I was finishing my lukewarm coffee and getting ready to leave when the front door opened. Shilo flew past me, scrubbing at her mouth and retching.

"Kid?" I called after her. Down the hall, I could hear water running. "Hey, Shilo, what's wrong?"

"Freaking Pavi!" she yelled. "And Luigi, and Amber, and those goddamn repomen!" She let out a long string of profanities that no well bred young lady should know. I was impressed. Really. I followed the sound of splashing water and heated obscenities to a small bathroom. Shilo's mouth was red from where she had scrubbed the skin almost raw. I picked up her discarded veil and smoothed it out.

"Problem, princess?" I asked mildly. She spat out one last invective, then sagged against the sink.

"Another happy reunion with the Largos," she said bitterly. "With the added bonus of a rogue repoman out to get me." She gave me a rundown of her meeting at Amber's office, and pulled a folded comm sheet from her bodice. I looked it over and nodded.

"Bug," I said.

"Bug?"

"That's what he's called on the streets," I explained. "He's kinda squat and oval, like a bug. Then there's the Phantom, the Surgeon –that was your dad-, the Baron, the Butcher, and the Diver. We've all seen them at one time or another." I frowned, thinking. "You know, I did hear something about some pretty bad repos lately. Real ugly ones, and that's saying something." I tossed the comm sheet aside. "Well, that's it, then. You're stuck with me for a while." Ok, I was already planning on spending as much time here as Shilo would allow. I mean, her note had offered me a bed and a place to hide out whenever I wanted, and I'd be crazy to refuse a squat as nice as this place. But now at least I wouldn't feel like a freeloader, even if all I could contribute was my dubious protection. I'd rather face the possibility of a run in with the Bug than deal with the cold this winter. I handed Shilo her veil.

"Don your widow's weeds once more, my lady," I bowed. "We've information to collect."

"Do I get a say in any of this?"

"No, not really."

I led Shilo through the alleys and side streets, to the rougher part of town. We stopped at an abandoned tenement long enough for me to grab the last of my Zydrate, then made our way to Bleak Row, my usual spot. I tucked Shilo into an inconspicuous doorway behind me, and announced my presence with a soft whistle. My patrons converged on me like a flock of brightly colored birds, if said birds had mange, and possibly parasites. A raggedy bunch, Zydrate junkies are. No amount of surgery will ever change that.

"Graverobber, where were you?" Marco, a ruby haired regular cried. "We missed you!"

"I had a close call at the necropolis last night," I shrugged. "I got away, but I figured it was best to lie low the rest of the night."

"Then you weren't with Carline?" Hermaphroditie asked. Her name is self explanatory. I won't go into detail. It's too damaging to my ego.

"What about Carline?" I asked suspiciously. My little flock looked around at each other, at the ground, anywhere but me.

"Children," I said warningly.

"She was at the necropolis last night," Marco finally admitted. "The Genecops caught her extracting Zydrate from the pauper's pit. They shot her."

"She was the poacher?" I yelped, then glowered, thinking back to her recent appearance change. She had streaked her blond hair with multiple colors, and traded her mini skirts for leather pants. She had even acquired a battered brown jacket. I had thought she was just another fangirl. I never realized she had been disguising herself as me to harvest my patch. No wonder the Genecops were on my ass lately.

"You all knew she was poaching, and didn't tell me?" I growled. The group of junkies shrank back. "I should take my goods elsewhere." A chorus of dismayed protests met my words, and I held up a hand.

"But I am a very forgiving businessman," I smiled sweetly. "I find myself in need of information." I held up a ready Zydrate gun. "Step right up, pretty birds, and sing. I want to know everything about the Bug and any rumors about any dark haired, young repo victims."

"You mean the Wallace girl look-alikes?" An Asian (this week) woman shuffled forward, her eyes locked on the Zydrate gun. "I seen him. He ripped a girl apart. I was hiding behind some crates when it happened. I couldn't move. I had to see the whole thing."

"Did he say anything?" I asked.

"He said, 'Daughter of a traitor, it's all your fault.' Then he killed her."

I pressed the gun to her jugular, and she slumped into Marco's arms.

"Bitsy got killed this morning," Liam the Amber Sweet tribute said quietly. "She was a waitress at the diner down the street. She said her payments were up to date, but he took her just before sunrise. It was bad." His eyes filled with tears, and Hermaphroditie hugged him to her ample bosom. I gently pressed the gun to his throat as well, and let the drug free him from his grief, at least for a while.

The rest of my customers bought their fixes quickly, and drifted away. I swung my satchel over my shoulder, and turned to Shilo.

"Let's go, kid," I sighed. "We've got everything we're going to get today."

An hour later, we sat across from each other on the sitting room floor, making headway into the cartons of Chinese food I had bought us. To my surprise, she had eagerly ordered extra hot kung pao chicken, and was currently chewing the chili peppers with almost obscene pleasure.

"I never got spicy food when I was younger," she explained. "My dad insisted on bland food. He said it was better for my disease. I think he was really actually worried about the aphrodisiac properties of some spicy dishes." I swallowed a mouthful of lo mein wrong, and began coughing. Shilo crawled to my side and began to beat my back. This close, I could smell the peach scented soap she used on her skin. I was suddenly aware of how grungy I was. Let's face it, in the scheme of things, new clothes and regular bathing don't rate very high on my to do list. I made a note to find a shower tonight.

"I'm good," I coughed, waving her back. "No need to beat me to death." She gave me a playful shove, and settled beside me, popping more peppers into her mouth.

"How do you know about aphrodisiacs?" I asked, getting my breath back. "I wouldn't think your dad would let you know about those sorts of things. You know, sex stuff."

"Medical books," she replied. "I have a few that touch on sexual matters. I doubt my dad knew. Besides, I had a tv in my room. And you did give me quite an education yourself the morning of the opera. The injection in the femoral artery in the upper thigh is a simulation for intercourse, right?"

I stared down at her, speechless, until I saw the smile playing at the corners of her mouth.

"Brat," I growled, spearing a piece of her chicken with my chopsticks.

"What am I going to do?" she said suddenly. Her face fell.

"We keep you safe until Geneco can catch him," I said. I speared another piece of chicken, and she jabbed me in the hand with her fork.

"Ow!" I protested, jerking my hand away. She popped the chicken into my mouth, and laughed.

"I'm not sure how we'll manage," she said. "But I'm glad you're here.