What They Don't See

Chapter 20 - Trust issues

It wasn't until 1:32 am that Logan finally heard the sound he had been waiting for. The sound of the elevator doors opening. The house had been dead quiet up until that moment, so even as Logan raced down the stairs, he could hear the sound of the kitchen door opening and closing. Stepping into the kitchen as well, he silently watched the dark outline of Kate's body turn on the faucet.

"I thought you would be asleep by now," her voice seemed so much louder in the silence of the night.

"I'm not. I figured I'd wait for you. I got worried when you weren't back in the time that you said you would be," he replied as he walked closer to her. Under the light of the moon, he watched as she washed something off her hands. He grimaced when he realized it was blood.

"It's not mine," she murmured, drying her hands with a paper towel before turning to him.

"What happened?" he asked, his hand gently grabbing her hip and pulling her closer. He needed reassurance that she was here, with him, and safe. 

"We tied some loose ends. The guys that caused the accident weren't working alone. Simon tracked the rest down and we went after them tonight. It just took longer than expected. One of my men got shot, but he'll be fine," she explained, her forehead pressed against his chest. Logan gently stroked her hair.

"Simon?" 

"He's our information specialist on the ground. His father, Mr. Beaumont, had the same job, and now he's on the Council as our head of intel gathering and management. Some say Simon hoping to go in the same direction as his father, following in his footsteps so to speak, but we'll see if he actually succeeds. I don't think he has the respect for me that I want out of him. But regardless, it's his job to have all the information about everything. And if there's something he doesn't know, he has the means to get ahold of it," Kate explained.

"Torture?" Logan asked with an eyebrow raised.

"If that's what it takes, then yes."

"I see... And what would it take for Simon to get where his father is?" Logan asked, deep in thought.

"I would appoint him. When there's a shift in power the new leader reevaluates the council. He, or in this case she, decides who she wants to stay, and who will be replaced or even removed entirely. The members of the council act as advisors to the leader, but also occupy their own roles of leadership in different aspects. As it stands, Simon is good at his job, but it takes respect and humility to be a good leader, you have to care for and protect those working for you, and those are not qualities I see in him. There's still time for him to learn those qualities, but until he does, I probably won't be appointing him to lead an entire division," Kate explained, absentmindedly drawing patterns on Logan's back with her fingers. There was a pause of silence in the room as both of them thought over Kate's words. Logan began to feel a sense of unease, but he couldn't place where it was coming from, much less explain it. So instead, he switched topics. 

"So what happens now? Did you find out who was behind the attack?" he asked. 

Kate sighed.

"Can we talk about that tomorrow? It's been a long day," she replied, stepping out of his embrace and heading out of the kitchen, Logan right behind her. Once they were upstairs, Kate quickly changed into more comfortable clothes consisting of one of Logan's teashirts and a pair of shorts, before slipping into bed, where Logan already lay.

"You should know, in a few days, we're going to need to disappear. We can't be in the city when things go down," she murmured softly as she cuddled up against his side. Logan's only response was to gently kiss her forehead. That was something to discuss tomorrow when she was well rested. And with that, they both drifted off to sleep.

~

At exactly 10 am that morning, the couple was startled awake when Maxwell yanked open the curtains in the room.

"Rise and shine lovebirds."

"It's nice to see you too Maxwell," Kate murmured in a sleepy tone. Her eyes were still shut and she had no intention of getting up. At least not for another hour or so. She had lost a lot of sleep over the past few days and she intended to make up as much of it as she could before things went to shit, which was scheduled to begin in a few days, according to her calendar.

"Maxwell, for crying out loud, why are you in my room?" Logan moaned, throwing his arm over his eyes. He also wanted to continue sleeping, but this had less to do with future possible events, and more to do with the sexy woman laying beside him. 

"Well, I just thought you'd want to know the big news," he replied with a shrug as he finished opening the drapes.

"What big news?" Logan asked distractedly as he turned and pulled Kate closer.

"Oh just that you got the part," Maxwell announced with another shrug. Logan froze, his head in the crook of Kate's neck.

"I GOT IT?!" he suddenly sat up with a huge grin on his face. At the nod from Maxwell, he pumped a fist in the air several times in triumph, before turning and grabbing Kate in a bear hug. Kate laughed, knowing that this man's excitement was probably the only thing that could wake her up without pissing her off today.

"Congratulations baby," she whispered, planting a quick kiss on his shoulder before she nestled back into the sheets, except this time with no intention of sleeping. Instead, she watched as Logan excitedly listened to Maxwell explain that they had made some changes to the script to better accommodate him as the lead. Once the conversation was over, Logan turned to Kate, a big grin on his face, and kissed her. 

"Can you believe it?" he murmured before he kissed her again.

"I can," Kate replied, smiling up at Logan. One of her hands made its way into his hair. She loved seeing him happy.

 Maxwell chuckled good-naturedly and turned to walk back out of the room to give them some privacy.

"Come find me once you're done celebrating and we can plan the big breakup," he called over his shoulder. At the sound of those words, both Logan and Kate froze.

Logan seemed to catch himself first, and he sat up and faced the door, with his back to Kate, as if to shield her from a potential onslaught. 

"No need. It's not happening," he called after Maxwell, who quickly came back into the room.

"Well, not right now obviously. That would look a little suspicious. But we need to start planning for it early, Logan," Maxwell desperately explained from the doorway, hoping Logan didn't mean what he thought he meant.

"No, Maxwell. I mean the breakup isn't happening at all," Logan's voice was stern, uncompromising.

"Since when? Because last I heard, the breakup was always part of the plan," Maxwell was slowly growing red, his frustration at the turn of events getting the best of him.

"It doesn't matter what the plan was. I'm telling you now that it's not happening," Logan stated, his tone flat.

"Logan, think about this. It would be the perfect publicity before the movie, without taking attention away from the movie!" Maxwell was getting angry, it was clear from the way he ground his teeth together.

"I don't care! I said it's not happening and that's it. End of discussion," Logan replied, getting frustrated as well. Kate reached out and rubbed her hand along his tense back and watched in amazement as the muscles relaxed under her fingers.

"Fine. Rehearsals start in two weeks," Maxwell said after a moment, walking out of the room with a sigh and a shake of his head. The room was quiet for a moment as both of them listened to his receding steps.

"Now that's sorted, I think there was something you were supposed to explain last night?" Logan finally spoke, turning back to Kate. Instead of replying, Kate pressed her index finger against her lips in the universal 'be quiet' sign.

"I'll explain everything about our trip when we meet for lunch later today. But first I need to call my dad and get back to my apartment," Kate replied as she got up. As she walked over to the bathroom, she pointed at the laundry basket near the door, where Maxwell just happened to have dropped his iPhone.