Max slung her bag over her shoulder and stood on one hip as she waited for Logan to bring the car round. Asha had a small suit case and Alec a duffel bag with his stuff in. Max wondered if they all looked like they were going for a luxury four nights and four days in one of the world’s top hotels. Probably not, considering she and Alec were glaring at each other and Asha looked like she wanted to be somewhere else.
Max had packed leisure clothes as she was told to, three evening outfits and OC had insisted she take a night dress to sleep in.
"But why?" Max had asked. "It's not as if Logan and I are going to be sleeping together."
"Yeah but you gotta look nice." OC had replied. Max hadn't argued.
"There's the car." Asha sounded very relieved as Logan drew up. Max and Alec dumped their bags in the boot, helping Asha with her suitcase.
"What's she got in here?" Alec muttered sotto voce and Max had to keep from laughing. Oblivious, Asha went in to the front of the car.
"Logan." She hissed urgently while Alec and Max argued over the best way to arrange the luggage.
"What?" Logan asked. Asha glanced furtively back at the two transgenics.
"Well - you and Max can't sit together in the car on the way, it's too risky."
"Oh." Logan sighed, he hadn't thought of that.
"Your options are having Max and Alec sitting together or having Alec sitting with you." Asha
said, watching as Max and Alec finally decided on something, or Alec pulled Max's hair, she wasn't sure which.
"Alec and I will kill each other, I mean we can manage a few hours, but this is a thirteen hour trip, not counting breaks. And I'd like to see you and Max sitting together." Logan hissed. Asha glanced backwards worriedly.
"Something up?" Alec asked, he got in the back, Max following. Asha raised an eyebrow at Logan, the issue decided for them.
Max sighed, she was sitting behind Asha and Alec was drumming softly on the contours of the door. No one else seemed to bother and they were just coming to the first sector.
"Grade A passes, hope they work." Alec muttered as Logan's car slowed. Max shot him a look and smiled prettily at the guards. Alec kept his eyes off their faces, Manticore training advised it best not to make predatory body language when you're worried. The passes worked and they headed onwards.
"Mind if I put on some music?" Logan asked. Asha shook her head. Alec and Max were staring out their windows, not replying. With a little shrug Logan slipped in a CD.
"Like the wall paint sticks to the wall
Like the sea shark clings to the sea
Like you'll never get rid of your shadow.
You'll never get rid of me."
The song began. Logan felt his fingers drumming on the steering wheel, suddenly Alec chuckled.
"Hey Max, did you have General Dayne for Military Tactics?" He asked, laughing at some unknown joke. Suddenly Max giggled.
"Oh yeah, that guy was so funny. Never realized it until we got out though."
"Yeah, when we were older we used to call him General Paranoid."
"Pretty good for some soldiers." Max grinned at him. Alec looked over to Logan.
"We were hilarious, shoulda stuck around."
"I liked it out here better."
"Don't blame you." Alec told her. He grinned and listened for a while. He started humming, it was a moment before Logan realized that he was humming a counter melody to Max.
"[Me] Closer than pages that [and] stick in a book. [my]
We're closer than wrinkles that fall in the face [shadow]
Wherever you find you'll find him too. [Strolling down the avenue]
Closer than a miser all the bloodhounds to Elisa. Me and My shadow."
"You two are good." Asha felt obliged to say.
"We're mathematically minded." Alec told her, an eyebrow raised in Max's direction, she chuckled.
"Guess you had Mr Math too." She grinned. "Manticore did have some funny parts."
"What was it like there?" Asha asked, Logan tried to warn her with a look but it didn't quite work. Alec and Max went quiet for a minute.
"It was . . . blue." Max said. "Everything was cold and blue, bright colours stick in my memory so much because everything there was blue."
"It was cold. The tank was cold." Alec added. "The tank was very cold." He chuckled dryly.
"I'm sorry, the tank?" Asha asked. Max shivered and brought her knees up to her chest. Alec cleared his throat and continued.
"The tank was a big clear swimming pool, with chains at the bottom. They used to hold us
down, to see how long we could hold our breath. Some of us died."
"Four minutes fifty two seconds." Max said.
"Four fifty three." Alec replied, "best record in all of Manticore, but I was eighteen, beat your record only just." He said. Max nodded.
"Right - food stop." Logan said as they pulled into a gas station. Max and Alec jumped out, Logan and Asha had a little more difficulty, they were stiff and sore.
"What do you guys want?" Alec asked, indicating the shop.
"Uh, a sandwich, something salad like." Asha said. Logan nodded.
"I'd like something with meat, and a drink."
"Oh me too." Asha added slightly excitedly. "And potato chips. And something for the journey. I need to go pee." Asha headed off. Max stretched and watched Logan as he began to fill the tank with petrol.
"Enjoying the journey so far?" Logan asked, smiling at her. Max grinned.
"Yeah, Alec and I haven't killed each other, I haven't killed Asha, yet, and you haven't keeled over. Pretty good for us." She said. Logan grinned.
"I'm impressed with you and Alec, reminiscing about your High School days?"
"Huh, more like making conversation. But it's a start." Max rolled her shoulders. "This is gonna be really painful at the end of this journey."
"Yeah - spare a thought for us mortals then? If it'll hurt you then it'll hurt us a whole lot more, so go easy on Asha okay?"
"All right, all right." Max rolled her eyes in mock exaggeration.
"Okay - egg mayonnaise, no salad I'm afraid, Logan you got a Ploughman's, whatever that is." Alec greeted the three when he came back laden with food. Asha caught her and Logan's sandwiches.
"Woo!" Max leapt forward, grabbing the can that slipped from his arms. Alec grimaced, trying to put all the food down.
"Sort it out on the road." Logan said, sitting back down in the drivers seat.
"Okay, Max the BLT's are ours, Pepsi for Asha, Coke for Logan. Max, they had Irn-Bru."
"Did they? Excellent!" Max exclaimed. She and Alec were sitting in the back, in the middle seat they had all the food scattered around. Max picked up two orange and blue cans.
"Irn-Bru?" Asha asked.
"A Scottish soft drink, took over America in 2007, after the pulse it became as rare as a pre-pulse wine. Just started production again recently." Alec explained, opening his BLT
"It's amazing." Max assured. "Kind of like a drug, very addictive and tasty." She said. She took a big bite out of her sandwich and for the next hour or so they were all pre-occupied.
The roads got darker after a while, despite Max and Alec's offers Logan insisted on driving. Asha was curled up, Logan's jacket over her as a blanket. Max felt her head getting heavier.
"Max," Logan hissed. "Are you awake?"
"Mm hmm." Max said, knowing that she could be if she wanted to. Alec glanced over to her.
"You want us to drive?" He asked, looking to Logan.
"No, but we're nearly there." Logan glanced backwards for a minute. "You two will need to remember to act civil."
"We will." Max assured him, shifting herself so she could lean on Alec's shoulder. Alec let his head drop so that his cheek was resting on her hair.
When approaching a battle situation, General Dayne used to say, get all the rest you can.