You and Me -- Chapter 4

Disclaimer:  The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Tinga, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me.  No money is being made off of this fic.  I only own the original characters.

Max waited patiently in front of her apartment building one night several weeks later. I deserve this night out. I hope that Jamie gets here soon. A few moments later, she saw Jamie’s car turn onto the street and then pull up to the curb in front of Max. Max waited until Jamie unlocked the passenger side door and got in and put her seatbelt on. “Hey. You’re right on time.”

“Yeah, I thought I left enough time before I left my apartment,” Jamie said. She shrugged. “That’s one reason why I take the bus to and from work. Traffic around here usually sucks before 11pm. That and the price of gas has been going up again.”

“True,” Max said. She looked out in front of her and sighed. “Thank goodness it finally stopped raining ten minutes ago.” She stretched her arms as much as she could. “Where’s this club that you were talking about at work today?”

“It’s all the way in Hamilton,” Jamie said. “It’s about sixty or so kilometers from here, but if it’s as good as I was told that it is, it’ll be worth the drive.” She pulled away from the curb. “Speaking of traffic, do you mind if we take the back roads there?”

“Not at all,” Max said. They were quiet for a few minutes. “Did Mr. Benton and I guess she would be his ex-bimbo continue their fight through your part of the building late this afternoon before we left?”

Jamie laughed. “I sure did, Kara. That must have been some fight if it went all the way from Mr. Benton’s office through advertising to wherever they finally finished their argument.”

Max looked surprised. “Are you kidding me, Jamie? They didn’t stop fighting?”

“Nope,” Jamie said. “They kept on yelling at each other as they passed through. I’ve got a feeling that they didn’t stop until they were two blocks away from the building.” She and Max both laughed. “He really needs to either get a sane mistress or just stop cheating on his wife.”

“Oh yeah,” Max said. They were silent again for a little while before something caught Max’s eye and she frowned. “Jamie, stop the car.” Jamie gave Max a puzzled frown, but she pulled over to the side of the empty road and stopped the car. Max got out and walked over to the side of the road and picked something up. “It looks like a tailpipe.” She turned it over. “I’d say it’s from a motorcycle.”

“That’s odd,” Jamie said. “You think somebody wrecked?”

“Possibly,” Max said. She started to step forward to look, but stopped herself. “Got a flashlight in your car?”

“Yeah, I’ve got the whole emergency kit deal,” Jamie said. She went back over to the car and opened the trunk and got out not one, but two flashlights and handed one of them to Max. They turned them on and shone them on the road. “I think you’re right. There are skid marks over there. It definitely appears to have been from a motorcycle. It looks as if the rider lost control over there…but all we found was the tailpipe. That’s weird.”

“It is,” Max agreed. She sniffed. “I can still smell burnt rubber. Barely, but I can still smell it.” Actually, I can definitely smell it. If I were normal like you, then it’d be barely. “The wreck must have happened within the last half-hour.” She shrugged. “Personal experience. I got a broken leg out of it, too.”

Jamie winced, obviously buying the lie. “Ouch.” She moved her flashlight around and it lit on another motorcycle part on the other side of the road. “There’s another part over there.”

“I’ll take this side of the road and you take that one,” Max said. Jamie nodded and they began to search. I might not have wrecked my bike badly enough to injure myself, but I have seen one of my old friends from when I was living in St. Louis back in ’17 wreck like this, or how I think this person wrecked. I remember how the debris scattered when he crashed and it didn’t happen like this. It’s like this rider is deliberately re-scattering the debris or maybe even trying to cover up the accident all together. Why? Her foot brushed something metallic and she frowned and moved her flashlight downward to show that she had nearly stepped on a handgun. What the fuck? Max took a deep breath and picked it up. There’s something familiar about this… She suddenly stuck the gun in the waistband of her jeans and raced forward, all of her senses alert, before she stopped suddenly when she heard the faintest of groans. She looked down and to her horror, saw Zack lying on the ground, obviously injured and only half-conscious. “Oh my God, Zack, what happened?”

“Road was slick…” he gasped. “Drunk driver was zigzagging on the road and I…” He winced and tried to talk again. “I tried to cover up my wreck but…”

“Save your strength,” Max said. “I’m with a friend and she has a car. We’ll get you back to my place.” She found Zack’s bag nearby and shoved the gun inside it before she raised her voice. “Jamie! Get here, quick!” They heard footsteps and a few minutes later, Jamie was running over to them.

“Holy shit,” she said. “How bad is he, Kara?”

“I don’t know,” Max said honestly.

“Come on, let’s get him to a hospital,” Jamie said.

“No,” Max said immediately. “He hates hospitals. Trust me, he’s a friend of mine. I’ve known him since we were kids. My place is closer. Let’s get back there.” She picked up Zack’s bag and slung the strap across her shoulder.

“Okay, your call,” Jamie said. “Take his arms and I’ll get his legs.” Together, they lifted Zack and carried him back out to Jamie’s car and carefully got him into the backseat. Max sat with him, holding his head on her lap while Jamie drove back to Max’s apartment. Jamie pulled up in front and got her first-aid kit out of the trunk and then help Max get Zack and his things out of the car and up and into Max’s apartment. They laid him down on the bed in Max’s spare bedroom and Jamie started to get supplies out of the kit. “Do you have a first-aid kit, bandages, anything like that here?”

“Yeah,” Max said. “Do you know what you’re doing?” She bit her lip. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to snap.”

“It’s okay,” Jamie said. “He’s your friend. I understand that you’re worried. And yes, I actually was a paramedic for awhile a few years ago.” She started to get some bandages and antiseptic out of the first aid kit while Max went and got some supplies of her own. Jamie handed her a cloth that she’d already put some peroxide on. “Go ahead and clean up that scrape on his arm while I check him for a concussion.” The two of them worked quickly. When they were done, they quietly left the room so that Zack could rest and they sat down on Max’s couch. “He’ll be okay, I think. Judging by how his pupils reacted, I’d say he only has a mild concussion, moderate at worst. He’s got a couple of bruised or broken ribs, probably both, bruises and scrapes everywhere, and I really think that you should drag his ass to a hospital because that left leg looks like it’s broken. I know that we splinted it, but it should be in a cast.”

“I’ll talk him into it later,” Max said. She let out a sigh. “Thank you so much, Jamie.”

“Not a problem,” Jamie said. “Let me know how he’s doing. I’ll see you later, Kara.” She got up and left the apartment.

Max blinked and sat there quietly for several minutes before she got up and walked back into the spare bedroom and sat down in a chair next to the bed and gently took Zack’s hand. God, that was scary. I’m glad that it looks like he’s going to be okay, but when I saw him… She shuddered and gave Zack’s hand a squeeze. His eyes fluttered open. Max frowned. “I didn’t mean to wake you.”

“It’s okay, I was awake,” Zack assured her. “She said that I’ll be okay?”

“Yeah, but we need to do something about your leg,” Max said.

“Don’t worry about it, I know what to do,” Zack said. “It’ll be fine for now.”

“Okay,” Max said. “You scared the hell out of me, Zack. I thought—“

“Maxie, it’s okay,” Zack assured her. “I’ll be fine. I’ve survived worse.”

“I remember,” Max said. She brushed some hair out of his eyes. “Get some sleep. I’ll wake you up in a little bit.”

“Okay,” Zack said. He looked into Max’s eyes. “Thank you, Maxie.”

“Anytime, Zack,” she said. She watched him close his eyes and curled up in her chair and watched him sleep.

TBC