Saying Hello

by Erin Cale

Disclaimer: Dark Angel is not mine. Please don't sue.

Author's Notes: For once, not a major shippy fic!

This is the first of a series of as-of-yet unknown length.

Feedback: Please! I haven't even run through this since I wrote it. I need criticism.

Summary: Jondy comes to Seattle with a message for Logan. But is she all she seems?

By Erin Cale

Logan and Max looked up from their lunch as they heard someone knocking at the door. Logan tried to wheel away from the table but Max was already halfway there.

"I'll get it," she called over her shoulder. Logan followed more slowly and stopped a couple meters from Max. She opened the door carefully. Logan heard her inhale sharply and ask, "Do I know you?"

"Maybe, maybe not," came the noncommittal reply. Logan recognized the feminine voice immediately, but didn't say anything. The woman continued, "I'm a friend of Logan Cale's. He still lives here, right?"

"Of course. Come in." Max's voice was full of suspicion, but she opened the door wider and let the woman come in. The latter nodded politely to Max then she looked around for Logan. When she saw him her eyes widened in shock.

"Logan! What happened?!" she exclaimed.

"It's a long story, Jolene... one I don't feel like telling right now."

Jolene looked at Max then back to Logan, her shoulder length red hair bouncing with the motion. "Well, if you're not going to tell me, then aren't you even going to introduce us?"

Logan blinked in surprise, as if just remembering that the two women didn't know each other. "Of course. Max Guevera, this is Jolene Desmond. Jolene, Max.

Jolene held out her hand and Max shook it firmly. "For lack of originality, my friends just call me Red."

Max nodded, looking slightly confused. "I can't get over the feeling that I know you from somewhere."

"Well, I know you," Jolene said, an enigmatic smile on her face. "Even though I'm glad to know you're still alive, I came here to talk with Logan. You may listen if you want. It may help to explain some things for you." Jolene walked over to the couch and sat down. Max followed, sitting on the other end, making sure to keep her eyes glued to this stranger. Logan wheeled over and came to a stop a few feet from Jolene. His look prompted her to begin.

"Alright, Logan, I get the hint," she said, rolling her eyes in mock exasperation. "After we broke up, I started checking into a place called Manticore." Max and Logan looked at each other, intrigued by their companion's statement. Jolene ignored them and continued, "I didn't find out too much on the X5s, but I found some information on the earlier generations, including the X1s. It seems that one mother escaped while still early in her pregnancy with an X1. You taught me too well, Logan because I was able to find out who she was and where she lived after she escaped." Jolene paused to take a deep breath and slow down. "Now here's the thing. I found out what she named her child, and I was even able to obtain a photo from the hospital records." She reached into her pocket and pulled out a wrinkled copy of a baby picture. "His name is Logan. The woman who escaped from Manticore went by the name Emma after she escaped."

"My mother," Logan whispered.

*******

"But that's impossible. There is nothing superhuman about me."

"That's because your mother escaped so early. She managed to leave before they could do too much to you."

"Is there a reason that you're telling him this?" Max asked, still unnerved by the fact that this woman knew about Manticore at all.

"Actually, yes," Jolene replied without turning around. "You see, they didn't do too much to him, but they did give him an extra gene sequence that they didn't put in the others and they haven't been able to recreate since."

"What's so special about it?" Logan asked.

"It stops the seizures. That's the only recurring fault in every one of the X series. Lydecker wants his runaway X5s back, but he wants you back even more. You're the key to him creating the ultimate super-soldier." Jolene looked him in the eye. "Logan, he's after you. They stumbled onto my research. I'm a day ahead of him, two at the most. You need to leave, now."

Max looked at Logan as he gestured to his wheelchair. "I'm not going to be able to go anywhere very fast."

"So? I'll take you to Canada for the summer. If you absolutely must return here, we can come back after they've tired of watching your house. But it would still be safer to move into some other apartment... I'll even help you move your stuff. In fact, from the way you've been staring at Max the entire time I've been here, I'd suggest moving in with her." Jolene smiled at the blush that spread like wildfire across Logan's face.

"Wait a minute," Max said, pretending to ignore that last comment. "When you first came here, you referred to Manticore like it was something that both you and he are familiar with."

"Well, I assumed that he was familiar with it since he knows you and you're probably looking for your siblings. You'd need the help of an expert hacker."

"Hacker?!" Logan exclaimed.

"And how are you familiar with it?" Max continued.

"Imagine me ten years younger with a close-cropped hair cut."

Max squinted as she tried to picture the woman with the physical alterations.

"Jondy?"

She smiled and stood up. "Well, we need to get going."

"What about Bling?"

"Bling?"

"Yes," Logan said. "Bling is my physical therapist and my friend. I don't want Lydecker finding that out and torturing or killing him."

"Ahh. He'll also have to disappear for a while. Tell me his address and I'll go get him."

Logan wheeled over to his desk and opened one of the drawers. He pulled out a card and handed it to Jondy. She looked at it for a brief instant, then she tossed it back to Logan.

"Aiight. Be back."

As the door closed, Logan looked back at the now-cold food still sitting on the table. He mumbled in a low voice (so low that even Max's genetically-engineered ears almost didn't catch it), "Guess lunch is over."

******

Jondy returned twenty minutes later with Bling in tow. "Honey, I'm home!" she yelled. Bling addressed Logan as soon as he appeared from his bedroom.

"What's going on?" Bling asked.

"It's a long story, but it ends with anyone familiar with me should get out of town." Max walked up beside him as he finished talking. She looked to Jondy.

"We should split up or at least separate into pairs."

"No. Our mission right now is to protect Logan. If he gets caught, Lydecker wins. We can't separate... except for leaving town, that is. It'll look weird if Rich Boy here just up and leaves. Bling will go home, you two will pick him up there. I'll be in the nearby alley and I'll walk by as you're leaving. You'll role down the window, asking me- by my alias, of course- if I need a ride. From there, we'll follow a zigzag course to Canada."

Max considered the plan for a moment, then nodded. Bling and Jondy left together, acting as if they had just had a lovely chat with Logan (for any nosy neighbors). After watching them start down the stairs, Max turned back to Logan. He sighed and moved over to the bookcase. There, he pulled out a book and threw the money he found inside to Max, saying, "Well, we're going to need some money. After I finish getting the rest of what I've hidden around here we'll go out to the car."

"Well, I've got to call Original Cindy and have her cover for me."

Logan smiled at her, thinking of how Normal would react if he knew the real reason Max wasn't coming in to work.

Jondy watched Bling as he walked into the building. After he had been inside enough time, she walked to a nearby phone. She picked up the phone and hit its base, satisfied when she heard a dial tone. She dialed in the number for Zack's voice message system.

"Please leave your message after the tone."

"This is Jondy. I need as much help as I can get. Lydecker's trapped me and is closing in on my position. I'm going to make a run for the Crossroads Inn in Chicago, but he's close enough to me to follow me there. I am requesting assistance."

She hung up, hit the phone again and dialed another number. "This is Jondy," she repeated. "I believe that they will follow me to the Crossroads Inn in Chicago. I'm already with Max, the X1 and a civilian who knows him. Proceed with caution." She hung up and moved into the shadows just as Logan's car came into view. Bling came out a minute later and got in with the other two. Jondy left the safety of the darkness and walked by as planned.

Max rolled down the window and said, "Hey Jolene, need a ride?"

"Sure," Jondy replied with a smile. "That would be great."

********

"Take the next exit. I know a place where we can crash for the night," Jondy said as she looked out the window. She looked at the sign over the Interstate as they passed by. It said Chicago: 1 mile. She smiled to herself. This would be fun.

"What's the smile for?" Bling asked from his seat beside her. It was the first sentence he had spoken since they'd told him the full story of Manticore.

"Just some old memories of this place. When I escaped, this is where I ended up. I spent about three years here after that."

"Oh."

Max looked at her siblling over her shoulder. "So, what else has happened in your life?"

"Well, I changed my name immediately after I escaped, and again after the Pulse, just to be safe. I lived in an orphanage, then in two foster families, neither of which was a particularly pleasant experience for me. I dated Logan when I arrived in Seattle a few years back. He thought I was a lot older than I actually was. It was about that time that Zack found me and gave me his voice mail number."

"Really?" Max interrupted. "He wouldn't give it to me."

Jondy rolled her eyes. "That's because he likes you and he's afraid of what he might do if you truly need his help." Max averted her gaze and when Logan quickly looked at her, he saw a faint blush spreading across her cheeks. "Anyway," Jondy continued, "That's my life. And you?"

"Nothing much until I settled in Seattle. I made a new life there and tried to live like a normal person."

"Except for the stealing," Logan interjected.

"Hey, a girl's gotta make a living somehow," Max replied. "Anyway, that's how I met the caped crusader here. I was trying to steal his statue. Ever since, I've been helping him try to save the world."

"In return for what?" Jondy asked with a sly smile.

"He helps me look for the others... and he cooks for me sometimes."

"Ah yes, the famous Cale cuisine." She pointed over Logan's shoulder at a small inn and he pulled into the driveway. "I see why you stick around." Logan parked the car and they all got out. Jondy looked up at the gathering clouds, then at the roof of the inn. She was satisfied when her pupils dilated and she could see Zack watching her closely. For him, she made a show of looking around cautiously, then quickly following the others as they entered the building. Once inside, she made sure that each of her companions was settled into his or her room before returning to the short balding innkeeper. "Did you prepare the room?" He nodded and handed her the key. "Thank you."

"The keyhole to the room is behind a painting of a lighthouse," he said. Jondy smiled and nodded in gratitude. Below the desk, where he couldn't see her hands, she took a piece of cloth and a brown vial out of her pocket. She had doused the cloth with liquid from the vial and, before the innkeeper could so much as groan, she had it over his mouth and his body went limp. She looked around to make sure nobody was coming and hefted the body onto her shoulder. She picked up the key and moved quietly into the hallway that branched off the small lobby. She examined the paintings as she passed, finally stopping at the painting that the old man had described. She removed the painting from the wall and inserted the key into the keyhole. A slight turn of her wrist and the wall suddenly transformed into a door. She looked around, dragged the body in and shut the door behind her. She dropped the old innkeeper on one of the two beds in the room and put him in restraints. She pulled open practically all the drawers in the room before finding what she needed. Jondy smiled to herself as she tore off a long piece of duck tape and put it over the man's mouth.

"This is going to be too easy," she murmured as she opened the door again and exited the room.

*******

Jondy took one more look at the unconscious forms of Logan, Bling and the old innkeeper before shutting the door. "Step 1 is complete," she muttered. She walked back down the hallway to the front desk. There, she picked up the phone and dialed his number. When the ringing stopped, indicating that he had picked up, she said one word. "Now." Almost immediately, she heard the sound of Lydercker's troops surrounding the inn. Next came the sound of breaking bones. Zack and the others had been found. Max ran down the stairs and Jondy gestured to her that they were surrounded. As soon as she took her place beside Jondy, she adopted her fighting stance. If she was going down, she going to take Lydecker and some of his goons with her. Minutes later, Lydecker's men burst through the door, followed by Lydecker himself, followed by still more soldiers- the latter carrying with them the unconscious forms of Zack, Tinga, and four others.

"You've done a good job, soldier," Lydecker said upon seeing Jondy.

Max looked at Jondy in shocked dismay. "What?!"

Lydecker continued, ignoring Max, "You'll be reindoctrinated as soon as we return to base."

"Yes sir." Jondy saluted and Lydecker motioned with one hand toward Max. Two of his soldiers shot their tranquilizer guns at her. Max tried to move out of the way, only to find herself restrained by Jondy. She looked into Jondy's bright green eyes as the felt the tranqs pierce her skin. She would have shivered at the emptiness in them, except that the tranquilizers went into effect. Her eyes rolled back in her head and she sank to the ground.

********

Jondy watched Max collapse, then turned back to Lydecker. Sparing a quick glance over his shoulder, she saw the soldier nearest to the door give her a thumbs up. She turned her gaze back to Lydecker before he had the chance to realize that she had looked away.

"So where is the X1?"

"He is hiding somewhere in this building, sir. I believe he heard me make the phone call and he hid."

Lydecker motioned with his hand and spoke to his soldiers. "Bring me any other people in this building." His loyal subordinates trotted off and Lydecker was left with just a small group of soldiers and Jondy. "He's surrounded. He can't go very far."

"Sir," Jondy began, "Permission to speak?"

"Permission granted."

"You're the one who's surrounded, sir."

"What the hell do you mean?" Lydecker asked, suddenly wary of his surroundings.

"Your, uh, guards are with me." As she spoke, the remaining soldiers took Lydecker by the arms and rid him of all his weapons. Jondy approached her former commander and took him by the hair. He growled at her, his face set in that ugly scowl she remembered from training. "I'd tell you to say hi to all my siblings that you killed, except that I believe they're in Heaven and you, sir, are not." With one flick of her hand, Lydecker went limp in the arms of his captors. They dropped his body unceremoniously to the floor.

One of the men spoke, "What now?"

"We still have to take out the rest of Lydecker's goons, then we'll free Logan and the others." The man nodded and Jondy led her followers in pursuit of the other troops. They hadn't gone too far when they saw a soldier come out of one of the rooms and shake his head to another. Jondy watched as the two men gathered with the rest to assign which room would be searched by whom. In a flash, Jondy swung around the corner and plowed into the group, throwing two into the wall and killing them instantly. The others brought out the real guns and shot blindly. However, she was too fast for them and they only succeeded in killing each other. Her followers just watched, in awe of her speed. After she had disposed of Lydecker's goons, she took the key out of her pocket and looked around for the painting. When she found it, she took it off the wall and turned the key in the keyhole. A moment later, she opened the door, only to find all three men conscious and ticked off. She released them and had one of her followers bring in Logan's wheelchair.

As she placed him into the wheelchair, Logan looked her in the eyes and asked, "What did you do Jo?"

"Oh I just saved your girlfriend's ass, not to mention your own, and killed Lydecker. Anything else I can do for you today?"

She had meant it to be sarcastic but Logan took it seriously. "Yes. Take me to Max." She rolled her eyes and wheeled his chair out of the room, followed closely by the former captives and Jondy's supporters. They proceeded down the hallway, choosing to ignore the shocked looks on the faces of Logan, Bling and the old man. By the time they reached the front desk, most of the X5s were starting to wake up. Max was still out, but Zack glared at the group as they came in.

"What happened?" he demanded.

"I used you to create a diversion, and to make sure that Lydecker showed up." Jondy gestured to the corpse laying in the middle of the floor.

"You killed him?"

"No, I slapped him," Jondy replied in a totally deadpan voice.

"You just killed the only person who would have any knowledge of how to fix our defects."

"Uh uh." Jondy rummaged around in Max's jacket, finally bringing out a slender CD case. "Do you honestly think I'm that stupid?" she asked as she stood up. "This just happens to be a copy of everything of importance that was on Lydecker's computer system. It contains genetic profiles for each of us, as well as information on the treatment of almost every defect found in every generation. The only defect that there is no treatment on there for is the seizures. And for that we've got Logan, if he's willing."

Zack's gaze showed his confusion as he looked at Logan but he said nothing. The silence was finally broken by the sound of Max staggering to her feet. She put one hand out on a nearby chair and pulled herself up. Logan moved closer to her, wanting to help but not knowing how. Max carefully leaned on the back of his wheelchair. Once her eyes came in focus, she glared at Jondy. Jondy just pointed to Lydecker's corpse. Max's eyes widened.

"Go on, Logan, take her out of here." Logan, not knowing what to do, followed her command. Max staggered behind him. After they had gone, Jondy turned to the innkeeper. "You too." He hurried out of the building and Zack brought himself into Jondy's range of vision.

"Well?"

"You're good at setting untraceable fires, aren't you, Zack?" Zack nodded, a small jerk of the head that would've been unnoticeable to anyone but a child of Manticore. "Good. Could you finish the job for me?" She gave him her sweetest smile and moved her attention to the soldiers who had followed her so selflessly. "Let's go home." She could feel Zack's eyes on her as she left and for once, she didn't care if he saw fault with her. She was proud of herself for what she had done.

*******

Max opened the door as if it weighed more than an elephant. She groaned as Logan started the car. Immediately, the tape in the tape deck started playing.

"Hey guys. If you're hearing this, then I've finally beaten Lydecker. Hopefully, otherwise, you would have stopped this tape by now because it's too distracting. Anyway, um, I just wanted you to know what I've done and how I did it. Everything I told you was true, I just didn't tell you everything. Lydecker found out about my research after I walked away from my job at Manticore. Don't worry, I didn't work there long enough to go anywhere near the kids and I showed a revulsion towards the horrifying experiments being committed against them. That's why, I guess, he made inquiries into what I researched while I was there. That's how he found out about Logan.

"I lured Lydecker to Chicago and I asked Zack to come as well. That way, I could get the X2s and X4s that I had located to join me. That way, I could be sure that we'd have enough manpower to defeat Lydecker, no matter how many people he had. I chose the Crossroads Inn because I scouted the owner out while in Chicago a few months ago. He was trustworthy and he needed the insurance money. So, was there anything I left out?

Oh, yes. I'll be back... and I luv ya, little sister. 'kay" Bye."

"What was that about the insurance money?" Logan asked.

Max looked back at the disappearing inn. "I don't know," she replied. As she said the last word, she saw a fireball in the side view mirror.

"Then again, maybe I do."

END