EPILOGUE

Crash
– that night

Max
sat with Original Cindy, Sketchy, Alec, and Sky at a table.� Empty
glasses and a nearly empty pitcher of beer littered the table as
Sketchy drained his own glass.

�People still chasin� you around?� Original Cindy asked Alec, crossing
her arms and leaning them on the table.

�Yeah,
it�s weird.� Never thought I�d think being propositioned at every
turn was a bad thing.�� He took a sip of his own beer.

Sketchy
put his now-empty glass down on the table, the glass slamming against
the wood in his haste.� �Hey, I was almost tempted to sneak behind
Normal�s back and grab that stamp pad myself.�

�Ooh,
Sketch, trust me � not worth it.�

�You
okay, sugah?� Original Cindy asked Max,
nodding at the empty space on the table in front of her.� �You haven�t
had a thing all night.�

�Yeah,
I�m fine.�� Max smiled, reaching into her pocket and dropping a
bill on the table as she stood up.� �I gotta jet.� Next round�s
on me.�

�More
beer,� Sketchy grunted as he took the money and the empty pitcher
up to the bar.� Max wasn�t far behind, heading for the stairs.�
The TV behind the bar fritzed into an Eyes Only hack, and
Sketchy watched in admiration.� Max paused as well.

�Do
not attempt to adjust your set.� This is a Streaming Freedom Video
Bulletin.� The cable hack will last exactly sixty seconds.� It cannot
be traced, it cannot be stopped, and it is the only free voice left
in Seattle.� Inevitably, in life, one must make
the choice between withholding information and coming forward with
the truth.� This week, one man made the right choice. �This footage
shows you where your donations have gone–not to the hungry, but
to the pockets of the police at our borders.� John Milham
has been cheating those who can least afford
it.� Now the truth is out.� This has been a Streaming Freedom Video
Bulletin from the Eyes Only informant net.� Peace.� Out.�

�Eyes
Only does it again,� Sketchy grinned, handing
the pitcher to the bartender to refill.� At the top of the stairs,
a patron entered the bar, and the sound of a revving motorcycle
engine followed her inside.

Space
Needle

Max
stood on the roof of the observation deck, looking out over the
city and smiling.

Logan talks a good game � admitting the
truth and all � but it took him long enough to finally play it.�
Oh, well.� At least he did.� Now it looks like it�s my turn.� A
city full of loonies chasin� sires out
there, and I�m the one who ends up pregnant.�
For a while there I wasn�t sure Logan and I would ever get to this point.�
Guess we have, though.� If you�d told me about this a couple years
ago, I�d have laughed.� I mean, me, a mom?� But hey…stranger things
have happened.

END
OF EPISODE 3.15