Perched on her usual place on top of the space needle, Max wondered for what must have been the hundredth time whether she would ever truly fit in the city twinkling below her. She and Logan kept their distance from each other and stayed in contact mainly by phone. It was more a case of Max staying away than Logan. Although Logan faced more than his share of danger, Max lived in fear that his death would be from her touch. It was that fear that kept her away. Max had been afraid before, but this fear consumed her.
She sighed as she realized that she had a few days off coming up. Normally she would nag Logan into driving somewhere with her for a break from Seattle. She couldn't do that this time. Perhaps she could visit Jondy and Devon. Jondy was always asking her to visit. It would be fun. Feeling slightly brighter Max headed back to her apartment.
To the outside world, Jondy and Devon appeared to be a couple that had been together for years. With Devon's arm drapped casually around her shoulders, Jondy walked comfortably beside him. No one could have guessed from their appearance, that they were more like brother and sister than girlfriend and boyfriend.
Jondy frowned slightly. "What's the red rectangle marked on the calendar for?" They had decided to go for a walk to get some fresh air since they had been working on a cure for Max's virus when they weren't at their respective jobs.
Devon shook his head. "I can't remember. I know it was important. I'll remember later." He tended to get so involved in his work that things just tended to slip his mind. Most of the time he told Jondy anything he needed to remember.
Jondy watched the sky turn pink and purple as the sun set. "We'd better get back. I have to be at the bar in an hour."
Devon nodded. "I'll leave my notes beside the computer. That way you'll know where I'm up to when you get home from work." Unlike Jondy, Devon would have to get some sleep before heading to his job in the morning.
As they both made their way to their apartment door, they saw a woman sitting on a suit case beside it. "Oh hell." Devon muttered under his breath. "I think I know why I marked the calender."
The woman stood and stretched out her arms. "Devon! There you are. You forgot to tell Jessica I was coming to stay for a few days, didn't you?"
Devon gave his mother a hug. "Yeah Mom but I remembered to mark it on the calendar and Jessica saw the calendar."
"Then you couldn't remember what the mark on the calandar was for." Julia Saunders knew what her son's memory was like. She beamed at Jondy and gave her a hug. "Hello Dear. Honestly, if you weren't here my son would probably forget to eat."
Jondy chuckled as she waited for Devon to unlock the door. "Oh he'd remember sooner or later. It's just usually later." She caught the nervous look on Devon's face as she carried Julia suitcase in. "I hate to rush off, but I have to get changed for work."
Julia smiled at the petite redhead. "Don't worry. I though Devon might have forgotten to let you know about my visit. We'll catch up in the morning."
"I'll be back in a minute Mom. You'll need an extra blanket." He followed Jondy into her room and shut the door behind him. "Help."
Jondy grabbed a clean shirt and a pair of black jeans out of her closet. "Let me guess: Not only did you forget your mother was visiting, you also forgot to tell her you were gay."
Devon winced. "Sort of. Mind if I share your room for the next few days?"
Jondy shot him a scolding look. "You're going to have to tell her some time." She rolled her eyes. "Fine, but if you start snoring, I'm kicking you out of bed."
Devon hugged his tiny friend. "Thank you. I swear I'll tell her before she leaves." He grabbed a spare blanket off of the shelf in Jondy's closet and went back out to his mother.
Nigel watched the dark haired beauty walk into his bar. He hadn't seen a woman attract this sort of attention since Jessica had started working there. Every male in the place watched her walk towards the bar. "Can I help you Miss?" She seemed to be looking around the bar for someone.
"Yeah. Is Jessica here?" Max flashed the bartender a quick smile. She actually wondered if Jondy was working tonight.
Nigel banged on the bar wall. "Jess! Someone's here to see you." He turned back towards Max. "Are you an old school friend?"
Max shook her head. "No. I'm her sister." She giggled at the confused look on Nigel's face. "I'm Max." She reached out and shook Nigel's hand. Then she spotted Jondy appearing from out the back of the bar.
"Hi. What are you doing here?" Jondy gave her sister a hug, then pulled back, a frown on her face. "You're not sick again?"
"No I'm fine. Just thought I'd spend some time visiting my sister." Max appreciated Jondy's concern for her. "Is it alright if I crash with you?"
Jondy nodded. "Sure if you don't mind taking the sofa. Devon's mother is staying with us at the moment." She rolled her eyes. "He forgot to tell me she was coming and he also forgot to tell her that he was gay."
Max burst out laughing. "Let me guess. Mother Saunders thinks that you and Devon are a couple which just makes her burst with pride as she has always looked on you as a daughter."
"Something like that." Jondy's eyes started roaming up and down the nearest male's body. "Looks like we've got some first timers in here tonight Nigel."
Max turned to look. "There are some fine looking men in San Francisco." She headed for the dance floor with Jondy right beside her.
Nigel shook his head and chuckled. Picking up the phone, he dialed Devon's home number. "Damn. Engaged." He shrugged his shoulders. He would keep an eye on the sisters and try the number again in five minutes.
Devon answered the knock on the door. "Logan. What are you doing here?" He shook his friend's hand and then stood aside to allow him to enter the apartment.
"I have to see an informant here in San Francisco tomorrow." Logan raised his eyebrow when he saw the woman who was speaking on the phone. "Thought you and Jondy might have the answers for a couple of questions I have." Devon obviously had company and he didn't want to intrude.
Devon followed Logan's gaze. "She's my mother. Did you need a place to crash cause the sofa's still free." He lowered his voice slightly. "Mom doesn't know that Jondy and I aren't a couple."
Logan instantly got the hidden meaning behind Devon's comment. "Ok. Thanks, the sofa would be great."
At that moment Julia put the phone down. She didn't look old enough to be Devon's mother. The years had been good to her. She reached out to shake Logan's hand. "Hello. I'm Julia Saunders, Devon's mother."
Logan shook her hand. "Logan Cale. Friend of the family, so to speak." He made pleasant small talk with Julia while Devon answered the ringing phone.
"Hell. I knew there was an important reason I marked the calendar." Devon glanced over at his mother. "Not that you aren't important Mom." He turned to Logan. "That little chemical imbalance the girl's get has kicked in. Jessica's boss at the bar just phoned. I think we'd better get our girl's home before they do some serious damage."
Logan followed Devon out the door. He waited until he was out of earshot of Devon's mother. "Ok. I get that Jondy's in heat, but you said girls, not girl."
Devon was surprised Logan didn't know. "Max is in town. At least Nigel says that was what Jessica's sister said her name was. You two have a fight or something?"
"Or something." Logan climbed into Devon's car. "I know Jondy and Max are known as the Manticore twins, but you can't tell me they both go into heat at the same time."
Devon shrugged his shoulders. "This time they have." He drove towards the bar. "When we get there, you grab Jondy, I'll grab Max and we'll figure out how to explain this to my mother on the way home."
Logan looked at his friend in amazement. "Sounds like you've got this down to a fine art. How often does this happen?'
"About three times a year." Devon pulled the car up in front of the pub. "It was Jondy's boss who called me. I sort of put a system in place once Jondy and I figured out that she was going into heat and not just losing her mind."
It took exactly five seconds to spot the two women. They were dancing seductively in the center of a large group of men. Logan saw Devon wave to the bar tender. Following Devon's lead, Logan pushed his way through the crowd and grabbed Jondy. Quickly he slung her over his shoulder and headed for the door. Then he felt a huge hand clamp down on his shoulder.
"Where do you think you're going with her?" The voice came from a huge man with arms the size of tree trucks, which were covered in tattoo's.
Logan had to think quickly. "We're taking our wives home. They shouldn't be in here when they're off their medication."
It seemed as though the entire bar took a step backwards to let them pass. Logan starting moving quickly towards the door again, never once looking back. He carefully put Jondy into the back of the car before climbing into the front. The two women seem to find the whole thing highly amusing, as they burst into giggles as Devon drove them home.
Devon watched them in the rear vision mirror. "You can laugh now, but just wait till we have to explain this to my mother." He frowned at Jondy when she started nuzzling his neck. "You know you're not going to get past me that way." It actually scared him when Jondy got like this. For the most part, Jondy was shy, quiet and took a while to get used to new people. That was why the bar was the best place for her to work. It was the last place Manticore would look for her.
Devon and Logan marched the two sisters up to the apartment like naughty little school girls. The toughest part would be keeping Logan and Max from touching. All sense and reason went out the window when the X5 women were in heat.
Julia looked up as the foursome walked into the apartment. Apart from looking a little flushed, she couldn't see anything wrong with the two women. "Everything alright?"
Devon quickly introduced Max to his mother. "Max and Jessica have a sort of family condition where they have a chemical imbalance for a few days, two or three time a year."
Julia frowned. "I have no idea what you are talking about, but what can I do to help?"
Logan could only see two bedrooms and one sofa. "Well, I'm guessing that Max is sleeping on the sofa, so do you have a sleeping bag and a pillow I can use and I'll take the floor." He thought it best to sort out the sleeping arrangements quickly. "I can keep an eye on the ladies half the time and you can take the other half."
Devon nodded. "Sounds good to me. I can phone in sick at work, they know the drill anyway. That way you can still make your meeting tomorrow." He quickly caught Jondy's hand that was making it's way further down his back. "Mom, we sort of need to keep Jess and Max in the apartment for a few days."
"Fine." Julia was highly amused at the sight of Devon trying to stop Jondy's roaming hands. Max looked as though she could happily pounce on Logan. "I think I'll turn in for the night." She said good night and went into her room.
Logan sat down on the sofa. "This is going to be a long few days isn't it?" He couldn't help but chuckle when Devon untangled himself from Jondy and made her sit down beside Logan.
Devon wasn't quite sure how they were going to get through this. Dealing with Jondy in heat was one thing, but two X5's? Even with Logan's help there was the virus problem. Then he remembered a comment Logan had made when he had arrived earlier. "What were the questions you needed answers for?'
Logan suddenly found himself the center of attention. "It's about the virus. Is there a way it can be transferred without Max and I making contact?" His question seemed to bring Jondy and Max back to earth for a moment.
"Could be if a third party was involved." Jondy thought his question through carefully. "For instance a dog licking your face, it would still be transference through saliva." She saw Max screw up her nose. "What about children? Have you both been in touch with any children?"
Logan nodded. "We looked after my niece a few weeks ago. She's four years old. You think that's how it could have happened?"
"That makes sense." Max thought about that day. "Your niece kissed me goodbye, then you. A few minutes later we were rushing you to the hospital." She noticed her sister's hand had started moving up Logan's thigh. "Jondy!"
Jondy frowned. "What?" She looked down at her hand. "Sorry." She got up and walked to the other side of the room and started to pace. "Kids your niece's age tend to be sloppy kissers. I'd say you've found your third party." She headed for a closed door. "I've got some work to do, so I'll see you all in the morning."
Devon watched Jondy with concern. "Are you two going to be alright out here alone? I just want to check on Jondy." He waited for Max and Logan to nod before following Jondy.
Max stayed at one end of the sofa with Logan at the other. "So how come you came to San Francisco?" Max tried to keep her mind on something other than how damn sexy Logan was looking.
"I have to meet an informant tomorrow morning close by." Logan could see Max was struggling for control. "How can I help, Max?"
'I just have to keep busy." Max pulled her knees up under her chin and hugged her legs. She glanced over at the door that Jondy and Devon were behind. "I wonder how they get through this usually?"
At that moment Devon came out of the room with his arms full of board games. "Jondy suggested you might be able to put these to use. Use a set of dice each just in case." Devon was pretty sure that Max's virus couldn't be contracted from a set of dice, but it paid to be careful.
Max smiled up at him gratefully. "Thanks Devon. Is Jondy alright?" She knew better than anyone how hard their condition was to control.
Devon nodded. "She'll be fine. A bit embarrassed, but fine. As long as she keeps busy I don't think we'll have too many problems." He turned and went back into the back room and closed the door behind him.
Logan moved the coffee table a bit closer and looked through their choice of games. "What do you want to play?"
Max grabbed the first box. "Let's just start at the top and work our way down." She opened the box, but left Logan to set up the game. Glancing at the lid she saw that they were starting with scrabble. "Great, a word game. This could be interesting." She sat down on the floor at the end of the coffee table.
"You start." Logan pulled a pair of gloves on just to be safe. It was more to ease Max's mind, as he was sure he couldn't catch the virus from touching hands.
An hour later they were both laughing over some of the words that were coming up. Devon had come out once to check on them and raise an eyebrow at the choice of words on the board. When they moved on to play Monopoly, Logan was sure that Max was somehow cheating, but remained quiet about it as it was keeping Max occupied.
Jondy glanced at her watch. Two o'clock in the morning. She stood up and stretched her limbs. Devon had gone to get a couple of hours sleep an hour ago. She was getting frustrated that she couldn't find a way to cure Max's virus. She seemed to keep coming close, but not close enough. Jondy glanced towards the door when she heard Max and Logan chuckle. She envied them. Sure they couldn't touch but they still had each other. If either of them needed help, they could rely on each other. Eventually they would find a way to get past the virus and/or cure it. With a deep sigh, Jondy went back to work.
Julia was surprised to see Logan and Max still playing board games when she got up the next morning. She had a fair idea judging from her past visits that Jondy was working on something in the back room and Devon was probably catching up on some sleep. It had become a routine on her visits now. Making her way to the kitchen, she started breakfast, knowing that Jondy would come to help her as soon as she smelt the food cooking.
Logan looked up as Jondy walked out of the back room and into the kitchen. A few minutes later Devon came out of a different room and started to set the table. Logan chuckled. They almost seemed like an ordinary couple. He looked at his watch, he still had a couple of hours before he had to meet his informant.
Julia watched Jondy cautiously. "When is Devon going to tell me that he is gay? Convincing as you are, I've had a feeling for sometime that you were just good friends."
Jondy wasn't surprised. Julia Saunders was a smart woman, who didn't miss much. "He'll tell you when he's ready. I think he's worried that you'll be disappointed in him for some reason."
Julia nodded. "That could be partly my fault. I always told Devon that I wanted grandchildren. I made it seem so important. The truth is although I would love grandchildren, I just want my only child to be happy."
Jondy grinned. "Who knows. Maybe he'll adopt and you'll get everything you want." At that moment Devon walked in and gestured with his head to Max and Logan, still playing games. Jondy giggled. "They look like they're having fun."
Devon nodded. "You any closer to helping them with their problems?" Jondy had been working non-stop all night and she looked worn out. When she shook her head, he gave her hug. "Don't worry. We'll figured it out."
They all ate breakfast together with only the occasional case of Jondy and Max's hands not staying where they could be seen. After helping clear the table, Logan left to meet his informant. Despite the fact that he hadn't had any sleep all night, he was in quite a good mood. With any luck, the person he was going to meet would give him enough information to help shut down a child prostution ring.
Logan pulled the van in close to the building that he had arranged to meet the contact in. Cautiously he made his way up to the second floor. Knocking on the apartment door that he had been given instructions to, Logan looked around him to make sure he hadn't been followed.
The door opened a crack and someone peered out at Logan. "Eyes only send you?" The person behind the door waited for Logan to nod before opening the door fully. Logan's contact was a man in his sixties, not very tall and had a limp. "Sorry about this. My wife and I managed to get some of the girls out last night so we weren't sure who might end up at our door."
Logan nodded that he understood. "Thanks for meeting with me. Where are the girls now?" The apartment was small, but tidy with everything carefully put in the perfect place for each item.
The man pointed towards a door. "They're in the back with my wife, Dianne. We had a problem with one of the girls. We think she may be ill." The man knocked on the door. "Dianne, honey. The man we were expecting has arrived. Open up the door."
Logan heard the door being unlocked. The door slowly opened to show a room full of young girls sitting around an older woman. None of the girls looked over fifteen. "John, we may have to take her to a hospital." The girl in Dianne's arms looked to be peeling.
Logan took a few steps forward and knelt down in front of them. Apart from her skin, the girl appeared to be fine. Logan smiled at the frightened girl. "Hi. I'm Logan. I have a couple of friends that know all about medicine. How about we go and see them." The girl watched him cautiously for a moment and then smiled and nodded.
A loud crashing noise outside startled them. Running to the window John's look of surprise turned to horror. "They're coming. You'll have to take the girls." He shoved a folder into Logan's hand. "Here's everything you need to know." He quickly ushered Logan and the girls out the door and towards the back stairs.
Logan grabbed hold of John's arm as he headed back towards the apartment. "Wait. You and Dianne are coming with us." He couldn't leave them behind.
John shook his head. "No. We'll be fine. Just get the girls some place safe." He jerked his arm free and raced back to his apartment.
The sound of footsteps running up the front steps was all that kept Logan from running after John. His first priority had to be the girls. Pointing down the stairs, he rushed the girls down the stairs and towards the van. It would take some explaining to Devon's mother, but the safest place to take the girls was to Devon's and Jondy's.
"Well Julia, you wanted grandchildren." Jondy looked up at Devon's mother from where she was examining the girl with peeling skin. "Looks as though you now have twelve granddaughters."
Julia was still trying to get over her amazement at twelve girls of different nationalities being brought into her sons apartments. "This wasn't quite what I meant, but beggars can't be choosers I suppose."
"Any idea what's wrong with her?" Max knelt beside her sister. She had never seen anything like what was happening to this girl's skin before.
"I have a theory." Jondy raised an eyebrow. "Devon, do you remember that pet snake you used to have when we were kids?" She looked over her shoulder to see him nod. "Remember how it used to shead it's skin?" Every grown up in the room looked confused. "She's not ill." Jondy moved the girl's hair aside to reveal a barcode. "She transgenic."
Logan looked at the girl in amazement. "So she's sheading her skin? You think that she has snake DNA?"
Devon looked at the skin on the girl's arm. "It would appear so." He looked over at Logan. "What's going to happen to these girls?" They had discovered on their arrival that most of the girls couldn't speak English, so Max and Jondy were having to translate in several different languages.
Logan shrugged his shoulders. "According to the file John gave me, they're all orphans. They will probably all end up in orphanages unless I can find them homes."
Devon caught the look on Jondy's face and immediately knew what was going through the redhead's mind. "That's a lot of responsibility Jess." He could see her mind was made up. He didn't mind though. "I guess we'd better start looking for a bigger place to live." It was worth it just to see the smile that lit up her face as she hugged him. "Just don't expect a big Christmas present."
Max had never seen her sister so happy. "Can you get the paperwork all sorted out so they have the girls legally?" She turned to Logan.
He grinned at the sight of Jondy explaining everything in several different languages. "Sure. I'll get right on it." He dialed a number on his cell phone and walked into another room so that he could hear. A few minutes later he returned. "It should be all set by morning."
"I have a question." Julia's voice broke through the happy chaos. Everyone fell silent and turned to look at her. "What is transgenic?"
Devon put his arm around his mother's shoulders and guided her into the kitchen. "There's a few things I have to tell you, Mom."
Max was happy for her sister, but it meant Jondy would be too busy to find a cure for the virus. She forced a smile. "Looks like you're going to have your hands full." She sat down beside her sister on the floor.
Jondy beamed at her sister. "Yeah, but it doesn't mean that Devon and I won't keep looking for a cure. You sort of need two cures. One to get rid of the virus from you. And one to heal Logan's reaction to the virus in you."
Max felt a sense of relief wash over her. "Well, the second one would certainly save on trips to the hospital. I had to call Asha the last time to help me get Logan to the hospital."
Jondy frowned. "Why didn't you just call an ambulance?"
Max winced. "I panicked. It was Logan. The only thought I had was that I had killed him and I didn't even know how it had happened."
Jondy hugged her sister. "I know we keep saying this and it's not much reassurance at the moment, but I promise Devon and I will find a cure."
Logan stood behind the two sisters. "I'm sure you will." He looked around him. 'Where are all of these girls going to sleep?"
"I'll go and asked the neighbors for some sleeping bags. It'll be like an indoor camping trip." Jondy started towards the door, but Logan blocked her way before she could leave. "What?"
Logan grinned at her. "How about you phone the neighbors? If any men answer the doors, we won't see you for a few hours."
"Busted." Max giggled at her sister's face. "Where are the phone numbers? I can call them. I think the girls are hungry, have you got enough food?"
Jondy nodded as she handed Max a list of phone numbers. "Devon always makes sure we have enough to feed an army." She turned and headed into the kitchen leaving Max and Logan alone with the girls.
"Well, let's see if we can keep you girls busy until dinner is ready." Logan laid the board games at on the floor while Max made the phone calls. He had gotten into the habit of putting his gloves on every time he was near Max. Luckily every girl found at least one game they knew how to play. After a while Max came and sat down beside him, making sure that she kept a safe distance away. Logan noticed that she was fidgeting a bit. "You alright?"
Max nodded, but wouldn't look at him. She and Jondy still had about twelve hours that they were in heat left. She looked up when Devon tapped her on the shoulder. "What's up?"
"Why don't you help Jondy and my mother." Devon rolled his eyes. "Jondy can't seem to keep busy enough. If she makes me drop anymore plates we won't have anything to eat off of."
Max tried to suppress a grin. "Sounds like a good idea." It was getting more and more difficult, sitting beside Logan and not being able to touch him.
Devon took her place in the game she had been playing. "What's going to happen to the people behind the prostitute ring these girls were forced into?" Devon glanced at Logan. The lack of sleep was starting to show on him.
Logan rubbed the back of his neck. "I have a friend in the San Francisco police department. They've been looking for the people behind this for a while. They just about gave me a key to the city when I sent them the information John Danks gave me this morning. They are picking them up as we speak." He looked towards the kitchen. "How do you usually help Jondy get through being in heat? Max was wondering about it last night."
Devon laughed. "Why do you think we have so many board games?" He looked around him slightly saddened by his thoughts. "You know, if I were straight, I'd consider myself the luckiest man in the world. A beautiful woman that can't keep her hands off me, just adopted twelve daughters and I have a job that allows me to help others and get paid very well."
"But you're gay." Logan finished off his train of thought for him. 'And although you love the beautiful woman, who can't keep her hands off of you, you're not in love with her and it's just a chemical imbalance on her part."
"Yeah. I guess I've still got it easier than you." Devon watched the girls communicating with each other via hand signals. "It must just about kill you, being in love with a woman you can't touch because it will kill you."
Logan forced a smile. "Well, I have to have faith that you and Jondy will find a cure." He took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes. "Mind if I go and get a couple of hours sleep?"
Devon pointed towards Jondy's room. "Sure. Go in there. Mom and I will keep Max and Jondy out here."
Logan smiled his thanks and headed into the bedroom. He was asleep before his head hit the pillow. As usual his dreams were filled with Max. The thought of the Manticore virus keeping them apart forever was more than he could bare, so he just didn't even consider the possibility.
A few hours later he woke feeling considerably more refreshed. As he walked out of the room, Logan saw that the girls were all asleep in their sleeping bags. Devon was sitting on the sofa going through some notes Jondy had made. As Logan got around the other side of the sofa, he saw that Jondy was curled up asleep with her head resting on Devon's lap. Her hand was wrapped around his leg as if it gave her some sense of security. Max was also curled up asleep on the sofa, her head resting on Jondy hip.
"Did you managed to catch up on some sleep?" Devon kept his voice low so that he wouldn't wake the sleeping children.
Logan nodded. "They look so peaceful." He whispered gesturing to Max and Jondy. "Seeing them like that, it's hard to believe that they are constantly having to look over their shoulders." He wondered how their situation would affect the twelve girls that Jondy and Devon spontaneously adopted. "Is it going to be a problem considering you now have twelve daughters?"
"I don't think so." Devon stroked Jondy's hair. "Jondy's Manticore training always kicks in, when somebody she cares about is in danger." He caught the confused look on Logan's face. "She was trained to be the distraction. When the South Africans got close to catching me, Jondy led them in the opposite direction. It's a reflex with her and nobody can reason with her when she's got her mind set."
Logan chuckled. "I know. It seems to be a family thing. I gave up trying to stop Max from racing head first into danger especially when it came to her family. It doesn't make you worry any less knowing that they can take care of themselves either, does it?"
Devon shook his head. "No it doesn't." He looked at his watch. "Only a few more hours to go. I'm really tempted to let them both sleep through the rest of their condition. Jondy would kill me if I did. She wanted to get some work done before morning."
Logan hated to disturb the two women as well, but Jondy would want to try and find the cure while the girls were asleep. He knew that Max and Jondy didn't need the sleep anyway. He watched Devon gently shake Jondy awake.
"I'm awake, stop shaking me." Jondy grumbled pushing her hair out of her face. "I would have thought that you'd enjoy the fact that I'm sleeping instead of groping you."
"And I really do enjoy you sleeping through being in heat, but" he kissed the top of her head. "You get so grumpy if I let you sleep more than an hour. You say it gives you a headache."
"Oh yeah." Jondy moved her legs waking Max up. "I'm going to have a bath." She picked up the pad of notes that Devon had been reading though. "Have you come up with anything new?"
Devon rubbed his leg where she had been hanging onto it while she was asleep. "Yeah I think you cut the blood circulation off in my leg. Apart from that, nothing."
Jondy headed for the bathroom. "Be grateful my hand wasn't higher." She stopped briefly to tuck one of the girls in before disappearing into the bathroom closing the door behind her.
"I need some coffee." Max mumbled as she sat up. "Anyone else want one?" Both Logan and Devon nodded as she moved past them and walked into the kitchen.
Logan sat staring towards the kitchen while he chatted quietly with Devon. "Does Jondy avoid using guns?" It was something he had noticed about Max and had never asked about the reason behind it.
Devon looked surprised at the question. "When she can. Did Max never tell you about Eva?" He thought it would have been one of the first things Logan would have found out about Max.
Logan thought back to all of the conversations he and Max had ever had. "I think so. Eva was their sister. Didn't she die at Manticore."
Devon nodded. "Eva had a gun pointed towards Lydecker. Jondy doesn't go into details, but basically Lydecker killed Eva. Not long after that the twelve X5's escaped from Manticore. I think Max and Jondy have avoided using guns when they can ever since."
"The trauma of watching their sister being killed stuck with them all of this time." Logan shook his head in disbelief. "I suppose Manticore assumed their genetically engineered soldiers would just get over it."
Suddenly the front door came crashing down. Five men walked over the broken door. "I believe you have something that belongs to Warren Richards." One of the men sneered at Logan. He glanced over at the frightened girls huddling behind Devon and Logan. "I'll give you this much, you're pretty hard to track down." His glared at the bathroom door where the sound of splashing was coming from.
Another one of the men went over to the bathroom door and opened it to reveal Jondy up to her neck in bubbles, her red hair piled on top of her head in a mass of fiery curls. Her long shapely legs were crossed at the ankles and propped up on the edge of the bath. "Can I help you?" She looked unalarmed by the stranger standing in the doorway with a gun in his hand. She smiled at him sexily. "My, what a big gun you have."
Logan and Devon passed each other panicked looks as the man walked into the bathroom and closed and locked the door behind him. There was the sound of splashing for a moment and then silence.
In the bathroom Max handed Jondy a towel while the stranger lay unconscious on the bathroom floor. Jondy quickly wrapped the towel around her and helped Max tie and gag the unconscious man. "Have I told you lately how much I hate being the distraction." She whispered.
Max grinned at her sister. "No. Do you think we can get those girls into Julia's room without the others noticing?" She looked up at the ceiling vent she had come in through. "Maybe we can signal snake girl. She would have been trained in all of the signal at Manticore."
Jondy shrugged her shoulders. "It's worth a try. Can we climb into my room so that I can get some clean clothes on first."
Max faked a surprised look. "What you can't fight in that." Her surprised look changed to a mischievous grin as she glanced as she glanced at the towel Jondy was wearing.
"I will if you will. Besides you don't want the towel to slip in front of Logan do you." Jondy pointed out.
"Good point." Max muttered as she leapt up into the ceiling. She started to make her way towards Jondy's room with Jondy right behind her.
In the living room everyone looked up as they heard movement in the ceiling. "What's that?" The leader of intruders aimed his gun at Devon.
"Cats." Devon calmly replied. "I have two cats. They like to play in the ceiling vents. Hold on I'll get them down for you." He turned his back on the men and started calling up to the ceiling. "Here kitty, kitty, kitty, kitty." He suddenly noticed that half of the girls had disappeared.
Before he could signal Logan, the two X5 women came crashing through the ceiling, taking out two of the four men left over. The remaining two men aimed their weapons at the two women, but couldn't get a clear shot as the X5's were moving too fast. The bullets were just flying into the walls.
Logan grabbed a gun off of one of the fallen men and brought the end of the weapon down across the shoulders of the man nearest him. Devon followed Logan's lead. Pretty soon all of the intruders were tied up in the bullet ridden living room.
"Everyone alright?" Logan was amazed to find all of the girls gone. "Um. We seem to be missing twelve people."
"Julia! It's safe to bring them back out." Max called out. She noticed a stray bullet had caught Jondy. "You remember that you're supposed to dodge the bullets right?" She stared at the growing red spot on Jondy's white shirt.
Jondy rolled her eyes as Devon guided Jondy to the sofa and carefully removed her shirt to get a better look at the wound. "I don't know why I even bother to wear white."
Julia had gone to get the first aid kit. She gasped in shock when she saw the scars on Jondy's body. She handed the first aid kit to her son. "How often does this happen." She referred to the intrusion.
"Not often." Jondy smiled at the concern on Julia's face. "Don't worry. My family has a history of healing fast." She looked over at the transgenic girl. "Congratulations. You got the others to safety in record time."
The young girl beamed at the praise given to her. She had heard about the twelve X5's that had escaped when she was at Manticore. It wasn't until she had seen Max signal her from the ceiling that she realized that the escaped X5's weren't just a story someone had made up.
Logan sat on the coffee table and checked out Jondy's wound that Devon was cleaning. It looked pretty bad. "Looks as though you're going to need a couple more nights off work. That should give you a bit of time to go house hunting." He looked up to see that Jondy was looking quite embarrassed at the attention she was getting. "It's over isn't it?" He didn't wait for a reply. The period of the X5's being in heat had past, Logan could tell by how self conscious Jondy was of being dressed in just a pair of jeans and a bra. He made his way to her room and got a fresh shirt for her.
Jondy smiled gratefully as Logan helped her slip into the clean shirt while Devon finished dressing her wound. Logan grabbed her blood stained shirt and went to soak it for her.
Max looked at the mess the apartment was in. "I guess this means you loose the bond on this place. Unless you want some help fixing it up."
"We own the apartment." Devon buttoned up Jondy's shirt for her as though she were a fragile child. "It just means we won't get much for it when we sell." He looked at the men tied up on the floor. "What are we going to do with them?"
Max shrugged her shoulders. "I guess Logan will phone his contact in the police department to come and pick them up. That reminds me, I'd better get the one out of the bathroom." She headed for Jondy's room as the bathroom door was still locked from the inside.
Julia sat down on the sofa slightly stunned. "Well, I have to give it to you two, you never make my visits boring."
The following night Max and Jondy sat on top of the Golden Gate Bridge. "I can't believe you're now the mother of twelve daughters." Max giggled as the breeze whipped through her long dark hair.
Jondy looked down at the city below them. "Neither can I. I couldn't let them go to orphanages through. It's too much like the way with grew up. With no parents."
Max understood. "Well, they have parents now. Pretty damn good ones too." She hugged her sister. "So where do you think you're going to live?"
Jondy took a deep breath. "Well, Devon and I talked about it. We both have quite a bit of money saved, considering we don't really go out much cause we're usually being followed. I get really good tips at the bar and Devon's job pays well. I saw a hotel up for sale, so we decided to buy it. The girls will be able to have their own rooms and we can use a room for a lab."
"You've thought of everything, haven't you?" Max knew that despite their problems, Jondy and Devon would make a safe home for the girls. "I take it that you have rooms spare for unexpected family members."
"Of course. We realized that if one transgenic could make it this far from Manticore, then there are probably others. We have plenty of spare rooms if they're needed." Jondy's pretty face became serious. "I need you to do me a favor."
Max squeezed her sister's hand. "Of course. Anything."
"Don't give up on a future with Logan." Jondy held up her hand to stop Max's protest. "Guys like Logan are hard to come by. You know that as well as I do. He knows about your past and he still stuck around. Not once did he try and turn you in or cash in on you. God knows he probably needs the money at the moment. And you know the worst part," she grinned. "He's in love with you as much as you are with him. Do you have any idea what I'd give to have someone feel that way about me?"
Max nodded. "Yeah, well it's not that great having all these feelings and not being able to do anything about them cause Logan could end up dead." Max knew how hard Jondy and Devon were working on finding a cure. "I'm sure you and Devon will find a cure and Joshua is trying to help me find Father. Logan's looking for leads as well so I guess I've got all my bases covered." She looked over at her sister sadly. "Why doesn't that make me feel better?"
Jondy put her arm around her sister's shoulders. "Because none of that helps you at this exact moment. Because when we were in heat, it wasn't a case of feeling guilty because you felt like jumping Logan and you didn't have feelings for him. It was a case of you couldn't because you had a lot more to loose than the usual pride and dignity."
Max lay her head on her sister's shoulder. "When did you get so wise in the ways of the world?"
Jondy laughed. "I'm just learning as I go. Just like you." They sat like that for a few hours in silence before heading back to the apartment.
A couple of days later Max sat back on the space needle. The thing about visiting with Jondy was that she always left Max with a sense of hope. Max smiled herself. She had a lot of people looking out for her, how could she possibility lose.
THE END
