Fogle Towers�

Logan sat in his wheelchair in front of the television screen in his office,
watching the same game show as had been playing at Jam Pony. �Suddenly
he glanced at his watch and then toward the front hallway, concern
crossing his face. �He wheeled out of the room and around the corner,
and set the brakes on the chair. �Stepping off the footrest onto the
ground, he stood up slowly and, holding onto the wall for support,
he carefully covered the few feet to his computer chair and heavily
sat back down. �He leaned back, craning his neck to make sure the
wheelchair was completely out of sight, then sighed as he heard the
door click open. �

“In here,” he called, and in a second, Max appeared in the doorway.
�

“Contrary
to popular opinion, not all of us are so rich we can sit around all
day watching the boob tube,” Max said, sarcasm dripping from
every word. �”You got a reason for keeping me from making a livin’,
or what?” �

Logan gave her a questioning look. �”You never seemed
to mind before…” �After a second, he smiled. �”Okay, not
entirely true. �But my beeping you used to be par for the course.”
�No response, so he continued, a little look of confusion crossing
his face. �”I was setting up some new scramblers on the Eyes
Only equipment, and when I turned on the TV, I heard one of these
contestants worked at Jam Pony.”

“And�?”
�

Logan continued to stare at her. �”Sorry. �Just thought you’d
be interested. And�and I wanted to see you,” he finished softly.
�

Max�s
look softened. �She pulled over a chair and sat down beside him. �They
watched for a second, and she glanced at him a couple of times out
of the corner of her eye. �”So�you got anything to�tell me? �’Cause
I’m getting really good at listening these days.” �

“Oh?”

“Yeah,
Original Cindy’s been crying to me ’cause Ginger hasn’t been coming
over as much, making lame excuses. �Original Cindy’s thinking maybe
she’s out and about, you know, sampling the goods.” �

“Hmmm�”
Logan mulled that over. �

“I
told her, when you love someone, you have to trust them. �If Ginger
really loves OC, she wouldn’t lie about anything important. �And if
she did lie, or kept something from her, then�they didn’t have much
worth worrying about to begin with�right?” �Max asked Logan pointedly.
�

They
locked eyes, and after a long pause, Logan began, “Max, I�”

Just
then a loud roar came from the television screen, and they both automatically
turned toward it. �The mood broken, Logan smiled weakly and said,
“Looks like your friend won.” �Onscreen, Trudie jumped up
and down, hugging the show host, a tall, handsome man in a suit. �

“No
friend of mine,” Max replied shortly. �”She’s new. �Anyway,
she got lucky, but what about the other two? �They paid these show
people a bunch of money and they got nothing for their trouble.”
�

Logan
shrugged. �”Basic human nature, wanting a chance at fame and
fortune � or even a chance at the afterlife. �I remember that before
the Pulse, these TV evangelists would make millions when people would
send them money, thinking they could win a ticket to heaven that way.”

Max
snorted. �”And they say we’re the freaks.” �

“I
don’t know�people just want hope, anywhere they can find it�everybody
wants a better life,” Logan murmured, as their gazes, but not
their attention, wandered back to the closing minutes of the show.
�

Joshua’s House � next morning

“Joshua?”
�Gem called from the top of the basement stairs. �

“Down
here,” he called as she gingerly stepped down the stairs, Elefteria
propped on her hip. �

“I
didn’t know there was anything down here,” she said once she
was at the bottom. �

Joshua
looked up from where he was sorting through his painting supplies.
��Piano�books�paints�I keep stuff here,” he told her. �He looked
back at what he was doing, then back up at Gem. �”You’re dressed
up�are you going out there?” �he asked, pointing at the small
basement window, through which the sun shone brightly. �

Gem
nodded, almost apologetically. �”Thought I would try to see if
I can get a job. �Covered up my barcode pretty well.” �She hesitated.
�”I was hoping you’d watch Elf for me while I’m gone.” �

Joshua
shrugged. �”Guess that’s the only thing Joshua is good for. �Nothing’s
changed, even though we’re free.” �

“That’s
not true!” Gem argued, going over to him. �”I think you
should definitely think about a � a career. �You’re�you’re a teacher,
and an artist. �I bet you can find a way to make some money. �Even
if I can find a job, I’m sure I won’t be raking in the dough, so we’re
going to need anything we can get.” �

“Maybe
we should have stayed in Terminal City, or�you could have gone with
someone�who’s not different. �Someone who could go outside, could
find work.”

“No, Joshua, we did the right thing. �I wanted to bring Dalton
with us, but Logan was right � he’s better off with regular parents,
at his age. �But you and me and Elfie � we’re going to do great. �I
just need you to stay with her today, while I go out looking. �Okay?”
�

Joshua
picked up some paints and examined them while he was thinking. �Then
he looked up at her, determined. �”If Gem thinks we did the right
thing, then Joshua does, too. �Go look for a job. �Elfie and I will
stay here and cook dinner.”

Gem
smiled. �”Thanks, Joshua.” �They headed upstairs, and she
handed the baby to Joshua, grabbed a jacket, and headed out. �

After
a second, Joshua darted after her, throwing open the front door. �”Gem!
�Be friendly, courteous, and kind!”

Jam Pony � 6:55 PM

“I
don’t know about you, but I’d never thought I’d be so glad to be working
for minimum wage again,” Alec said to Max as they came into Jam
Pony after finishing their last run of the day. �”Being in a
life-or-death situation is one thing; having to scrub toilets and
play poker for six months with a guy who has X-ray vision is pure
torture.”

Max
rolled her eyes. �”Don�t come to me looking for sympathy, Alec.
�I saw you make the guy keep his back toward you while you and Mole
took his gullible ass for a ride.” �

Alec
laughed. �”Well, hey, we were trained to win, not to play fair,
am I right?” �They approached the lockers, where Original Cindy
and Sketchy were standing with concerned expressions on their faces.

“Speaking
of winning, is the game show chick back today?” �Alec asked them.
�”I was hoping you could, uh, introduce us.” �He winked
at Sketchy, who did not return the smile.

“Nah,
man, something�s up with that.” �Sketchy shot a look at Original
Cindy. �”We stopped by her place at lunch, and her boyfriend
said she never came home after the show. �She never even called him.”
�

Max
frowned. �”So? �She won a ton of money and didn’t want to share.
�What’s the big deal?” �

“She
just made a big thing over how she and her boy was gonna take the
money and go to Vegas, make even more,” Original Cindy said.

Alec
laughed. �”Sounds like our girl, Max, hit the nail on the head.
�Lady wanted to start over � alone. �If I had the dough, I’d be out
of here in a heartbeat, too. �So, who’s up for a beer?” �

Max
slammed her locker shut. �”Not me. �Promised Logan I’d stop by
after work.” �The other three immediately started making kissy
noises, until she silenced them with a single look. �”I’m out
of here.” �

Fogle Towers � that evening

Logan
was sitting at his desk when Max breezed into the computer room. �”Glad
you’re here,” he told her. �”We’ve got a situation.”

“You
finally make some progress translating these new runes?”

“Uh,
no�I’m working on that, but there are some new characters that are
really unusual. �It’s gonna take some time. �I called you over for
an Eyes Only thing.” �

“Let
me guess. �A subterranean feline transgenic is terrorizing homeless
people and cleaning up that pesky rat population in the sewers,”
Max said, propping a hip on Logan’s desk. �

Logan
glanced up at her with a crooked smile. �”I think you have transgenics
on the brain. �No, this is more of the dead-body type of situation.
�But if you don’t think you have time to help out�”

“I’m all about time,” Max interrupted. �”Especially
for something that keeps me as far away from Terminal City, or anything
associated with it, as possible. �This fit the bill?” �

Logan nodded. �”Just came in over the Informant Net. �My guy says
the cops pulled a dead body out of the river yesterday and are keeping
it quiet. �Twenty-something female, shot once in the head, execution-style.
�Rope attached to her foot � the cops think it was tied to something
heavy so she’d sink, but she got loose somehow.” �

“Looks
like a slam-dunk mob hit to me,” Max remarked, shrugging. �

“Mob’s
usually a little more discreet, though,” Logan countered. �”While
the cops were still on the scene, a second body surfaced. �And just
a few hours ago, a fisherman on a pier hooked a third.” �

“Yuck,” Max said, shivering. �”So, what do you need
me for? �I’m no PI.” �

“I
know. �I’m going to be talking to Matt about it. �Just wanted to let
you know what was up, so if you hear something, you’ll let me know.
�And when I know something, then maybe you can make a move.”
�

“Whatever.”
�Max crossed her arms and smirked down at him. �”Well, usually
by now you’d have invited me to dinner, or at the very least offered
to let me raid your fridge.” �

Logan
adjusted his glasses nervously, and laughed a little. �”Yeah,
well, I haven’t made it down to the market lately, and my fridge is
pretty empty. �I’ve been surviving on bread and water. �Sorry.”
�

“No
big dealio. �Guess I’ll just head to Crash and meet up with the gang.
�Sketchy’s all bummed ’cause that girl from Jam Pony who was on that
lame show the other day � she never came back to work. �Just took
the money and split. �I think Sketch was hoping he could talk his
way into some of her winnings.” �

“Hmmm�she
never even went back to her house?” �Logan asked, his brow furrowing
in typical concern. �”Sounds suspicious.” �

Max
snorted. �”Wake up and smell the reality, Logan. �She had a boyfriend,
she wanted to dump him, she didn’t have the guts to be honest
with him. �So she took off. �Better than staying around and lying
to his face�right?” �

Logan
looked up upon hearing her unusually sharp tone. �”Yeah�right,”
he replied, leaning forward to pull out his wallet. �”Well, buy
Sketchy a round on me. �I’m going to stay here, see if I can dig up
anything else.” �

“‘K.
�Catch ya later,” Max said, taking the money from him and breezing
out. �