11:00 am

I’ve seen Max experience a few tremors before. We have worked closely together long enough now that I couldn’t miss them. It was usually just a slight shaking in her hands or the beginnings of a headache that she didn’t even bother to hide. She would take a few Tryptophan pills and the symptoms would subside. They never really slowed her down.

Sunday’s seizure, though, was frightening in its intensity. I have never seen Max so debilitated before, or realized how vulnerable she was until I saw her lying there, pleading with me to stay with her. The military armor plating was gone and she was just a young girl who desperately needed some comforting. She doesn’t even have a family to take care of her when she is sick. There was no one that I could even call. Instead, she was here with me, a man she is just beginning to know. She slept fitfully, barely able to rest as the seizures continued to assault her throughout the night, despite the Tryptophan that I coaxed down her throat. I stayed at her side, stroking her hair and holding her hand. She seemed comforted by my presence, more restful. It seemed that my simple touch let her know that she wasn’t in this alone.

I never understood how much Max relied on Tryptophan. If the serotonin levels in her brain become sufficiently depleted, she could slip into a coma and die. Tryptophan is her lifeline during these times. It is the only thing that appears to help. It amazes me that such a simple nutritional supplement can have such dramatic results for her.

I’ve found a significant amount of information on Tryptophan as part of my research on Manticore. Tryptophan is an amino acid that combined with pyridoxal-5-phosphate, a form of vitamin B6, can be converted into serotonin in the body. When serotonin levels in the brain are low, it can cause insomnia, anxiety and food cravings. The anxiety was definitely evident on Sunday night when Max’s serotonin levels became dangerously low. After observing Max for a few months, I believe that even when she is not having a seizure, she is constantly fighting below optimum serotonin levels. It at least partially explains her love of food. She is probably subconsciously trying to increase her Tryptophan uptake. I’m also convinced that low serotonin levels are at least one factor in Max’s lack of desire to sleep, although with her genetic make up, there are likely other factors at work as well. The large dosage of Tryptophan that Max took on Sunday night must have raised the serotonin levels in her brain sufficiently to allow her to sleep, although it was a fitful sleep at best.

I let her leave yesterday morning and I shouldn’t have. She still had dark circles under her eyes and difficulty keeping her balance. I couldn’t even interest her in some breakfast, and she never says no to food. With her serotonin levels so low, I would have expected her to want to eat more than ever. That was the biggest flag of all that there was still something seriously wrong. The Tryptophan she took throughout the night seemed to barely be keeping the seizures at bay. Despite her obvious weakness, she insisted that she had to go home. It is so difficult for her to show weakness or to allow me to help her. The seizures Sunday night must have been extreme for Max to rely on me as much as she did.

I knew it was far from over, that she could have another seizure any time, and still I let her go. Now I haven’t heard from her in over twenty-four hours. I’ve been paging her all morning and she has not responded. There must be something seriously wrong. I have to find her.

6:00pm

When I learned from Cindy that she had flushed Max’s pills down the toilet, my fears were confirmed. My first thought was the Max must have tried to get some more. She would have been very desperate. A quick call to Matt confirmed that she had indeed been arrested last night for breaking into the pharmacy at Metro Medical. Getting her out of Langford prison before she slipped into a coma was going to be very difficult. Still, I breathed a sigh of relief just to know where she was. At least, she wasn’t unconscious in an alley somewhere, with no way for us to find her.

Max has some good people that care about her. Thanks to Matt, Cindy was able to get the Tryptophan to her inside the prison. She risked her life to do that for her friend. Even Bling came over to help me hack into the Police Department records. He seemed as concerned that we delete Max’s records as I was. Luckily, there are so many holes in the PD’s internal security system that their files are virtually unprotected. It was easy enough deleting Max’s records and every other female’s booked today, just for good measure. If the police department ever developed some integrity, they could use some serious help rebuilding their computer systems. Today, their weakness worked in Max’s favor. She is out and she is safe. She even brought a lost child with her, a young girl that the warden was using as his concubine.

Thank God, I heard Max’s voice again. Thank God, she is okay.

Still, I can’t understand what was wrong with Cindy and Bling today. Max almost died and they were both acting like I wanted to ask her on a date. How could I not care for her? How could I not worry about her and want to protect her? What if she had died? What would we have done? What would I have done?

All I know is that sometimes Max needs me. I realize that she is stronger and faster and more intelligent than I am. I’m just a man in a wheelchair, after all, and there is only so much that I can do. I know that I can’t truly protect her, not from the world or from her seizures. Still, I am grateful that I can be there for her on those rare occasions when she needs me. They may be few and far between, but when they occur, I will do all in my power to help her. I know that much.

9:00pm

Thank God for friends. They can make all the difference in the world. What a motley crew we are, a paraplegic hacker, a lesbian impersonating a prostitute, a police detective and a physiotherapist. But together, we got Max out of that prison and erased every record of her being there. We even found a home for Maria. My friends, Jim and Alice, were grateful to have her. They have wanted a child in their family for years and they have the skills to help Maria deal with the abuse she suffered. Not to mention their pony! It amazes me that the informant net has extended its role to becoming a foster care placement agency, but in this broken world of ours we will fill whatever need presents itself.

This is the way our society is supposed to work. All the Lydeckers in the world cannot stop a few people who look out for each other. "The Logan Cale brigade for the defense of widows, small children, and lost animals" Max called it with her typical sense of humor. Call it what you will, it still works. And despite her protests, Max has caught the vision. What she did for Maria proved it to me once again. She is my number one field commander whether she knows it or not.

Peace. Out.