System Failure -IC-

Logan eyed Ronin as they went about getting ready for the coyote's arrival. His partner showed no sign of remembering anything about the night's encounter, and he decided to leave it alone. If there was anything she needed to clue him in on, she would do so in her own time. Until then, it was his job to watch her back and keep her safe. Outfitted again in his cammies and body armor, he headed outside to see what was in store for them.

At first sight of the Comet, Logan gave an inward groan. The thing was an eyesore, not to mention loud enough to wake the dead. This was a discreet mode of transportation?

He went to the Humvee and began transferring more of their gear to the Comet, after which he mentally commanded the Humvee to re-engage all its security systems. He hated to leave it sitting in this seedy motel lot but he could get a message to a friend to swing by and pick it up.
Done with stowing gear in the Comet's trunk, he approached their new driver to make introductions.

"Logan," he said simply to the girl, then nodded toward his companion, "She's Ronin."

He let his eyes trail the length of the hodge-podge caar with obvious reservations and added:

"You sure you can get us past the border patrol in that thing?"

Ronin shouldered her gear when she knew that their transportation had arrived and proceeded to stow it in the Comets trunk. The rest of her stuff she took from the Humvee and packed it in, checking each piece as she did so. It was a slow and meticulous process but in the event of trouble she would know exactly what she had and exactly where it was at. When Logan introduced her to Nailz she gave the girl a respectful bow before sliding into the back seat.

After the introductions were made Nailz said, “Alright team, lets go!.” She raises both hands for high fives from the runners, “Huh…huh anyone… Yea you’re just gonna leave me hanging huh…. Okay.” Of course it will take a lot more than that to bring down the riggers caffeine and hot sim fueled perkiness.

In reply to Logan’s concerns, “Honey, she may not look like much but in the right hands this baby will get you anywhere you need to go by land.” Nailz waits for Logan to get into her car before jumping into the driver’s seat. A few commands and the engine starts, the sound of an unmuffled engine filled the parking lot bouncing off of the motel’s walls. As the car pulled out of the parking lot Nailz started to get a glassy eyed look as she became fully immersed in the vehicle.

The trip was slow and loud for some time. Nailz was following the speed limit and all traffic laws as she made her way through the Plex. Then suddenly it was quiet, the sound of an unmuffled engine ceased, the Comet’s engine revved as Nailz opened it up and put on the speed. It was obvious that the car was modified because the small sedan doesn’t normally press its passengers into their seats as it accelerates.

Turning off of the main road onto a concealed dirt road Nailz applies even more speed. She drifts around a couple of turns before coming to a straight-away that approached a river with no bridge. A quick jaunt off of the road and onto a ramp send the team sailing over the river and safely onto the other side. Nailz continues to haul hoop on the dirt road till she slides onto at highway.

Pulling back on the speed Nailz drives within the legally posted limit and the rest of the trip is calm. The team pulls up to the nature retreat with the rising sun.

Unhooking from the system Nailz is breathing heavy from the rush of being jacked into the vehicle.

“Not bad huh?”

As soon as the Comet came to a halt Logan got out and headed for the Rental Office. They needed a room for two reasons: one to stow their gear, and two as a cover for their being here in the first place. There was no telling how long it would take to find Beth since they as yet had no idea where to start searching, and a room would serve as a base of operations as well.

He figured there was no point in discussing the matter with the team; he was the most likely candidate as his camos made him at least appear as an outdoors type... or like one of those neurotic survivalists, anyway. Either way, his appearance shouldn't raise much suspicion.

He was not long in the office and when he re-appeared, he gave Nailz a 'come on' gesture and pointed down the length of the building and added a curve at the end to indicate their room was around the other side of the row of lodges. He walked quickly in that direction. Once at the room, he disengaged the maglock and, leaving the door open so the others could see which room he was in, checked their 'home away from home' just as he and Ronin had done at the Tree View Motel. While the blatting muffler sounds were still echoing through the surrounding countryside, Logan joined the girls in transferring their gear from the vehicle to the room. This was done in silence, for the most part. It seemed Nailz's idea of quiet was a steady stream of syllables delivered in something that at least approximated sotto voce.

Once all was unpacked, sorted, and set up, the trio discussed their initial game plan. The first order of biz was to find out if anyone around the lodge recognized Beth and, if so, knew where she might have gone from there. It was decided that Logan would 'interview' the hard-core hunters and survival fanatics; Ronin would take the single adults and couples without kids; and Nailz would chat up the teens and young adults.
Logan sent copies of Beth's photo to both his teammates to show around, and the three of them set off for their individual groups with an agreement that if anyone found a lead they would contact the rest of the team and wait before haring off on their own. The last thing they needed was to have to rescue one of the team as well as Elizabeth Johnson.

Sometimes the fates will smile on a shadowrunner. It’s not often but every once in a while it happens.

The Rental office is located within the main lodge for the camp ground. Included within the main lodge are bathrooms with showers with hot and cold running water, a kitchen and dining area that can be rented out for large groups, and a gift shop (currently closed). The smell of cooking food and the growing number of people in the dining area (really a series of picnic tables set up in rows by a large fireplace), and I am sure that they growing number of college age girls still wearing their pajamas has nothing to do with drawing Logan’s attention. Looking among the gathering of people while the desk clerk processes Logan’s information and arranged for a cabin Logan sees a woman with a striking resemblance to Elizabeth Johnson smiling and talking with several of the other people.

Logan calls up the image that of Elizabeth Johnson from the profile provided by the Johnson. It sure looks like their mark chatting, laughing and having fun. It is also evident to Logan that she holds some measure of respect and authority among the other people there as they come to her with questions and follow her reqests.

Logan moved toward the spot where Elizabeth sat talking quietly with various camp-goers and folk. He was sure that the woman he'd been sent to recover would recognize that he was not a usual run-of-the-mill interested inquirer, and that fact would be confirmed once he had a chance to speak with her.

While still a fair distance away, he paused long enough to put a call out to his team:

"I think I've found our girl in the main office. I'm going to invite her to our room for a little chat. Meet you both there. Out."

Logan hoped his gruff exterior would not alarm Ms Johnson. This was a camping lodge, after all, and many nature-lovers wore camo-style gear. The lady might just receive him as casually as she did the others in the room... or, she might show alarm or even fear, which would complicate matters badly. Especially if lodge security got called into the situation.

Maintaining a calm demeanor and as non-aggressive a pose as he could muster, Logan approached Elizabeth and, once within speaking distance:

"Are you Ms Elizabeth Johnson? I wonder could I have a word with you... in private? A couple of lady-friends of mine and I share a room here at the lodge - its not far from here. It concerns a sensitive matter that I, and you I believe, would rather not discuss publicly. Would you come with me, please?"

He wasn't sure how well he was doing at subtlety - it was definitely not his forte' - but he couldn't think of any other way to convince the woman to join him and the team. And he really did think it best to tell her why they were there, and who sent them, in a less-crowded place. If she was rebeling against her father for some reason then she might react in anger which could make things for the team distinctly uncomfortable.

As he waited for Elizabeth's reply, he prepared the mental command that would send an alarm signal to Ronin's commlink, warning her and Nailz that there was trouble. He hoped that it would not be necessary.

Ronin radios back to Logan: “Which Room is ours?” she asks, since Logan hasn’t come out of the office to let them know. “Alright we will be there. Girl, this way we need to prepare the room for a prisoner.” She obviously forgot to close the channel again.

Ronin leads Nailz to the room that Logan rented and she enlisted the driver’s help to move all of their gear inside. Once the gear is inside Ronin starts to get into her samurai armor, she hopes it won’t be necessary but when the drek hits the fan she will be ready for it.

Scene cuts to back inside of the office where Logan approaches the growing group of college age men and women (and few that are older) rolling out of their sleeping bags and into the lodge for some breakfast. The smells of frying potatoes, eggs, bacon, and toast remind Logan that the only thing he has eaten lately was a protein bar before their road trip. The number of people in there numbers about 23 if you include the cooks (who are obviously part of the group if age, style of dress, and demeanor are any indication) and Elisabeth Johnson.

As Logan approached the group the members turn and look at him as they start notice him. While the atmosphere of the gathering had been light, friendly and jovial a moment before it was now tense as everyone there waited to see what would happen next.

Elizabeth turns as Logan approaches and she gives him a friendly smile. It was a different smile from the one she had before, the kind of smile that a salesman has when talking to clients as opposed to a smile you give your friends when you see that they survived the big run. After listening to Logan she laughs, “Umm, No. Sorry G.I. Joe, I’m not that type of girl. Hmm let’s see, go off along with a man I don’t know. Yea, not gonna happen. Especially not before I have breakfast.” She points towards the kitchen area where the cooks are scrambling eggs and churning out pancakes like mad. Her demeanor is very similar to that of her roommate; it’s easy to see how they get along so well. “So I’m going to stay here with my friends and enjoy my breakfast, and you can go do whatever else it is you came up here for. I suggest you take advantage of the spirit quest program the Lodge offers, I think it would do you some good.” She obviously payed attention in the rape prevention classes that the university offers incoming freshmen.

Logan glanced sideways at the other college students gathered around and obviously enthralled with his discussion with Elizabeth. He sighed, pursing his lips in exasperation, then offered the girl further explanation:

"Fine. Have it your way. The deal is this: we've been hired by your father - Arthur, right? - to find you and escort you back to Seattle. He would like very much to see you. Now, if you can get away from your "studies," he said this with obvious sarcasm and pointedly eyed the lodge and the surrounding group, "we could be back home in no time. If you can't get away now, we could remain here for a few days." Logan's expression showed a glimpse of interest for the first time since he spoke to Elizabeth as he added, "I wouldn't mind trying out the hiking trails here myself."

He looked at his intended mark with a direct, no-nonsense gaze that held no sign of conniving or alterior motive whatsoever.

"If you prefer, I could have one of my associates speak with you, but I assure you I've told you only the truth. I'm being paid to do a job and that's the only reason I'm here."

Elizabeth crosses her arms across her chest and looks very upset, "I don't know who you are or what game you are trying to play but I don't know anyone named Arthur. So why don't you go away, go enjoy the trails and leave us alone."

Frustrated and a little confused at this unexpected turn of events, Logan sighed and glanced about the room. There were far too many witnesses to just grab the girl and haul hoop, so he turned and headed for the exit.

"Well," he transmitted to Ronin, "so much for the direct approach. I guess its up to you girls now."

Logan fumed as he walked toward their room. He didn't know what was up with this job, but he didn't like feeling like some pervert thug trying to coax a college girl into a private room; even if it was at her "father's" request.

"But don't you two gang up on her." He grimaced at the hidden innuendo, however unintended, in those words. "This is going to take a lot of tact."

He paused, considering Nailz, and then shrugged. Who knew? Maybe her juvenile personality would break Elizabeth's "ice."

He radioed again, "Try to infiltrate the college crowd. If either or both of you can get in good with that bunch, maybe our mark will be more open with you. In the meantime, I'll get in touch with our employer. I've got some questions for that guy."

Signing off, Logan thought about their situation. If Mr Johnson was telling the truth, then why did Elizabeth sound so convincing about never having heard of him? And if she was telling the truth, then what was Arthur up to? Was this some corporate scheme against a girl Logan knew nothing about? Or was it just some sick old bastard's way to get a date?

Whatever the case, Logan knew he'd agreed to a job and his street rep was on the line. Not that it was the most important aspect of his life, but a bad rep made it damn hard to find work in the shadows.

For now, though, all he could do was wait and see if Ronin and/or Nailz could get somewhere with Elizabeth.

Ronin was disappointed to hear Logan's report and proceeds to take off the samurai armor. If she is to try to infiltrate a group of college student then dressing for battle was not going to work. She went through her personal gear trying to find something that would be more fitting She ended up with just her FFBA and a jacket. Not exactly what one would wear in an attempt to get back to nature.

"Logan was unable to procure the mark," Ronin informs Nailz as she is getting ready, "He has asked that we try to infiltrate the group and see what we can do."

Nailz laughs at Ronin's predicament, Nailz brought a couple of changes of clothes with her and they were just like the one she was wearing: cargo pants and a wife beater, all covered in engine grease. "Hey I didn't sign up for anything like that. I'm just here to drive the car." She plops down on an oversized chair, "so where's the trid in this place anyway? Don't time me I'm going to have to use my link to catch of on the adventures of Lance Brigand." She gives Ronin a wink, "Besides while you're off playing with the kids," despite the fact that they are all probably older than Nailz, "Besides, someone is going to have to stick around and keep Logan company." Nailz pulls out her commlink and occupies herself in it.

Once Ronin is ready she prepares to leave. On her way out she runs into Logan. "I will see what I can do," she says to him, "The driver is being lazy, you'll have to whip her into shape." She then heads for the Lodge.

When Logan returned to the room he found Nailz absorbed in her commlink. Fine, he thought, at least she won't be bugging me.

He decided to get cleaned up. He had not showered since the day before - which might explain some of Elizabeth's reluctance - and it was past time he did so. Inside the small bathroom he turned on the hot water to let it heat up, then stripped out of his clothing and armor, piling it all up in the corner behind the door. Already the faucet was spouting a fair amount of steam along with the water, and a thin mist was rising. Logan stepped inside the shower stall and pulled the sliding door shut. He first simply stood in the stream and let the soothing jet soak his muscles. He placed his palms against the wall and, head down, let the stream run down over his back. He sighed as tense tissue first softened and then relaxed from the steamy spray.

After some time, he grabbed the little bar of soap - why did these places always give you such a sad, tiny bar? - and began sudsing himself all over. The soap wasn't anything special, but the act of washing was enough to make the man feel more energetic.
He washed all over, careful to give every inch a thorough scrubbing, then rinsed off.

Still luxuriating in the hot spray, Logan lingered a long time in the stall. He didn't know when the next opportunity for this would be, so he wanted to take full advantage before stepping out.

The shower felt all sorts of wonderful and when Logan had is about halfway through toweling off he gets a direct message from Ronin to his comm:

“Help!”

Ronin was in trouble.

Though he cursed the time it took to get dressed, Logan knew he'd need his armor and weapons. If Ronin couldn't handle whatever fix she was in on her own, then it was serious enough to go in geared up. He also cursed himself for sending her in alone. It was just a bunch of college kids, and he never would have thought she'd need backup, but if any harm had come to his partner...

Putting that thought out of his head, Logan stamped his feet into his boots and shouted to the girl in the room:

"Nailz! We got trouble! See if you can scan Ronin's commlink. I need you to pinpoint her location. Now, girl! Do it now!"

Storming out of the bathroom, he went to the bed and grabbed his weapons from underneath, slipped them into their holsters strapped to his back, and then headed for the door.

Over his shoulder he called out again:

"I want you in constant contact. Lock this door and don't let anyone in 'til we get back. You clear on that?"

Not really waiting for a response, Logan was out the door and headed for the office. Anyone who saw him on his way would have thought murder was about to be done. And depending on what he found in the office, they might be right.

“Huh? What?” Nailz jumped out of her seat in shock and surprise as Logan shouted orders at her? “You can do that?” she looks at her commlink, “Sure I’ll try.” Then a little under her breath, “if you guys didn’t have so much drek then I could have brought one of my drones, that would have found her in no time.” The rigger gets to work tracking down Ronin electronically. “Hey Logan, What’s your commcode? It will be a little hard for me to keep you in contact without that.”

Logan storms into the lodge.

Storms is a good phrase to describe it, he is moving like a force of nature and everyone turns to stare at him as he strides through the lodge.

“Ex.ex.ex….Excuse me sir…” The desk clerk, who a moment ago rented a cabin to Logan, stammers but is completely ignored.

The group that Logan spoke to before are all sitting down eating their breakfast and trying to get enough caffeine in their blood to function though the day. They all stop and put down their utensils and stare at the force of nature that is once again disturbing their breakfast.

Elizabeth Stands up and approaches Logan, giving him a strained but polite smile. “Now what GI Joe?”

Storm is the appropriate word for Logan's approach as thunderheads seem to follow in his wake and lightning seems to flash from his cybereyes.
He stops before Elizabeth and points a finger at her with such vehemence that a spur pops out to point at her as well; the tip coming to within an inch of her nose.

"Where is she?!" he growls through clenched teeth.

Everything was silent, for a moment time seemed to stand still. For how long Logan couldn’t recall, half a second, 2 seconds, an entire minute?

His question seemed to hang in the air.

It was the calm before the storm, the very air in the room seemed charged with energy.

…

…

Then the tension SHATTERED. The people in the room broke and ran, chaos rose up around Logan like a hurricane. People ran. They ran anywhere that they could. They ran past Logan making for the front door of the Lodge, they ran for the back door, they ran for a service door. Dishes, glasses, silverware, and half eaten breakfasts got dumped to the floor.

Cries of “He’s one of them!” And “Run for your lives!” filled the air above the cacophony of scrambling people and the crashing of breakfast to the floor.

Elizabeth herself seemed relatively calm despite the chaos that surrounded her and Logan. Her arm shot up as she dropped into a perfect karate stance with a block. Her forearm crashed into Logan’s but couldn’t budge it. Then she broke into a run along with everyone else.

With the attention coprocessor implant in Logan's head, he was able to 'watch' the kids stampede without taking his eyes off Elizabeth. He had no real need, however, as their flight was purely terror-stricken and in no way a ploy to distract him from his chosen target.

As far as Elizabeth herself, Logan was impressed despite himself at her attempt - if sadly inadequate - to fend him off. The girl had guts for a 'tree-hugging' back-to-nature fanatic.
But he could not let that deflect him either. Ronin was in trouble and this snooty, rebellious college kid was the reason.

At the same instant that she threw the block maneuver at his outstretched arm, he withdrew his spur. He didn't want her to inadvertently cut herself. When Elizabeth tried to bolt, however, his hand, cybernetically enhanced with both wired reflexes and titanium-bonded skeleton, lashed out viper-quick and clamped around her upper arm. He was careful not to grab too hard - he didn't want to crush her humerus - but there was no way this girl was getting out of his sight. Not until Ronin was found and safe again, at least.

"Not so fast, girlie," Logan snapped. "You're not going anywhere until I get some answers out of you; starting with 'Where's Ronin.'"

Elizabeth reacted violently to Logan grabbing her, she threw a punch at him that any Karate instructor would have been proud of: Her body twisted just right, the force came off her legs and through her hips, her fist was as hard as a rock, and it landed right on target in Logan’s Solar Plexus. The blow would have fended off most campus predators on the mean streets of Bellevue but Logan barely noticed the blow.

“I don’t know what the Frag you’re talking about!” She yelled at Logan as she tried (unsuccessfully) to jerk her arm out of his grip.

Over his commlink Nailz reports in, “Remind me never to tick you off… ummm Sir! All I can hear is screaming. Anyway I think I figured this out and have pinpointed Ronin’s position. She is 10 Klicks East North East of you. Uploading coordinates now.”

A map utility opens up on Logan’s HUD showing a dancing icon that vaguely resembles Logan (if he was drawn in about 5 minutes) saying you are here. And another icon made up of hearts, stars, rainbows, clovers and blue moons saying ‘Ronin.’ It’s a good thing that Nailz uploaded a map because the Ronin Icon is only about 1 km away due west of Logan’s position. According to the satellite view, it appears to the main camping area with several tents showing through the trees.

“Let her go Mr. Franklin.” It was a stern order coming from the desk clerk, who was still behind the desk but the arrow he has aimed at Logan adds a little strength to his demand. It takes Logan moment to remember the name on the Identity he used to rent the cabin and that the clerk was talking to him.

Logan easily ignored Elizabeth's struggles as well as her well-placed, if ineffectual, kick. The girl was either a truly masterful actor or she really had no idea of what was going on.
Nailz's message and map caught his main attention focus, though his coprocessor again kept track of his surroundings, so it was that for a moment, to Elizabeth and her would-be rescuer, it appeared that Logan was 'out to lunch.'

When the coprocessor brought the arrow to Logan's perception, he quickly twirled the girl to a position behind him. He didn't know if the clerk knew how to handle his weapon, but Elizabeth would not be taking a misplaced projectile while in Logan's 'care.'

"Chummer," he rasped, "you got about 0 seconds to drop the Geronimo act. I get why you think the lady here needs a hero, but believe me when I say she's in far less danger than you are at this moment. A close friend of mine is in serious trouble and this young lady knows something that can help me find and rescue her. And I don't have time to sit and hash out the details with you."

Keeping Ms Johnson safely tucked behind him as he moved, Logan began sidling towards the door. If the clerk let loose his arrow, it might wound him but the damage would be only minimal. Logan sported enough chrome to render several calibers of bullets useless, a simple arrow could not do him any real harm.

"Now, we'll just be leaving real peaceable like. If Little Miss Nature here cooperates, then she'll be back to resume her tree-hugging in no time. You just see to cleaning up the mess her friends left in their hurry to be elsewhere, and everything will turn out just spiffy, you grep me?"

Skill 6 + agility 4 + Edge 3 (13d6.hitsopen(5,6)=11)

The man shrugged his shoulders slightly and loosed the arrow at Logan. He obviously didn't like the 'Geronimo' comment.

Base Damage is 6P

Logan's reaction as the clerk loosed his arrow could only be described as stupified incredulity. The twerp actually shot at him!
With his cyber-enhanced reflexes, Logan could easily have dodged the arrow, but there was Elizabeth to consider. So instead, he relied on his armor, along with his dermal sheath, to minimize the arrow's damage.

[url=http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4068013/ ]Damage Resistance: 6 hits[/url]

Thhhhunk!

The arrow hit home and Logan's breath seemed to lodge in his lungs. He could neither inhale nor exhale. He had to drag his stunned gaze from the shaft embedded in his chest up to meet the clerk's smarmy, self-righteous leer.

(Ronin)

The jerk of Elizabeth wrenching her arm free of Logan's grip seemed distant and unimportant. He felt no real pain, but the room swam in and out as he tried to focus on what was happening to him. Why was he here again? And who were these people standing around him?

(no, got to help Ronin)

Was that his father? And Tessa?

A thump surprised him and he looked down to see he was on his knees. Spittle dribbled from his lips and hung in a shiny line to his thigh. Why was he so thirsty?

(no... fight it... got to fight...)

He was fascinated by the string of saliva... how it shook but did not break. He gazed stupidly at it as he fell forward onto his face.

(Ronin... nooooooo...)

Beep

Beep

Beep

Beep

The sound is the first thing that Logan notices. It is the steady beeping noise that first tells him that he isn’t dead. Surely there aren’t machines that go ‘beep’ in heaven, hell, nirvana, his next incarnation, or Oblivion (I am not sure what Logan’s beliefs in the afterlife are). Alright so there are probably beep machines in his next incarnation but he has a funny feeling that he didn’t reincarnate, he was still fully grown after all.

Beep

Beep

Beep

Logan opens his eyes to a sterile room, walls all painted that non-offensive off-white color with an equally non-offensive print of a painting of flowers. He feels no pain at all, as a matter of fact he can’t feel much of anything. The stuff in the IV bag that is stuck into his arm may be responsible for that. Looking down at himself Logan can tell several things.

The main one is that he is naked.
Almost as importantly is that he is strapped to the bed like a dangerous mental patient.
There is a glob of nanopaste on his chest where the arrow skewered him. As best as he can tell, it looks like the doc’s patched him up pretty good.
A quick mental command to his commlink indicates that it’s signal is quite thoroughly jammed.
And finally, he is not alone: Sitting in a chair across the room is a man wearing the uniform of the Salish Army, he is currently dozing off, And sitting on another bed about 5 feet away is Elizabeth Johnson. Her arm is in a sling and she is flipping through the channels on an old trid unit.

Logan had never given much thought to the 'afterlife,' or to such things as Heaven or Hell, for that matter.

Until this moment.

He now believed there really was a Hell.

And he was in it.

And this girl was the demon who'd been assigned to torment him for eternity.

He ignored the dozing man. He knew a guard when he saw one, and for the time being at least, he was a captive audience to whatever mad play was in store for him.

He tried to speak but nothing came out except stale air. He cleared his throat, worked up a little spit, and tried again.

"Wh... where... ?"

Elizabeth nearly jumped out of her skin as Logan cleared his throat. She turned towards him, “Oh Thank Krishna!” she seems genuinely pleased about the Runner’s return to the land of the living, “You’re alive, the doctors didn’t know if you would make it there for a while. Oh where… this is Grays Harbor Community Hospital in Aberdeen. You’ve been sedated for about 4 days now. The Lodge had you air lifted here and put under guard while the sort the mess out. I needed a little medical attention myself,” she indicated her arm in the sling, “And I’ve just stuck around. I thought that someone should be here when you, if you, wake up and it appears that your team bailed on you.” She gives a nervous chuckle, “I guess I’m the closest thing you have to a friend out here right now.”

Hey exclamations and excitement woke the dozing guard who immediately got up and walked to the door and knocked. The door was unlocked and opened by another man in the same type of uniform, they exchanged some words and the door was closed and locked again. He returned to his chair without a word.

"Friend?!?"

The outburst sent Logan into a fit of coughing but his disbelieving eyes never strayed from Elizabeth's.

After some moments, during which the girl almost called for a nurse as Logan's face turned first bright red then purple as he fought for breath, he finally managed to get his lungs back under at least a semblance of control; a thin sheen of sweat covered his face from the exhertion.

"Y... you're my... f-f-friend... eh?"

The sarcasm that dripped from his words were evident despite his panting exhalations.

"W-with... friends like... y-you... "

He did not need to finish the quote. The look on Elizabeth's face was evidence enough that she took his meaning.