Chapter 2

The next time they met J almost didn't recognize her. Gone was the slightly seedy bar room queen and in her place was a faded, almost instantly forgettable schoolmarm with a mousy brown bob and terrible taste in shoes. It was only when she flashed him a brief lopsided smile that he caught a glimpse of the woman who had hypnotized him.

Lissa had picked the venue, a run-down diner in the heart of an equally run-down neighborhood, and he regretted not suggesting somewhere nicer. The stink of slightly rancid fat had hit him as soon as he'd opened the door. It did not sit well with his hangover and by the time he'd slid into the booth opposite her he had resolved to order nothing but very strong black coffee.

Though it was 8am on a weekday, the place was half empty. Most of the people in there looked as though they were crawling their way homeward rather than heading out for work. Other than the woman he was going to meet, and an exhausted looking waitress, no one even looked up when he went in. This was the sort of place that only the quietly desperate or the hopelessly lost ever went. No one had any time or inclination to get involved with other people's problems, they were far too busy avoiding their own.

'Hi J', Lissa said pleasantly as he sat down. 'I'm so glad you rang me.' This time her accent was firmly midwestern.

'You have some of my things.'

'No, Mr. Cody, I had some of your things. Now I have the money I got from selling them.' Again, he got a flash of her smile. 'Did you know that your watch had a tracker in it?' She asked conversationally. 'Very high end.'

'You know who I am.' It wasn't a question. 'Which means you know who my family are - and yet you still thought this was a good idea.'

'I didn't know who you were at first. When I spotted you in that bar you were just another easy mark with a nice car, a flashy watch, and an ass that I could bounce a quarter off of. Now tell me what you remember from your first lesson?'

J felt himself flush as he recalled their encounter in the motel bedroom and he cleared his throat awkwardly. 'Um… well, I…'

Lissa snorted with laughter. Her face was incredulous. 'You seriously thought that I…? Look kid, if you want those kinds of lessons you need to take yourself uptown and find a high-end hooker who's looking for a pet project. I've got better things to do with my time.'

J felt his face grow even redder and he scowled; he hated being laughed at. 'I'm not a fucking kid!' He ground out through clenched teeth.

Lissa's face grew instantly serious but she still had a wicked sparkle in her eyes. 'True. I think that we established that to our mutual satisfaction on the… what was it? Fifth attempt?'

J growled and went to slide out of the booth.

'Don't go, please!'

Lissa's arm snaked out and she caught his wrist in a firm grip. Despite the 'please' he knew that it had been more of an order than a request and he wouldn't be able to get free of her without causing a scene. Pretending that it had been his idea all along, he sat back down. Calling over to the waitress who was dozing behind the counter, he had her bring him a coffee.

'So why don't you tell me what this actually lesson was?'

Lissa was silent while the waitress poured out coffee for them both. As soon as the woman was sufficiently far away so as to not overhear their conversation she said. 'Never flash a $5,000 watch in a dive like that unless you're playing an angle, never spill all your precious secrets to a complete stranger no matter how kind they seem, and in any given situation if you can't tell who the mark is, it's probably you.' Another quick smile. 'Oh, and on the other matter, always make sure that the lady you're with has at least as many orgasms as you do.'

J wanted to argue, to deny the truth of what she said but she was totally correct on all points. He slid down in his seat, any hint of bravado gone.

'Tell me why you weren't shocked by the fact that you had a tracker in your watch. It was Smurf, right?' Lissa's voice was surprisingly gentle. She took one of his hands lightly in hers and and when he looked up he saw concern writ large on her face. He desperately wanted to confide in her. He opened his mouth to tell her everything but then he saw a trace of something else hiding almost imperceptibly beneath the sympathetic smile.

'This is lesson two, right?' He said stonily, withdrawing his hand from hers.

'Nope – I was just checking that you hadn't already forgotten lesson one. Lesson two is that no one can be trusted - not family, not friends, no one.'

'Except you, right?' He raised one eyebrow mockingly. He wondered how she would try to play him, whether he'd be impressed.

She shook her head brusquely. 'Not even me. Everyone has an angle. Why should I be any different? The best you can ever hope for is to find someone whose interests align, however temporarily, with your own.'

J relaxed back in his seat and draped his arms along the back of the booth. Despite himself he was intrigued. 'You'd better start talking. You're not the only one who has better things to do with their time.'

'Let's just say that I have a score to settle with Smurf and from your drunken ramblings last week I get the feeling that you do too.'

J regarded her levelly. Inside his mind was racing, but he kept his face impassive. He was learning.

'And?' He shrugged slightly.

'Baz and I were in foster care together – before Smurf got hold of him. He was feral, but he was kind to me. We caught up again about ten, twelve years ago. She fucked him up, J, I mean she really fucked with his head and now he's dead.' Her eyes filled with tears. 'I will get pay-back.'

'Why should I care?'

'You think that her putting her hand on your dick is the worst she's capable of?' Lissa shook her head angrily and a single tear broke free and rolled its way down her cheek. 'Someone has to stop her, but I don't have the access and you don't have the skills. Together we can give her the end she deserves.'

Rising abruptly, she pulled on her coat and began to get her things together. She was crying openly now. The proper kind of crying, all blotchy skin and snot. 'Just think about it. Then call me.'

She tried to pull her keys from her handbag but only succeeded in dumping the bag's contents out onto the floor. J leapt up and began to help her pick up her things, managing to get an eyeful of her rack as she bent down – it was as impressive as he remembered. He couldn't avoid the memory of nuzzling against the silky skin and the thought must have shown on his face. When Lissa saw him looking, she gave him a playful shoulder barge, and smiled wanly.

'Pervert!' Drying her eyes, she looked at him seriously. 'Even if you don't want to get on board with this, remember what I said. You can't trust anyone.' And then she was gone.

J finished his coffee slowly, running and rerunning the conversation through in his head. He wasn't sure what he'd been expecting from the meeting, but it hadn't been an offer to work together to bring down his grandmother. After 40 minutes of bemused cogitation, and half a dozen refills of bitter black coffee, he had still not come to a firm conclusion. However, he knew that he couldn't just sit around in this shitty diner until he made up his mind. He reached into his hoodie pocket to get his wallet. With a complete lack of surprise, he realized that she'd boosted it.