"Another thing you gotta love about men is, they never stop actin' like boys." "Sometimes it sounds like you could switch teams." "Let's not get gross." "Ladies, can I offer either of you an adult beverage?" "No." "And you might wanna slow down yourself, wigga, cos you faded." " So who's over there with Herbal?" " Snuffy." "He just got out of lockup." " They were cell mates." " Herbal did time?" "He did a couple of years in Avenol for slinging' the herb." "Miscarriage of justice." "All respect to my soldiers on the wrong side of the wall." " A mescal, neat with a worm back." " Max, Original Cindy, say whassup to my boy, Snuffy Wills." "Um, Snuffy here's needing some employment just now, so you think maybe we can convince Normal to help a brother out?" " You know we will." " Hey, guys, check it." "I'm gonna get you outta here before you incinerate someone." "You're done." "It's nice to meet you." " I don't feel so good." " You hurl, you're dead." " Pick it up!" " Hey, lemme go!" "I said pick it up!" " Who the hell are you?" " This is where it starts." "Soon, the streets are a river of garbage, all the windows are broken, graffiti's everywhere, so why shouldn't the girl sell her body to buy drugs?" "Pick... it... up... now." "OK." "I know what you look like." " You are a true friend, Max." " Just don't get it on my shoes." "Hand over your wallets, no one gets hurt." "I'll handle this." " Piss off." " You wanna die tonight, skidmark?" "That'd be a negative." "Here." "See, you shouldn't have done that, cos even though he's a drunken idiot, he happens to be a friend." "Now I gotta kick your ass." "Hey." "You all right?" "Yeah." "Thanks." " What happened to those guys?" " Let's go." "Wanna give me a hand?" "He's kinda heavy." "So we leave Crash a little after midnight cos Max was getting tired." "Like you remember anything about last night after the first nine beers." "Can I please tell my story?" " So I'm walking her home..." " Please." "...and we're jumped by a pack of local hard bodies." "I throw a few punishers, but these dudes are large and numerous." "I go down, eventually." " How much they rip you off for?" " Nada." "This guy, I guess you could call him, appears out of nowhere and takes out the entire crew like he was a Shaolin master." "And if you weren't on no chronic break, then I got a white girl's ass." "If you don't believe me, ask Max." "She saw the whole thing." "Fists of Fury." "It was awesome." " So who was this dude?" " An urban legend in the making." "Like Original Cindy always says, the night holds a million secrets." "Right." "I'm 90 per cent certain that zombies walk among us." "And here he comes." "I hate to break up this little cretinfest, but I have a hot run to 17 Clemson." "Rydin' Forties' turf." "They still got that gang war goin' on, and I'm allergic to yellow tape." "Time was, in this once-great nation, people actually took pride in their work, rose to meet any challenge..." "I'll take it!" "Just so we don't have to hear how great the Great Communicator was." "You kids could learn something from that man's example." " Bite me." " Bless ya." "Don't be nervous." " Small world." " Not really." "I figured you'd be the only messenger who wouldn't be afraid to come here." "I need a signature." "It's for you." "Open it." " And this is supposed to mean what?" " I can see your future." "Then you've watched me walk away, cos you're a wackjob." "Fact is, I'm offering you an opportunity." " Pass." " I saw what you did last night." "Suffice it to say, you have abilities that couldn't be described as... normal." "Whatever angle you're playing here, bring it on, and let's get it over with." "You tell your set what I said, then maybe we can talk about trucein'." "So what is it you want..." "Ready?" "Come on, man." "Come on, let's go." "Dead guy under there." "We know." "He's the foul line." "Snuffy always had my back in that terrible place." "Made sure no harm came to I and I." " He was my brother." " How you doin'?" "I'm tryin' to get my head around what only the Most High understand, you know?" "My boy is walking with the King now." "You know he is." "Heard about your friend." "I'm sorry for your loss." " Did I say something wrong?" " No, man." "I thank you from my heart." "Yeah, all right." "If you ever wanna talk, or need anything..." "Just time to think about things." "Take care." "I was talking to Herbal's friend last night like I'm talking to you now, and he's dead, gone, ceased to exist." ""Gerald 'Snuffy' Wills." "Released from custody three days ago, after serving six years for carrying a forged sector pass."" ""Preliminary crime report has cause of death as multiple gunshot wounds to the chest."" ""No witnesses."" "Seemed like a sweet guy." "After you called, I dumped six more unsolved homicides." "All recent parolees, killed in the last three weeks." "Same MO." " Let me guess, the cops couldn't care less." " Or they're in on it, or lookin' the other way." "Either way, the law-and-order types come out on top." "Pretty much." "I wouldn't mind getting my hands on a list of upcoming parolees." " If past is prologue, they could be targets." " Could you hack into Corrections?" "I've been trying." "My computer keeps booting me off." "Damn blackouts." "What else is new?" "Guess I'll have to get those files for you the old-fashioned way." "Thanks." "How about dinner afterwards?" "Another time." "You OK?" "You seem... preoccupied lately." "Got a lot on my mind." "She's not the girl next door." "They were designed to kill." "All it takes is a trigger." "You have no idea what she's capable of doing." "Great!" "Had to get the smart one." "Corrections is releasing 22 prisoners next week, nine of them paroled to Seattle." "Maybe Eyes Only should tip them to what's going on." "I need to know who's behind it first." "It's hard to believe six people can get mowed down without anyone seeing it." "Especially with Hoverdrones zooming around everywhere." "You think they would have caught something on tape." "Maybe I should talk to my Uncle Jonas." "His company makes the damn things." "If the sector cops are sitting on any surveillance footage, maybe he can help me suss it out." "I thought he was one of those right-wing support-your-police, neo-Republican idiots." "He is." "But he cares deeply about... money." "If there's a hint of scandal involving one of his products that could hurt his sales, believe me, he'll want to help." "As I recall, he kinda liked me." "You want me to tag along?" "Uh, not necessary." "Run into any trouble out there tonight?" "Just some weird guy who keeps following me around." " Anything to worry about?" " No." "If he gets outta line, I'll just kill him." "Night." " Hey, sugar." " Hey." " There's soup if you're hungry." " Uh-uh." " Want some tea?" " Nah." "Break it down for Original Cindy, cos you ain't right." " There's this freak." " You wanna be a little more specific?" "He's been followin' me around, takin' pictures." "You need me to put the smackdown on his ass, you know I will." " It's not those kinda pictures." " Uh-oh." "No joke." " What's his dealio?" " Not sure." "Takedown, blackmail, finder's fee." "Worst part is, he's revved up somehow." "I watched him jump a 10ft fence." "Damn!" "What does Logan think?" "He's not in the loop on this." "I've been gettin' a weird vibe off him lately, like when he looks at me, he sees something' he doesn't like." "Or can't have." "More like he's clued into the real that I'm seriously not like other females." " Like that's a bad thing." " I'm beginning to think maybe he thinks it is." "Ho's up, Gs down, you ask me." "How you gonna handle this dude?" "Looks like he's got my number." "Think it's about time I get his." "Late." "Pretty serious allegations, Junior." "But don't you think if this was going on, the people in charge would be doing something?" "Not if they're in on it." "Got anything to back up this rogue-police-death-squad theory of yours?" "Not yet." "That's why I came to see you, help me get access to Hoverdrone surveillance footage." "Here's a list of dates, times and locations." "A muckraking piece like this with your by-line would be quite a feather in your cap." " Wouldn't it?" " You've got a lot at stake here, too, Uncle." "If the Hoverdrones you manufacture are being used as part of a police cover-up, that can't be good for business." "Let me call Lucas Gant in the morning." "He's a friend with influence and connections." " If anyone can shake it loose, it'll be him." " I appreciate anything you can do." "On another matter..." "I was going to mail this to you, but you can save me the postage." "It's your share of the fourth-quarter earnings from the Cale Trust." "Great." "Thanks." "On a clear day I bet you can really see the class struggle from that penthouse of yours." "Logan, it's me." "There's a guy on that list from Corrections." "His name's Pedro Benedek." "I need an address on him." "Hold on." "I'm checking." "What's up?" "I gotta get over there." "He's next in line to get greased." "That wackjob who's been stalking me?" "He's the killer." "Thought he wasn't anything to worry about?" "Turns out he was tryin' to recruit me in his one-man militia." "Come on." "So much for your sector-police theory." "Here it is. 3117 East Calhoun." " Open up." " Hey!" "Didn't expect to see you here." "You're just in time." " Argh!" " It's over." "You're done killing people!" "Me?" "I'm not killing anybody." "That thing did." "No!" " You all right?" " Yeah." "But what the hell was that?" " A Hoverdrone." " Mounted with twin .45-caliber automatics." "And silencers." " What do you call yourself?" " Max." "Can I ask, how did you know this guy Benedek was gonna be the next target?" " It was in the newspaper." " In the newspaper?" "I'm a voracious reader, see?" "I noticed how all these ex-cons kept getting shot." " Right." " And Benedek was a sex offender." " So?" " So when Benedek got let out, they published his name and address to alert the neighbours." "I thought he could be a possible target and went to warn him." "It turns out I was right." "Max." "Is that short for Maximum?" " Maximum?" " As in, Maximum Force?" "Maximum Girl?" "Woman." "I meant Maximum Woman." "It's not short for anything." "I gotta go wash my hands." "I'm afraid our friend Pedro peed his pants." "Sure." "So this guy's not a vigilante killer, he's just a nut who's following the same leads as us?" "And who can jump a ten-foot fence and run really fast." "Argh!" "Damn." "Got a screw loose." "No argument there." "Ah!" "There." "I hate when that happens." "It's so embarrassing." "OK." "So, what's the chair do?" "Or are your powers mostly mental?" " Mostly mental, yeah." " You're the brains, she's the brawn." "What happened?" "You get bit by a spider?" "Struck by lightning?" " Not that I remember." " So what, you're a mutant?" "Guess you could say that." "So what about you?" "What sort of powers do you have?" "Ordinarily, that's not something I discuss." "But, since we're all in this together..." " Wow." " I'm not entirely sure what I'm looking at." "It's an exoskeleton." "This pad picks up the nerve impulses, relays them to the servo motors." "It enhances speed and strength, the ability to jump, the ability to lift and carry, by as much as 30 per cent." "Really?" " Department of Defense." " You stole that?" "You think I just happened to land a job at the warehouse where they were mothballed?" "I happened to lose control of my fork-lift, which happened to knock over the crate?" "No." "That, my friends, is destiny." "About the Hoverdrone you saw." "The thing I don't get is, why would the sector police deploy sophisticated hardware to hunt ex-cons, when a good old-fashioned death squad would do the job?" " Maybe the cops aren't the ones behind this." " Not to be an alarmist here, but can we be certain that these drones aren't being deployed from some other dimension?" "I don't think we're dealing with anything quite so esoteric." "I'll talk to my uncle." "If the drone is a modified version of one of the company's designs, a list of customers would help narrow the field." "In the meantime, we need proof that this thing is actually out there." "Would photographs be helpful?" "I got the attack on Benedek right here." "You... go with him, and get back here with the pictures ASAP." "So, uh, how old were you when you discovered you had powers?" " I had it beaten into my head at a young age." " I was a late bloomer." "My life probably would have gone in a whole other direction... if it hadn't been for her." "That's my sister, Francesca." " I took that with my very first camera." " Are you two close?" "Yes and no." " She's deceased." " Sorry." "That's why I do this, to try and make up for what I didn't do back then." "I lost a sister, too." "My life was never the same." " What was her name?" " Eva." "She was nine." "Then you understand." "Just wish Francesca didn't have to be the one to show me my destiny." "She wasn't quite right, see?" "She couldn't talk too good and had trouble walking." "So when the men broke in to steal our television, she got scared and wouldn't stop crying." "I told them they could take whatever they wanted." "The more the men kept yelling at my sister to shut up, the more scared she got." "Then one of 'em hit her." "And she didn't make any more noise after that." "Logan!" "You're up early." "I thought you bohemian types only ventured out when the sun had set." "I need your help." "Oh, yes." "Your little article." "I'm afraid I haven't come up with much." " Bloody Mary?" " No, thanks." "The fact is, I've uncovered some disturbing information since we last spoke." "Oh?" "Those ex-cons, they were killed by a Hoverdrone." "Junior, you watched too many X-Files when you were a boy." "You do build custom models for outside buyers." "Well, yes." "But with gun turrets?" "I think that would have thrown up a few flags down in Purchasing." "Whoever bought it could have had the guns put on later through another contractor." "Our entire company is built on the idea that Hoverdrones protect people." "You publish some half-assed yarn, it's gonna drive away business." "Take a chunk out of your bottom line, too, let's not forget." "I'm not gonna print anything I can't prove." "If I could get you photographs?" "We'll get to the bottom of whatever it is that's going on." "Thanks, Jonas." "I'll be in touch." "Oh!" "They didn't come out." "Must have broken when you threw me against that wall." "Sorry." "How old were you when your sister died?" "Thirteen." "A year and two days older than her." "You were just a kid." "You can't blame yourself." "That's what my mom kept telling me." "But I didn't feel like a kid." "I felt like someone who didn't do the right thing when they should have." "You know?" "Yeah." "Do you still keep in touch with your mom?" "Nope." "Ran away when I was 15." "Drifted around." "Then destiny intervened and..." "Well, you know the rest." "It must be pretty rough for her." "She lost her daughter and her son, too." " Can't argue with destiny." " I think we make our own destiny." "Too bad about the pictures." "We can always get some more." " How?" " Wait for it to return to base for refuelling." " You know where it refuels?" " Mm-hm." "Yeah, down by the waterfront." "I followed it there the other night." " Why didn't you say something?" " You didn't ask." "Logan, I have something on this Hoverdrone thing." " Great." "I'm on my way." " Not here." "Can't risk being seen with you." " Bad for business." " Glad you understand." "Meet me at 354 Jorgen Avenue in an hour." "I'll see you there." "I know my nephew, Gil." "He won't stop till he finds what he's looking for." "That's why we're sending him on a wild-goose chase." "Keep him occupied with cloak-and-dagger until the field tests are completed." "How the hell he even got wind of a half-dozen ex-cons..." "Target practice is almost over." "The facial recognition technology is working perfectly." "We're going to be able to market a stealth technology that can track down and eliminate anyone, anywhere, from a photograph." "A month from now, we can just sit back and let the bids roll in." "Listen, Margo and I want to have you and Joy over for dinner next week." "Sounds great." "We were thinking, Tuesday night we could..." "No." " Are you sure this is it?" " Seventh and Third." "Or was it Third and Seventh?" "No, no, this is definitely it." "I'm positive." "On three:" "One." "Two." "Get ready for "three"." " Ready?" " Yeah." "And three!" "Good Lord." "Ugh!" " You sure?" " Absolutely." " That's what you said before." " I said I was positive." "Ready?" "On three:" "One." "Two." "Get ready for "three"." "Hey!" "Who the hell are you?" "You better bring that sucker back here, now!" " I can't." "The target's acquired." " Do it." "Look, this isn't a test." "It's a search and destroy." "If anyone tries to stop it, they'll be a target, too." "Logan." " He's heading east on Jorgen." " C'mon." " Max, what the hell are you doing here?" " Logan!" "Get down!" "Argh!" "Take cover!" "Would you die already?" "Say good night, HAL." " Boys!" " We're over here." "It appears we've had a small mechanical failure." "I believe a bullet, or fragment thereof, lodged itself in my mid-anterior servo motor." "Better than lodging into your mid-anterior actual leg." "We're gonna have a hell of a time hitchin' a ride back to the city." "Heard about your Uncle Jonas." "Multiple gunshot wounds to the chest, no leads, no witnesses." "Sound familiar?" " Same guys put a hit on you." " My uncle's partners." "Go figure." "He swore he didn't know what was going on." "Lied right to my face, didn't even blink." "And he paid the price." "But his cronies skate off this, unless Eyes Only tells the whole story." "You know what'll happen if you do that." "Government steps in, everybody acts all shocked, and they seize the assets of Cale Industries in a show of civic outrage." "Confiscate the company, the trust." "And your net worth along with it." "I own my apartment." "Got some art I can sell." "I'll be all right." "Cale Industries'll be out of the murder business." "So your idea of going to war is taking a vow of poverty." "That'll show 'em, Logan." "This lifestyle of mine, Max... is paid for with money made helping keep people under police surveillance." "It took a lot of people dying for me to finally face the fact that..." "I've been living a lie." "What about all the good things you've accomplished with Eyes Only?" "How you gonna keep that afloat when you're broke?" "Somehow." "You know, only a bored, rich, liberal white guy would piss away a fortune to prove he wasn't a bored, rich, liberal white guy." "Nobody would think any less of you if you decided to let this one slide." "I would invite you not to be a dope." "So, you really think this is a prudent thing to do?" "Turning my back on destiny like this, and going to see my mom?" "Let me put it to you this way." "Do you think we just happened to hook up?" "Happened to go after that Hoverdrone, that happened to shoot up your mid-anterior servo motor and bust up that exo-thingy?" "No." "That, my friend, is destiny." " There you go." " I think you're right." "Yeah." "Besides, I'm not getting out of the business altogether." "There are reports of an interdimensional portal forming under Sheboygan that could easily turn into an astral dumpsite." "I might be sending for you." "You have a nice long visit with your mom first." "You're giving her a big part of her life back." "Do not attempt to adjust your set." " Hey!" "Eyes Only." " Cale Corporation is guilty of murder." "Always wanted to meet him." "That guy is a real hero." "Yeah, he is." "And a real dope." "Hey." "Never got your name." " Phil." " Phil?" "Just... plain "Phil"." "Well... you and Logan take care of each other for me." "OK?" "Yeah." "City's not gonna be the same without you." "I'm leaving it in good hands." "Hey!" "Pick that up!" " Yeah, right!" " You heard the man." "Pick it up." " So you did it, huh?" " Mm-hm." "Sure did." "By the time the banks open, this cheque won't be worth the paper it's printed on." "Maybe you should go cash it, then." "Five after three." "Damn!" "My Uncle Jonas gave me this bottle when I graduated from college." "He told me to save it for a special occasion." " Like financial ruin?" " Why not?" "To my dear Uncle Jonas, who, underneath his winning smile, was a cold-blooded killer." "The one thing I learned in my years at Manticore is never underestimate what people are capable of doing to each other." "My uncle, for all his privilege, went right for the heart of darkness." "You've lived your life trying to get as far away from that as possible." "Guess that counts for something." "Gotta blaze." "Gotta meet the gang for Snuffy's memorial." "Thing is, it's always there, the darkness, right on my tail." "I know." "But you've got moves." "State of the art, ideal for special ops." "The recent series of field tests have proven its viability and..." "And your sudden legal troubles are translating into a fire-sale price." "The specs, testing data and four years of research and development - all yours for $10 million." "I'm on the next flight to Belize." " One step ahead of the feds." " Do we have a deal?" "The money is being wired to your offshore account as we speak." "Trust is far too rare a commodity these days." "Where's the second prototype?" "Parked in a van outside." " Fully operational?" " It's good to go." "And all you need is a photograph." "That's it." "Amazing." "Just amazing." "Somethin' just came for you." " Need a hand?" " I got it." "Thanks." "I'm headin' out." "See you in the morning."