Together -- Chapter 14

Disclaimer: All of the characters that appeared on the TV show Dark Angel (Max, Zack, Logan, etc.) belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Becky/X6-405, etc.).

Notes: I missed the season 2 episode that mentioned what happened to Herbal, so I’m just making up my own explanation of why he’s not there. Spoilers/spoiler-ish stuff for "Bag 'Em."

“Here we are,” Max said. “Jam Pony. Normal’s the guy who runs the joint.”

“He’s gonna be thrilled to see you,” Original Cindy deadpanned.

“He can contain himself,” Max decided.

Becky looked amused. “Okay...”

“You’ll see what we mean,” Max assured the younger transgenic. She led the three of them into the building.

“Excuse me? What do you think you’re doing here, miss?” Normal demanded.

“Coming into work,” Max told him.

“After not bothering to show up for three months?” Normal looked understandably skeptical. “I don’t think so.”

“I had a medical emergency come up. It wasn’t like I had time to tell you,” Max said.

“Medical emergency, huh?” Normal raised an eyebrow. “Do you have any proof?”

“Yeah, but it’s not something that’s exactly polite to show in public,” Max declared cheerfully.

Normal raised an eyebrow, but motioned to Max to follow him into his office. They came out a minute later, Normal looking subdued and Max with a big smirk on her face. He turned to Becky. “Who are you?”

“I need a job,” Becky spoke up. “Max and Cindy said that I could find one here.”

“Very well,” Normal said. He picked up a clipboard and pen. “Name?”

“Rebecca Donovan.”

“Age?”

“Seventeen.”

“Experience?”

“I know how to ride a bike.”

“Sounds good enough to me,” Original Cindy remarked.

“Sadly, you’re right,” Normal admitted. “Okay, you’re hired. Grab a bike off of that rack and I guess one of these reprobates will take you on their runs for the next day or two until you get to know the city well enough to be able to make runs on your own. There should be some empty lockers over there. Here’s a lock and a sector pass.” He reached underneath the counter and tossed Becky a combination lock and a pass.

“Thank you,” Becky said.

“Hey, look who’s back!” Sketchy exclaimed. “Where the hell have you been, Max?”

“I had an emergency come up,” Max informed him, shrugged. “Had to get a heart transplant.”

“Oh,” Sketchy said. His face lit up. “Can I see your scar?”

Original Cindy smacked him across the back of his head. “Fool.”

“Ouch,” Sketchy complained. He noticed Becky standing with Max and Original Cindy and grinned.

“This is Becky. She’s an old friend of mine,” Max told him. “And she’s not eighteen yet, so don’t even think about it.”

“Damn,” Sketchy said, disappointed. “Please tell me that you’ll be turning eighteen soon.”

“Can you get your head out of the gutter for once in your life?” Original Cindy complained.

“Sorry,” Sketchy apologized. “So, Becky, where do you know Max from?”

“We used to go to elementary school together until she and her family moved out of state.” Becky stretched her arms out before she continued speaking. “I got into town recently and met up with her again by accident. Didn’t know that she was here.”

“Well, welcome to Jam Pony,” Sketchy told her. “It’s cool here, if you don’t mind Normal over there.”

“Thanks,” Becky said.

“Hey, where’s Herbal?” Max asked, looking around. “He late for work again?”

Original Cindy shook her head. “No, Herbal left town about a month after you disappeared. His girlfriend actually got a real job down in Oregon. He stops by from time to time, though.”

“Oh,” Max said.

“Who was Herbal? A friend of yours?” Becky wondered as she stuffed her things in an empty locker near Max and Original Cindy’s.

“Yeah,” Max confirmed as she put her own things away. “Maybe you’ll meet him sometime.” She turned to Original Cindy. “I can’t believe nobody claimed my locker.”

“Believe it,” Original Cindy told her friend. “Some fool did once. I told him that I kept my emergency tampons in there and he was away from that locker before you could blink.”

Becky snickered. “I used that same line once. When I was o—in high school, some nimrod thought it would be funny if he would plant some dye in one of my dresser drawers. I caught him and he said he needed something and that he’d heard I’d had what he needed so I told him he was looking in the wrong place and that was where I kept my tampons. I’ve never seen anybody go that pale before in my life.”

“Men,” Max remarked.

“Hey,” Sketchy protested. “Not all men are like that. I don’t get squeamish at anything that has to do with female anatomy.”

“Trying to pick up women doesn’t count,” Original Cindy said.

“If you slackers are done chatting, I’ve got a hot run,” Normal shouted.

“I’ll take it,” Max declared. “Come on, Becky. Grab a bike and let’s get going.”

“Okay,” Becky said. She walked over to the rack of unclaimed bikes and took one.

“Lunch, usual time and place, right?” Max asked over her shoulder as she grabbed the package from Normal.

“Right,” Sketchy confirmed.

“See ya guys later,” Max said. She and Becky left.

TBC