REALTIME PICS

At the Diner - Max, Suki, Scorpio, Riveta, Stone

Outside the Diner - Max and Simon

Selfies - Donnelly and Mayganne / Suki

Max and Suki discuss who is driving.

DAY THIRTY 22:00PM

Yum 

They were sitting there in the diner, sipping coffee and chatting. It had been nearly 24 hours since the events had occurred. 

Max sat at the end of the table, close to the window.

His fingers drumming out the beat going through his head. He didn't know he was doing it, though it made for a ambient sound throughout the diner. The ashtray dancing on the table, adding a crystal cymbal sound now and then. Music was pumping through his veins. 

The waitress strolled over with a full coffee urn in her hands; she didn't even have to ask if they wanted more and she began refilling each of them.

Max, Simon, Riveta, Stone, Scorpio and Suki were all tired, going on 2 days without any real sleep at all. 

All of them knew that they had things to do and people to see but they could do that tomorrow. Right now, it was just time to sit back and enjoy each others company.

As the last of the coffee was refilled Max said, "Thanks, Alice." 

"No," the waitress replied with a smile and a wink; she began dropping creamers onto each of their saucers. "Thank you, Max."

DAY THIRTY 10:55AM

Homecoming

Father Donnelly drove the car down the dirt road, heading toward the chalet. He didn't want to do so, but it was what Suki had suggested. 

The morning sun was warm and inviting and his mind was flooding back to memories of the last month; it all had felt surreal like a dream. More akin to a nightmare.

Since his window was down, he thought he could hear the sound of children playing ahead. But that was impossible, since the fire... 

"How long have I been asleep?" a voice asked in the backseat; it startled the hell out of him.

"Mayganne?" Donnelly hit the brakes and he turned to see her lying in the backseat, covered in a blanket. 

"Yes?" Mayganne said as she sat up. She looked at Donnelly, trying to read his expression.

Donnelly's memories were like a tide, a floodgate of emotion, garble, transmissions of things that happened, or will happen or a dream of happening. "Well, how are you?" 

"I'm fine," Mayganne replied as she scrambled over onto the front seat. "But I sure could use a coffee."

DAY THIRTY 6:31AM

Newsflash

Click
... LEGACY building in the downtown core was the scene of what appeared to be an attack last night...

Click
... no new developments on what happened in the downtown core last night. It seemed there was an explosion which occure....

Click
... I'm standing here four blocks away from what happened last night. According to eyewitnesses, gun shots were heard and then there was an explosion...

Click
...me and my bros were grinding on a ramp near there then suddenly, like man, there was this school girl, she was like all ninja on three big metallic dudes...

Click
... this is not an act of terrorism. It was a major malfunction of a small nuclear generator which is used...

Click
... then suddenly this man is like all hanging there on the edge of the building, and this other fellow is holding him there. Then I guess he was firing at the guards, but they weren't guards... man they looked like those creatures that where in that movie with these dudes that had to walk to a mountain...

Click
... and we go back to Mally Katt who is on the scene. Mally?
That's right, Charlie. Reports are filtering in that this was in no way connected to what happened at their research facility a few weeks back. It's merely coincidental that...

Click
LEGACY stock has taken a drastic plunge this morning...

Click

DAY ----------- After School

Do You Remember When

The train pulled away from the station. The clatter of the tracks. The tunnel opening onto a sudden and bright view of the city. The long trip home. Same old same old. 

She rummaged around in her knapsack. Science textbook... nah. English textbook... nah. All the subjects came easy to her, she rarely needed to keep up with the reading. Her parents were proud of her, the other kids hated her.

Jiro had lent her a manga that he said was really cool. It was called 'The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya', about a bored girl who wanted to find aliens and time travelers and psychics. It sounded kinda dumb. 

So she zipped her pack up and stared out the window. The same view streaming past everyday. Same old same old.

Two wannabe-gangsters sprang from the seats down the aisle and started their approach. This wasn't anything new, either. Getting hassled was a regular part of the ride. She assumed her straight-face and tried to tune them out. 

She wasn't sure why she talked back today. Or even what she said. It just sorta happened, something clicked in her, like something shifted. And she insulted one of them.

She was so distracted by the odd click in her that she almost ignored the one who drew the gun. When she finally tuned in to the barrel hovering beside her face, she got scared. 

Then another guy was standing there, a white guy, with a t-shirt that said 'What the KLF?'. She had no idea what that meant. He said something to the thugs; she didn't catch it because she was trying to figure out what KLF meant.

The first guy turned the gun on the shirt-guy. 

The shirt-guy trapped his arm and forced the elbow to bend, angling the gun right at the second thug's face. The trigger stopped just in time. And in the frozen, shocked moment she jumped up from her seat and front-snap-kicked the gun-guy right in the head. 

The train pulled up at the next station. Doors hissed. Thugs ran off.

The shirt-guy looked down at her and smiled. "Nice working with you," he said. "My name is Max. What's yours?"

DAY TWENTYNINE 23:17PM

Trust

With the section of the building crumbling away, Max knew that he was in serious trouble. He didn't have enough footing or enough time to make it to safety. 

He was sliding away, falling with the section of 13 other storeys, until an arm reached out and grabbed his wrist. Simon had slid on his back toward the edge, firing uzis and dropping guards, dropping one and reaching over the edge and grabbing Max's wrist.

DAY TWENTYNINE 23:05PM

Resuce Me

Stone and Scorpio were back to back. Firing at anything and everything that seemed to move. Their heads were clear, they seemed to have one focus. Kill or be killed, die now and the universe with them. 

Bullet casings dropped about them like a torrential rain.

DAY TWENTYNINE 22:59PM

Unplugged

THWOOOOUUUUUUM.

The telepath didn't know what hit her. The world shattered around her, as the stasis case she was floating in disintegrated and a huge section of her head disappeared as well. 

"Telepath that, bitch!" Suki said. Her arm was dimming now from a brilliant blinding light to a dull reddish glow.

DAY TWENTYNINE 22:47PM

Scan

Upon the breach of the Citadel-class complex housed within the Tower, a telepathic surveillance sweep was automatically directed towards the infiltrators, for highspeed analysis and distribution to grafted security personnel, for exploitation and counter-tactical responses.

Target A: Josiah Stone
...stopthesesonofbitchesputanend totheirsicktwistedbullshitcomingforyou paybacktimenomoreyoubastardsnomore...

Target B: Sandrine Riveta
...keeptightstayonhisflanknot gonnalosehimagainbreathesteadyinhale triggerexhaleitsjustspecialeffects psyopshitdon'tletitfreakyououtstay onstoneyou'llgetthroughthis...

Target C Milton 'Scorpio' Reddings
...iknowyou'rereadingmymindright nowiknowallaboutyoubecauseiwasyoubut thingsaredifferentnowshesavedmeand we'regoingtosavethemandyoucan'tstopus...

Target D: Simon Light
...it'shappeningreallyhappening theachetheholeinmeit'sclosingthisisitf inallyaftersolongohalisonifyouonlyknew whatwe'redoingwe'regoingtodoitthank youmax...

Target E: Max Cube
...hib4u34847hfi44jhbdf4i4908atf ar232fbedej3i9iedi3u3j3j3bci33903938w jwhddkuwgcdcjn...

DAY TWENTYNINE 22:22PM

The Kansas City Shuffle

"I can't believe it worked," Max said. He was behind a pillar and smiled like a wolf in a field full of sheep. 

"What did we do?" Simon asked. He was dressed in black, and had painted a pattern on his face. Max had told him to draw something on his face, something that he felt comfortable with. On his forehead he drew a simple picture of a bunny.

Riveta was tearing off strips from a shirt she had taken off, a tank-top on underneath, and was making field bandages. The last time she saw heavy combat was in the Middle East. 

"One day someone is going to sit down and explain it all to me?" she asked as she glanced at both Simon and Max. Today was a day full of surprises for her.

"Suki, Suki, Suki," Max said. "That little minx just saved us from killing a lot of innocent men who were just trying to do their jobs." 

Simon chuckled. They had phased through the city, Suki somehow piloting them with a device that created, from his understanding, a "pocket universe".

To Simon something familiar was going on but he didn't know what it was. He was getting the feeling of deja vu. That's when a hail of bullets started to rain down upon them and began chipping away at the concrete barrier. 

"I think our welcome has been noticed now," Riveta said, as she could hear the uniform movement of feet. "Well, I'm glad we got as far as we did!"

"You know, Max, you sure do know how to have a good time!" Simon said as he fired a few rounds.

DAY TWENTYNINE 22:00PM

The Alpha Move

Logollos was more than just sweating, he was anxiously waiting for the snake to show itself and be skinned once and for all. 

There was silence. Too quiet. Even though the squads about were trained professionals they were getting antsy as well. Having been alerted to a potential threat they had been on high energy, and nothing resulting from it

"Only two more hours to go?" the woman asked. "Are you sure they will be here?" 

"Yes," Logollos said. "They are playing the waiting game."

"Don't you think that's a foolish move on their part?" the woman inquired. She butted out a cigarette in an ashtray, there were two dozen butts there already. "This is a childish last desperate act, isn't it?" 

Logollos chuckled to himself, and then his eyes widened with realization.

DAY TWENTYNINE 21:32PM

Prophecies and Eulogies

Max lit a cigarette. Three left in the pack. 

Suki watched him. She had seem him do the exact same thing hundreds of times, but years ago, so it seemed familiar but distant. “It's good to see you again, Max.”

He exhaled smoke. “I... I wasn't sure... What it would be like.” 

She smiled softly. “So what is it like?” 

”It's scary... And nice.” 

She reached out and gave his hand a gentle squeeze. “You really haven't changed.” 

”No? I feel different.” 

”I'm sorry about that..."

”Oh, I don't mean because of the device-” 

”I didn't know what else to do, Max. Things were starting to get really messed up, and I needed to think of something. Anything that might give us a shot.” 

”I know that feeling, Suki.” 

”Yeah, I guess you do.” 

”I'm sorry I couldn't see it happening..." Max said. "It's like... I've been living like this for so long, I can't even notice when everything's falling apart. If you hadn't been here..." 

”Except now everyone's dead. Except for them-” She gestured to the others gathered a little ways away. “-and the priest.” 

”Yeah, but they're safe," Max said. "And now we have a chance to get them all back. What's the line? 'You did what you always do: turned death into a fighting chance'. Or something like that.” 

”Bones to Kirk, in the third one. I still remember doing that marathon with you and Akimoto. I liked the one with the whales the best.”

Max smiled at the memory. “Simon says that Alice was already dead... According to the intel LEGACY got from Hank. No idea why. They played me Suki, and I didn't see it. They cut me off from her, and from you...” 

Suki gave him a light punch to the arm. “If you beat yourself up now what will the bad guys have left to do when we hit the place?” She watched the tip of his cigarette flare in the the deepening night. “You haven't asked me why I was looking for you...” 

”I'm not sure I'm ready to know.” 

She changed the subject. Went professional. “What about this Light guy? Scorpio says LEGACY has had their eye on him. You think this was supposed to be his initiation?” 

”I don't know... He seems familiar to me... Maybe from another version? There's something about him...” Max shrugged. “He's been initiated now, either way.” 

She smirked. “It's what you do.”

Max looked at her with a mix of nostalgia and sadness. He took another drag, glanced over to Scorpio, who was cleaning a rifle for the third time. 

Suki shrugged. “Hey, I learned from the best.”

Max dropped the butt and ground it out. Looked at Suki, standing beside him, older, in her school uniform costume, the Godhammer hanging at her side. The smirk, the eye-roll, the frown, all so familiar, but she had new expressions too; she smiled in new ways, she looked sad in new ways. 

He opened his mouth to try and say it, to try and somehow turn it into words he could say to her. 

”No Max,” she said. “Not now."

DAY TWENTYNINE 16:48PM

Vipers In Glass

The setting sun was reflecting off the tower's black glass. Giving the structure a more ominous tone, and that was the effect the designers had wanted. To look pleasing but menacing as well. It was a huge structural beauty in the downtown core sector. 

It was a holiday, which meant that ninety percent of businesses were closed. So the downtown core was not busy. Sure, the city didn't rest, but on ritual days the white cells liked to chill down for a bit.

Logollos stood at the window, his hands clasped behind his back. He was surveying the city. He had over two dozen cell teams out there, waiting for whenever things began. His eyes bloodshot, his hair slightly disheveled, he looked like an anti-superman. 

"You think they are that stupid to do a full frontal assault?" the woman asked.

"They are," Logollos said. "They have no other option." 

"What makes you so sure?" the woman questioned.

"Phase Three begins at Midnight tonight," Logollos answered. "And all Hell is going to break loose one way or another."

DAY TWENTYNINE 13:47PM

Disinformation

"You know that's so simple it just might work," Suki said. She was leaning up against Max's arm, more relaxed than she had been in weeks. They were all crowded around the hood of a car looking down at a huge map. 

"Does everyone know what to do and when to do it?" Max asked. His eyes had cleared, and he seemed to be focused on the task at hand. "Because, if we don't do this here and now, Alice, Mayganne and the others will be lost forever."

DAY TWENTYNINE 12:21PM

The Big Payoff

It was an awkward moment for everyone, standing around looking at each other. Hunters and Prey, Friends and Enemies, Strangers and Strangest. Riveta and Stone, Suki and Scorpio, and Max and Simon. All stood outside the diner looking at each other. 

"What's the plan?" Riveta asked out loud to break the eternity.

DAY TWENTYNINE 12:11PM

Back In Town

Logollos was in the car when his cellphone chirped in. He answered it. He had been getting updates on the situation at hand. 

A Cleaning Roster had perished. They were taken out, and reports had come in that it wasn't Agent Light.

Even before the police had been alerted, Simon's apartment was immaculate. Not even a cup out of place. 

The other bad news concerned Detective Stone. Two of their men were found dead, heads beaten by a tire iron, and now the cops were sniffing around the door. There was no clean-up that could get to it, so now he had to work his magick. To chat with the press. They were sniffing around like jackals.

He nodded on the phone as the person on the other end was relaying more information and details. Logollos sneered. 

"Yes, I think it has gone too far," Logollos said. "I think it's time to call in our markers."

DAY TWENTYNINE HIGH NOON

Friends In Low Places 

Suki's chronometer chimed and she smiled, as the car pulled into the parking lot of the restaurant. 

She had been waiting for this moment for a long, long while.

Scorpio had noticed a gradual change in Suki. The school uniform and the flirtatious nature she was going through all morning. He didn't know what love was, but he was starting to feel like it. 

"You know this isn't going to a prom," Scorpio interjected.

"It's a reunion," Suki shot back with an added wink. "He's someone I haven't seen in years and never expected to see again." 

Scorpio had backed into a parking spot, and he turned off the car. Then he turned to see Max and he recognized the man behind him.

"Crap," Scorpio said as the life began to drain from his face. 

"What is it?" Suki inquired.

"That's Light beside him," Scorpio said. "The agency has him on a potential recruitment list."

DAY TWENTYNINE 9:34AM

The Enemy Of My Enemy

Here they were sitting in a restaurant sipping coffee, looking each other over. Seeing a reflection of what they might be or who they might become. 

"... so what you're saying is that what is happening isn't happening, but it has happened or will happen?" Simon replied. He looked at Max and shook his head; this fellow would be clinical. But, after what had happened this morning, he was going to do something that screamed against his training and judgement.

"Look at it this way," Max said, after extending a puff of smoke into the air. He seemed to study the swirling patterns as if they were showing him something. Simon thought he could see something as well, but thought better of it. Stay focused. 

"Let's say that I am making music," Max continued. "I am laying down some tracks, changing the tempo and signature. The groove is playing and we hear it. It's an original song we have here. Now, let's say another person comes along and takes my song and remixes it, takes out a track here, adds a track there, changes the signature and the key. It's my song, but it has his signature as well."

Max paused to take a sip of coffee. Simon kept an ear out on the news, nothing was being reported on, no incident whatsoever. 

If Max was right then this whole conspiracy thing was just a small piece of a huge puzzle.

Max continued, "Consider you and I just tracks in the groove. Where my beat is steady, but for some reason your tempo changes. The great DJ producer has something in store for you... it's like when you..." 

Max's cellphone rang. He picked it up right on the first chime. "Max here."

DAY TWENTYNINE 8:59AM

The Road Less Traveled

Simon watched the entrance to his building from the rooftop across the street. 

"It's been over an hour since the cleaners left," he said.

Max nodded. "They're not sending a second force then, I guess." 

"They'll try another angle... Bait a trap maybe." Simon shouldered the duffel-bag of the gear they had stripped from the hit squad. "What do we do now?"

"There's a good coffee shop near here."

DAY TWENTYNINE 6:35AM

Puzzles

Simon felt the plastic clips give way as a sharp instrument cut away at the bonds. 

The battle had been intense and short-lived by his standards. He heard bullets firing, casings dancing across the floor, bodies thumping every now and then. Long, tense silences. But no vocal sounds whatsoever.

To Simon it seemed like an opera, but instead of high pitched screaming and low bass tones, it was silenced guns. 

"You okay?" Max asked of Simon once he removed the hood from over his head.