her?"
"You'd be wise to watch your step," he sided, shooting him a brief glance.
"She's harmless," he insisted. "She came from a broken home. Chances are, she's going to seem a little spooked."
"I'm sensing something more than that. You say you found her alone at your friend's house the other night?"
"She says she was. I mean I'm not th-"
"Max needs to watch her real close."
"What do I need to watch real close?" Max cut in, as she casually approached them, hands slanted against her hips. "Because as far as I know, the only thing bothering me in this room is Alec."
"Can I help it if your plan is still lame?" Alec shot back.
"Um...where's Jess?" Logan inquired, tossing her a small smile.
"Beats me if I know."
He just stared at her, dumbfounded.
She quickly grinned then, her pretty face teasing and amused. "Oh relax. She's in the kitchen getting something to eat."
"Max, you can't just go and take food from total strangers."
"We can if they're not home. And right now, nobody in this area seems to be, either."
"So we're doing this-"
"Because we can."
"We're not far from the widow's- look, I still think it would work better if we approach her as a family. There are-"
"Can he get us in somewhere or what?" she countered, changing the subject, as she briefly glanced up at Lydecker, her generous mouth suddenly settling itself into a firm line. "I mean, that's our only other option here, right? We sneak in, we find her, we have a nice little discussion about car accidents and secrets?"
"Max-"
"Logan, this is important. We need to know more of what we're up against here." She studied him a moment, fondly raising a brow. "Or maybe you suddenly forgot that trouble already seems to know we're visiting."
"No, I'd just like to keep you out of it," he told her softly, his blues gently falling over her, his gaze intensifying.
"And I still don't think I have a choice in the matter."
"I'll see what I can manage," Lydecker's voice sliced through the moment of silence, as he clamly nodded, pulling a small cell from his pocket, stepping clear of them.
"Max, you can't let this-"
"Okay, are we gonna have another Kodak moment here?" Alec beckoned from his spot near Joshua, his brows arching with the slightest bout of annoyance.
She just rolled her eyes, shooting him one of her many glares. She then turned back to Logan, her lips pursed. "So you're telling me I shouldn't put myself in plain view, because we'll draw these guys out of hiding?"
"Essentially yes."
"As far as I see it, this is the only way we're going to get rid of them," she protested, considering a moment. "What does the man who's famous for trying to kill me think?"
"He's actually pretty skeptical about Jess. Which, you know, I can't exactly blame him since he just met her, but sometimes it's still better to proceed with caution anyway."
"So you're on his side now, is that it?"
"Hey, I didn't say that," he roughly objected, his blues widening in disbelief at her accusation.
"But you're listening to what he has to say," she pointed out. "Like I said before, I'm running this. It's not up to him to decide for us."
"Yeah, and in his own way, I think he's worried, too."
"And he's always had such a funny way of showing it," she quipped.
"No, I mean, I think he got himself into something he's still refusing to talk about," Logan clarified, shooting a quick glance at the older man, who continued to mumble into his cell just out of reach.
"Like what?"
"Well, for one, he's not saying anything about what happened the day they took him."
"That's because he probably made it up- staged his own death." She frowned, taking a step toward him. "It's not entirely uncommon for guys like him to do this stuff. Run the car off the road, leave behind a little evidence...it probably happens all the time."
"Yeah, and I'm thinking maybe you can get him to talk."
"Excuse me?"
"C'mon, Max. We need more answers here."
"And I need a damn good kick in the ass for trusting him again. No, you know what? Scratch that. If he's talking to those guys we saw earlier, I'd say it's already all over."
"You don't know that."
"Logan-"
"The minute he steps out of line, I'll be more than happy to leave you alone in a room with him. But for now, we need to at least pretend we're all getting along, all right?"
"Sure I can't just mess up his face some now?"
He just stared at her, the corners of his mouth threatening to slide into a full fledged smile. "It's tempting, but no."
"Doesn't hurt to picture it though, right?"
"Did that dude say something about not trusting the little brat?" a voice cut in, as Alec strolled up to them, his face a faint mask of concern, his hands plunged deep into his coat pockets.
"Why? What's it to you?" Max prompted.
He did his best to hide a smirk. "I think it would probably be a good idea to check on her. I haven't heard a damn thing coming from that kitchen since she went in there."
"Girl gone?" Joshua added, his eyes curiously examining a fairly small paintbrush he held within his grasp, a blank canvass still sitting in front of him.
"Hey, Josh can probably sniff her out, can't ya buddy?"
"Alec," Max advised, narrowing her eyes at him.
"What? Oh, c'mon, Max. We both know the big guy can get to her faster than anybody."
"Yeah, except we don't even know if she's gone," she pointed out.
"Either way, I guess you can add big city kidnapping to your ongoing list of misdemeanors. I mean, besides your usual B and E?"
"Shut up."
"I'm just saying."
"Well, don't say. As a matter of fact, don't even speak."
"Hey, just because you've got trouble in paradise right now, doesn't mean I have to get involved."
"There's no trouble," she insisted, arching her brows.
"Look, we need to keep tabs on the strange and creepy little one. We don't know why she was- you know, did you ever think about why the dead guy didn't really phase her?"
"What?"
"The dead guy. The one she found in the house you and Logan went to check out? Ring a bell?"
"Yeah and did you ever hear of shock?"
"Therapy?"
"No. Going into it. She's just a kid, Alec."
"And any other kid would have been screaming at the top of her lungs if she saw some guy murdered right in front of her. Have we considered that she may not even be from planet Earth?"
"Jess?!" Max called out, completely ignoring him.
The silence proved deafening, as no response greeted her in return, her body immediately tensing and bracing for the worst. She stole a quick glance at Logan, who seemed just as perplexed as she was, pockets of worry clouding his handsome face. "Check out back," he urged her. "I'll go upstairs."
"Jess?!"
"What?" the young girl asked softly, as she slowly came up behind them, her feet sliding to an even halt across the bare floor. "You guys find something?"
"Where were you?" Max demanded.
"Ever hear of a bathroom?"
"You told me you were getting something to eat."
"Yeah, and I did. Since when do you care about wh-"
"Since you almost blazed on us," she snapped.
"I didn't almost blaze on anybody!" she insisted, her voice raising itself an octave. "Why would I even want to after we saw those men before?"
"Yeah, and I don't want you going anywhere where we can't see you. You're to stay right here with us, no questions asked. If you've got to go to the bathroom again, someone will take y-"
"Oh. Yeah. Like I'm really like to let one of the guys watch me in there."
"So I'll take you. Are we clear?"
"I think we got a pretty good head start."
"Doesn't matter. They'll still find us."
"I still can't see why that's a problem for you," Jess taunted. "But then again, you still don't even want to-"
"What I've done, or didn't do, is my business," Max stated firmly, hands fumbling at her sides, her expression entirely serious. "The point is, I know what I'm doing, and I can keep you safe."
"Makes sense for somebody who obviously can't save herself."
"Do you even understand what I'm telling you?"
"Look, it's cool, all right? I get you."
"Good."
"She means well," Logan emphasized. "All of us do."
"Are we allowed objections?" Alec added, raising his hand.
Logan smiled, tilting his head. "For someone who doesn't care, you sure as hell got your ass up off that chair long enough to come over here and tell us."
"I just didn't want her to draw anymore attention to us."
"Oh, you mean as opposed to what you were going to do back there at the-"
"Yeah, so it was stupid, all right? Big deal. I get it, so let's move on."
"It was a big deal, because you could have gotten us all killed."
"And Max knows I'd never actually do that to you guys, don't you, Maxie?"
"Too bad you never think with your brain," Max countered smugly.
"Ha ha," he mumbled.
"Ladies and gentlemen," a gruff voice interrupted to the right, as Donald Lydecker pulled the small phone away from his ear, his thumb sliding over the buttons to successfully end the call. "I believe we have ourselves a date."
Five hours later
"Okay, so tell me again why we just invested a good chunk of the stash in this thing?"
Logan Cale grinned, throwing on a white dress shirt, his fingers reaching for the buttons as he slowly pulled them together. His glasses lay on a small coffee table in the large bedroom, a black tie haphazardly slung across a nearby armchair, as he carefully kept his blues eyes trained on her, noting what a vision she was. She was standing with her unclothed back to the long white curtains near a rather large window, the sweatpants still hugging the lower part of her frame. Her hair was already done up in a loose arrangement, a few stray pieces falling around her pretty face. "Because you're going to look beautiful in it."
She held up the long, exquisite dress, examining it yet again with a mixed expression, her lips pursed with uncertainty. It was long and flowing, a vibrant shade of navy blue, with an extremely thin pair of straps. It vaguely reminded her of the time she'd gotten something of such value for nothing, when she'd came back to the store at night and basically took it to fit in at the wedding he'd invited her to. She smiled as she recalled the memory, slowly nodding. "I guess I do have a good time at these things, huh?"
"You're...yourself," he finished, raising a brow. "Only this time you'll be there for a reason."
"And what if we can't get her to talk?"
"You're worrying about that now? After all you did to insult and encourage my Uncle Jonas?"
"He was different," she argued. "He was just your average run of the mill snooty because his so called power and prestige corrupted him."
"Yeah, and you handled him without breaking a sweat."
"But this Adrastos place...it's different. I mean, we've got something to hide and we can't let onto that- it's not like we can do this Jennings guy any justice."
"He might be able to help us do some," Logan pointed out, as he began to wrap the tie around his neck, his feet slipping into a pair of matching black shoes.
"Harrington's killer," she murmured. "Probably the same guy or guys who got to-"
"Jennings," he finished, his profile covering another grin.
"Yeah, but it still doesn't give us that link to Sandeman yet. And we should've checked out Adrastos by now."
"I have a feeling that might be out of the question if they know you're not dead in that explosion," he reasoned quietly. "So...what I still want to know is- where'd the art gallery idea come from?"
"Huh?"
"Asking Joshua to paint us something?"
She mindlessly shrugged, struggling to suppress a small laugh. "Women...like art."
"They also like a good conversation," he concluded.
"It was a cover," she managed. "I mean, it's always good to have backup with this kind of stuff."
"And you just learned that now, did you?"
"Chalk it all up to past screw-ups."
"Gotcha."
"Anymore theories on why we seem to keep finding ghost towns?"
"Um...no," he confessed honestly, as he reached for his matching suit jacket, slipping it easily over his shoulders. "But I guess we'll find that out when we find Chase."
"You really think Jess knows what happened to him?"
"Max-"
"If Lydecker thinks she's up to no good, maybe it's worth looking into. She doesn't have to know."
"Yeah, see, that's kind of the point. I mean if she thinks we're onto her at all, she's going to split." He briefly cleared his throat, placing his glasses back upon the bridge of his nose. "Thing of it is, she could have come at you full force when we found her, and she didn't. Instead she just seemed scared out of her mind. Alec says she didn't react, but-"
"You're thinking it was the shock."
"Exactly."
"But you could trace some background info on her, couldn't you?"
"Yeah. But to tell you the truth, I was kind of hoping to avoid it."
"Logan Cale, still trying to see the good in everybody," she joked, shooting him a wink, as she finally moved away from the window, the dress pressed neatly to her chest. "Yep. Nothing's changed there."
He formed a slow half smile, noticing she was still stalling with the garment, as he glanced fondly at his watch. "Better get dressed. We don't get a move on, we're going to be late."
"And that's a bad thing? I happen to make my best entrances when I'm not on time."
"I can vouch for that," he sided, clearly amused. "But you won't be sneaking in and stealing anything, so you might want to reconsider dropping in at the last minute this time around."
"I suppose you'll never let that go, huh?"
"You'll be fine, Max."
"Yeah, I'm just going be another minute, okay?"
"We've got about ten," he confirmed.
"Thanks," she muttered then, quietly tossing him a half smile. "I mean, for the dress. For...for everything, I guess." She hesitated for just a moment, as her brown eyes grazed the article of clothing again. "We're really doing this, aren't we?"
His features brightened slightly, as he gave her a warm smile of his own. "If anyone asks, we're Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Barstow today."
"Barstow?" she repeated, scrunching up her nose.
"Courtesy of Lydecker, who somehow managed to get a hold of the infamous guest list."
"You told me she was under witness protection."
"Yeah, but what I didn't tell you, was that Martha Jennings has a daughter- Susan Rogers. She's married, has a house not far from her mother. She's about your age."
"And you woul-"
"Lydecker," he offered.
"Well, damn. I guess he's good for something after all."
"It's just too much of a risk to get to Martha. I probably should have considered that after all we've been through these past few months." He gestured briefly with his palm. "So it occurred to me that we might be able to find a way around it. And you have to figure Susan probably knew what may or may not have been going on with her father. Even if she doesn't, she could probably point us in the direction of someone who could."
"And we'll just keep going in all those circles again."
He shook his head. "I have a good feeling about this, Max."
"What does she do for a living?"
"Surprisingly? She's a florist, just like mom."
"So if this place is basically a giant trash heap, why still have parties in its honor? Why not just close up shop and stop celebrating what was probably illegal anyway?"
"It begs the question, doesn't it?"
"I'll say." She flashed him a big smile. "Either way, it's showtime."
"I guess it is. I'll meet you downstairs."
"Okay, does anybody wanna tell me why I have to be Leonard Stump all night?" Alec beckoned to them from the foot of the stairway, his fingers clasping a thin white piece of paper, as he read off the name scrolled in Lydecker's crisp handwriting. "I mean, God, this guy has to be at least sixty, for crying out loud."
Logan chuckled softly, as he descended, a hand touching the railing. "Somehow mine just doesn't feel so bad now."
"This is cruel," Alec insisted plainly, his tie still hanging loose about his neck, approaching Logan as he reached the last step. "You guys did this on purpose, didn't you?"
"You know what? I'm not even going to answer that," he mused, rolling his eyes.
"What'd you and Max get?"
"None of your business."
"Logan, buddy, c'mon."
"Listen, you know what your job is wh-"
"Yeah, yeah. I trail you guys and see if I spot anything out of the ordinary. It's not exactly rocket science, pal."
Logan just stared at him, a slight frown shading his countenance. "Then you shouldn't have any trouble when we get there."
"And the girl stays with Joshua."
"Yeah, that's the plan."
"It's a good plan. I mean...there's no babysitting plan, and that's all right with me. I've about had my fill of the little munchkin, anyway."
"I'm sure the feelings are mutual," Logan retorted.
"But you and Max still think something's up, right?"
"That's between me and Max."
"Hey, fine. Fine. It's cool. I guess I'm just sick of being left out of the loop all the time. I mean, you guys never tell me when you've got a lead, and far be it for me to just keep going along with everything you say. Don't get me wrong. It's not that I don't trust you, it's just that-"
"And you really don't have to, Alec. Nobody's forcing you to go today."
"I know."
"So what are we still not clear on?"
"We ready to crash this joint, or what?" Max cut in, a pair of black high heels and a small purse with a long, thin strap in her left hand, the other clinging to the railing, as she made her way down the steps carefully and efficiently, the dress she'd held only minutes earlier covering her slender frame and still leaving just enough to the imagination. She caught Logan's admirable gaze, as he gently looked her over appreciatively, slowly nodding with a small smile. Once she'd reached the bottom, she quickly slipped a heel on each of her bare feet, slinging the purse across her chest.
"Oh. Yeah. Great. You guys are going to go at it tonight, and I'll be stuck with the kid again," Alec fondly quipped.
Max slapped his arm hard, as she frowned at him, her eyes burning into his. "Look, Leonard, this isn't about scoring some cheap night of passion- it's about finding out more about ourselves. If you can't handle that, if you're not down with it, I think you outta catch some TV and turn in a bit early, because I'm sure as hell not doing this for you."
"Yeah, and I was just messing with-"
"Save it. In case you haven't noticed, I'm not really in the mood. My feet are going to be killing me by the time this thing is over, and I don't need your crap."
"Max, very pretty!" Joshua's loud voice belted out from across the room, his dog-like face beaming with a large grin, his hands already covered in globs of different shades of paint. "Have a good time, little fella! Talk when you get back."
She laughed in spite of herself. "Behave yourself, big fella."
"You, too."
"Don't worry, I will."
"Pretty."
"Right," she said softly, finally turning to Logan and offering her hand. "Shall we?"
"You're gorgeous," he whispered, as he lightly grasped it, giving it a light squeeze.
"And you don't look so bad yourself."
"Didn't have time to shave," he murmured.
She merely shrugged. "Not really a priority when you've got guys trying to kill you."
"Good point."
"Car's ready," Donald Lydecker called from just beyond the open door, hands shoved inside the pockets of his black slacks. "We get in, ask questions, and get out. There's no time for mistakes. Logan managed to get us a nice, clean layout of the building, and I'll brief you on it when we get there."
"How do we know you're not just going to throw us to wolves?" Max countered.
"If I was going to set you up, don't you think I would have gone to a hell of a lot more trouble?"
"Not really."
"You're just going to have to work on trusting me," he said simply.
"Yeah, guess that part's still pretty hard to manage yet."
"Max," Logan cornered.
"What? He could still betray us and lead us into another mess."
"You know you don't believe that."
"Yeah, fine, whatever. Let's just get this thing done."
"You'll come back, won't you?" a familiar tone asked quietly, the mumble just above a whisper, as Jess peeked her head outside into the afternoon air, her expression unreadable, her small arms crossing themselves over her chest.
Max turned at the sound of it, very nearly hesitating, as she threw the girl a short wink. "Count on it."
"In that case, kick their asses."
"Definitely on my list of things to do."
"Alec goes in first, and you and Logan will follow," Lydecker emphasized. "No funny business. You blow your cover, it's all over."
"No need to walk me through it," Max retorted, shrugging.
"They'll probably have cameras in every inch of that room," he told her, his face grim, "and that means anybody could be watching at any time."
"You just be there if we get ourselves in a jam. Because if you run, I swear I'll make it my life to hunt you down and finally-"
"Whoa, down girl," Alec proclaimed, widening his eyes in her direction. "See the one thing about our little Maxie here, is that she has a lot of underlying hostility."
"And if you don't want to be all black and blue by the time we get there, I suggest you keep your mouth shut. "
"It may not seem like it right now, but I'm fighting for the good guys," Lydecker added, as he calmly climbed into the driver's side.
"I'll decide that," she muttered.
"Max. "
"Let's get it done, " she said again, ignoring him.
"So you don't wanna trade?" Alec inquired rather quickly, as they made their way to the vehicle, his eyes hopeful and pleading.
She just looked at him oddly for a moment, shrugging. "Trade what?"
"Names. I'll b-"
"Not unless you think you'd like to be married to Logan," she quipped, climbing in.
He just looked after her, both slightly embarrassed and annoyed, as he professed a long sigh.
Off into the distance, a young man watched quietly from the comfort of his car, his eyes eagerly taking in the scene with a noticeable amount of interest. He had a black wool cap pulled down low over his dark hair and his eyes were a surprisingly dark shade of green in color. He cleared his throat, as he calmly turned to the gentleman seated beside him in the passenger compartment of the cramped automobile, offering a slight nod. Craning the key in the ignition, the car nervously sputtered to life, allowing him to edge it out from under the large oak tree that stood fondly on a vacant lawn, blowing swiftly in the faint breeze. "Looks like the boss isn't going be too happy, Freddie."
"Nope. Guess this girl just doesn't wanna die," his partner commented nonchalantly. "Shame, too, because she's just so damn pretty."
"Henderson was supposed to deal with this. Son of a bitch wants to get promoted and he can’t even deal with a simple genetic defect."
"Careful," he playfully sing-songed, "she might hear you, Cramer."
The other man merely smiled, the grin filling his entire face, as he chuckled softly to himself. "She has no idea, my friend. No idea at all."
"Yeah, and we'll have to deal with Deck first. I mean, everything considered, the bastard just proved once and for all that he's nothing more than a damn traitor."
"I've got it covered," Cramer assured him, as they started out along the open road, trailing the other car that still remained just a few feet ahead of them. "I'm tired of screwing around. By the time we're done here, Manticore will be a Goddamn thing of the past. I'll break every little bone in that bitch's body if I have to. We're not letting her out of there alive, Freddie. The boss wants her erased, we erase her. That's why he hired us."
"Because we're the best."
"Because we're the best, Freddie."
"He's still not telling us everything though, man."
"Oh c'mon. How hard can it be to take her out?"
"Yeah, well, she didn't exactly die in the fire," he pointed out.
"The fire was a fluke," he stated quietly.
"So you're not gonna wait around for Henderson?"
"Henderson missed his calling card. But don’t worry, I have a feeling he's getting his dues as we speak."
"Boss wants the girl alive."
"I've already dispatched a team to the house. It's time to clean up this mess, Freddie. We do the job right we get a nice hefty sum when this is over."
"Some things are worth fighting for, Cramer."
"Happy hunting, my friend."