Hello! Sorry it took a while to upload a new chapter. I've been super busy at work, especially during this time of the year =S. I hope this new chapter was worth the wait!!
The inside of Maroni's house seemed much more vast than the outside would have let on. The room Crane, Tatiana, Joker & Dan now found themselves in was long and spacious, facing the river, with soft white walls and minimalist furniture. There was a chair here and there and a singular bookcase next to the glass desk where Maroni sat at, in a large leather chair. On the walls behind the desk were certificates, which Crane were positive were forgeries, as they apparently made Maroni one of the members of the Board of Trustees for CIGNA health insurance, as the company had offices in the city. Crane figured it was his cover.
Maroni was on the phone with someone. Tatiana had taken a seat on the nearest chair and was busying herself texting rapidly on her cell phone. The clicking of the buttons was sufficiently annoying. Joker was sitting in the other chair, looking bored. Dan was gazing out the window and was checking his Blackberry periodically for the time. Maroni was still on the phone when Evan Terrett quietly came in, looking confused.
"Evan, I'm glad you made it," Crane whispered.
"What's happening?"
"I don't know," Crane lied. "It keeps getting crazier by the second."
Maroni hung up. "Well, that was Meza," he said. "They're down at the funeral home, and by the looks of it, there are no signs of a forced entry or break-in. Apparently, they only noticed the body missing this morning." He paused.
"They may be pro, but their rank and file are still merely street thugs."
"That doesn't really help us," Dan said.
Maroni nodded. "They're going to question everyone there."
"Can't dey see any security footage?" Tatiana asked.
"They wouldn't have security cameras in the funeral home, at least, not in the places like the mortuary or crematorium," Joker answered.
Dan nodded.
"Evan, you're here," Maroni said, finally taking notice of him. "Good."
"What do you need me for?" Evan asked.
Out of the corner of his eye, Crane saw Joker motion to him that he was going to leave. As swift and silent as a shadow, he was gone.
"Crane tells me you have much expertise in the area of Shakespeare," Maroni said. "I was hoping that you could help us protect ourselves by putting together a list of all the deaths in Shakespeare's plays. Can't be too careful, now," he said before Evan had a chance to question him.
"Well," Evan said, scratching his head, "you should probably be on the lookout for knives and ear poison, but I figure that always kinda … goes without saying, you know?"
Tatiana chortled.
"I'm busy with school and stuff a lot, though," Evan said. "I don't know how early I can get this made."
"I understand," Maroni said, "but as soon as ... humanely possible, would be ideal."
"I'll do my best, sir," Evan said.
Maroni then turned his attention to Crane. "Jonathan," he said. "How's it, er … how's the research coming along?"
Crane caught on. "It's doing alright, sir. I've hit a bit of a roadblock however -"
Maroni gave him a look.
"However, he is going to come vork vith me tomorrow," Tatiana stepped in.
Crane sighed and for the first time, was grateful to have the Bulgarian around.
"Alright." Maroni sighed and checked his watch. "Great scot, look at the time! I have to be at a meeting at the hospital in half an hour! Gentlemen, I'm sorry, but I really must be off."
"No problem, sir," Dan said. Maroni dashed out of the room, followed much more casually by the group.
Crane put a hand on Evan's shoulder. "Hey kid, if you need help, gimme a shout, okay?"
"That's very generous of you," Evan said. "But …"
"But what?"
"There's something about this that doesn't make sense to me," Evan said. "I mean, this poor girl was just a simple pharmacist, right?"
Crane was puzzled for a moment. Then, he caught Dan's eye, who stared at him forcefully and nodded. Crane understood and felt abjectly sorry for the kid.
"Yeah," he said.
"Who would have a personal vendetta against the hospital?" Evan asked. "And who would take it this far? This just seems strange to me."
"It is for all of us," Crane said as the group exited the house.
"Hi Evan," Tatiana said as she walked up to the two men.
"Hey," he said. "I'm really sorry all of this has happened to your friend."
She was quiet for a second, then said, "yeah, it's awful."
"Did you work with her?"
"Kind of," Tatiana lied.
"Are you a pharmacist as well, or are you a doctor, or …. What do you do?"
Tatiana gave Crane a puzzled look, but evidently caught on and quickly said, "I vork as a naturopathic doctor."
"Oh, so you work with herbs and stuff."
"Yeah, like … marijuana."
"That's cool, I guess."
"Do you need some?"
"No, I don't smoke."
Crane could tell Tatiana looked a bit put out. But she quickly recovered and said, "oi. I'm hungry. Vanna go grab a bite?"
"Nah, I've got to get to my friends' place. He's having a party," Evan answered. He was quiet for a moment as well, but then his face lit up. "Maybe you would like to come with me? I can introduce you to a lot of cool people. I don't imagine you've had time for a lot of socializing. And I'm pretty sure Ziya has a Bulgarian friend as well. Maybe he'll be there."
Tatiana smiled coyly. "Sure, sounds like fun," she said. "Crane, I'm going vith dis guy."
"Yeah, I know that, I've been standing here this entire time."
She leaned in close to his ear. "Come to the apartment tomorrow. I'll show you how to make crystal," she whispered.
Before Crane could thank her, she walked off with Evan towards his silver car. He looked around for Joker and found him sitting in the back of the escort vehicle. Crane got in beside him.
"Where's the bitch?" Joker asked.
"She's going with Evan to a party," Crane answered. "Probably figures she can make a couple hundred bucks. But if his crowd are anything like him, I'd doubt it."
Joker chuckled. "I know what you mean. The kid defines innocent. Oh well, you know what they say," he said as the car sped off. "Ignorance is bliss."
"I dunno if I'd call him ignorant," Crane said. "I'd say naïve. He's a sharp kid, but lacking in street smarts. You know, his brother has got him thinking that the whole family is really a group that works for the hospital. Tatiana told him she was a naturopathic doctor."
"And in a way, she is."
Crane couldn't help but laugh.
"Remember how I told you that if Maroni gets smoked, Dan Terrett would be next in line to control the business?" Joker asked.
"Yeah, why?"
"Well, I've been thinking," Joker said. "I wouldn't put it past him to kill for power. The guy strikes me as a total sleaze bag."
"That's saying a lot, coming from you."
"Oh, and you're one to talk, Scarecrow," Joker snarled. "Before you start pointing fingers, make sure your own hands are clean."
Crane thought for a moment. "Your theory may be valid. There's nothing yet to disprove it. But one thing about that doesn't make sense to me. If you're correct and it is Dan, why would he have such an obvious M.O. that even his own brother could figure out? I imagine he'd be smarter than that. Besides, he doesn't strike me as an English literature buff."
"You never know," Joker said. "You get weirdos in every breed. Although I questioned that as well. What if he is trying to gain power whilst framing the Padovanni's for all of this? Two birds with one stone."
"But why would he start with just a drug dealer? Dan doesn't work with that kinda stuff. My understanding is that he works with selling organs on the black market."
"Maybe starting from the bottom and working his way up would be his pattern to throw off suspicion. They say Izzy was killed sometime in the early hours of the morning, right? That would give him ample time to kill her and clean up before anyone saw him."
Crane bit his lip. "You may be onto something here. But like you said earlier - I'd wait for the M.O."
"So would I," Joker agreed. "It's just something that has been on my mind. I don't trust the guy."
"I don't know if I trust him either," Crane said.
The escort car turned around a corner. "Let us off here," Crane said. The two didn't want to draw attention to the warehouse where they were staying - which was presumed empty and abandoned - so they made a habit of walking the few extra blocks for safety's sake.
The car had let them off beside an alley which was close to a nightclub. The addicts were out in full force tonight, and by the light of the streetlamps, Crane watched as a dirty shirtless man shot up right in the crook of his elbow. Crane shuddered. He was never a big fan of needles. Trypanophobia - fear of injections.
Joker was walking ahead of Crane fearlessly down the alley. The place reeked of stale piss and blood. There was a large garbage dumpster nearby and a rusted, abandoned car further down the alley. The back door to the nightclub opened up here, and Crane could hear the bass of the music thumping deeply. The two men were walking along in silence when they heard the door to the club open behind them. They wouldn't have given it a second thought, and kept on walking until they heard one of the men coming out of the club say, "fuckin' Maroni."
Joker and Crane dashed behind the dumpster and crouched. They heard the men say something inaudible; then the click of a lighter. Quietly, Crane reached inside his coat and pulled his Scarecrow mask over his face. He was glad he had decided to bring it with him today.
"I can't believe what they did with Izzy," one of the men said.
"What happened?"
"You guys didn't hear about this?" the other asked incredulously. There was a quiet moment where Crane assumed they were taking a drag. "Apparently, one of their guys broke into the crematorium and stole her body."
"What?! You're kidding!"
"Nope."
"Who the fuck do they think they are?" another one asked.
"How're Giamarri and Lorenzo doing?" said another, changing the subject after another silence.
Crane heard one of the men exhale. "Still in bad condition. Doc has no idea what got 'em. Says they're in a minimally conscious state, whatever the fuck that's supposed to mean. I think they might have OD'd and ended up in a nasty K-hole."
"K-holes don't usually last that long, though."
"I know. But, I have nothing else."
"Do they think they're ever gonna come out of it?"
"They dunno what to think. Worst comes to worst, we might hafta send them over to the funny farm."
"Poor guys."
One of the men took a sharp breath. "Let's go back in," he said. Crane and Joker waited for another moment until all was silent once more, and they shared a look.
The two men mulled over this development for the rest of night, barely catching a wink of sleep. Even so, as they made their way up to the Bulgarian's apartment around high noon the next day, they were bursting to tell her what they had overheard. Crane felt as if his skin would split open and it would all come flying out of him if he didn't tell her.
If it hadn't been for her bright hair, Tatiana would have been nearly unrecognizable. Her face was as bare as a nuns' and her hair was held up in a pink bandanna a la Rose the Riveter. She had a few sunspots dotting her cheeks and nose. It was almost a shock to see her without makeup.
Her apartment was roomy and spacious and on the upper levels of the building. There was a wide glass window that offered a spectacular view of the city's designer skyline. The main room was almost empty, save for a kidney-shaped coffee table and a loveseat. The walls were the colour of champagne. The room opened up to the kitchen, which was also minimal in decoration; a coffee pot, CD player and a toaster on one shelf and a small circular table at the far end, with the pages of a fashion magazine opened up on it. There were numerous fans on everywhere throughout the apartment.
If one didn't know better, one would have never thought this was the home of a drug trafficker.
Tatiana led the men past a room opposite the bedroom. There were two long tables set up, with rows upon rows of plants growing in pots upon them, sitting under warming lights. At the far end of the hall was an unused bathroom, that was also very generous in space. There were a couple fans blowing air outside into the hall, with the door open. There were bottles of drain cleaner and driveway cleaner, a can of starting fluid and about a dozen Bezenedrex nasal inhalers. There were also two large eye droppers, ten small glass bowls, one large porcelain bowl, some coffee filters; one small jar with a top, a baking dish and a glass test tube. It looked as if she had already started because the glass jar had about three ounces of ether in it.
"So, what are you making here?"
"Meth," was her simple answer. "I mean, real crystal. This is the real shit that Hitler gave to his troops to make them fight for days on end."
The men nodded.
"I hear you're trying to put your fear toxin into a crystal form," Tatiana said to Crane. "I figured you vould already know, but since you evidently, do not, I vill show you. It's not hard."
"Chemistry isn't really my strongest suit," Crane said.
"Come on. Help me vith this stuff," Tatiana said. She instructed them to break open the inhalers and guided them through the process.
"So vat did you guys get up to last night?" she asked, putting on a pair of rubber gloves.
"We almost ran into the Padovanni's," Crane said.
"We heard some stuff," Joker added.
"Like vat?"
The two men shared a look, as to decide who would tell the story. Joker started and retold, in great detail, about what they had overheard, as well as his misgivings about Dan Terrett. Tatiana was silent throughout the story, although she was flitting around the bathroom busily. Crane only had to stop him once to add in an extra detail. When they were done their story, Tatiana remained silent. She pouted and bit her lip.
"So - what does this tell you?"
Tatiana pondered. "A lot of things, actually," she replied. "They obviously think that the cosa nostra is behind this. Which means that Izzy must haff been doing business vith them as vell. Or else it vouldn't make sense. Remember how those two goons showed up at her place after ve arrived? And if they think that ve did it, then ve either haff a Stand Alone Complex at vork or a neutral third party that held a grudge against Izzy. It's also possible that one of the Padovanni's didn't know her, and simply may have gotten into a tumble vith her over a deal. Knowing their numbers, it's possible someone just didn't know she was an associate. The same could also be said for our people, although I'd like to think ve're all smarter than that."
"It's certainly not outside the realms of possibility," Crane agreed.
"A stand alone complex," Joker pondered. "You mean, a copycat?"
Tatiana nodded. "Although I'd place the probability of that low as vell. Usually, stand alone complexes involve similar but unrelated behaviour by unconnected individuals that creates a seemingly coordinated effort."
"So, a group like Anonymous would be a stand alone complex?" Crane asked. "Copycats without an original."
She nodded again. "But the likelihood that this crime has been done by separate individuals is unlikely as vell. My guess is that ve have someone outside the two family's who did this."
Crane agreed, although the thought of having another person to watch his back for was disconcerting.
"What about Dan?" Joker asked.
Tatiana thought for a second. "It's an interesting thought. I vouldn't put it past the guy. It would be a clever vay to not only get power but possibly eliminate his enemies in the Padovanni's. Truth be told, I don't know if I'd rather haff to vatch out for someone in our own Family or a stranger who could be anybody. Both ideas bug me. Here, gimme that bottle."
Joker passed her a bottle, and she poured the ether into it. She capped it and started shaking it. "How was the party last night?" Crane asked, changing the subject after an uncomfortable silence.
"Meh, it vos okay," Tatiana said.
"Were the kids nice?" Joker asked teasingly.
Tatiana shrugged.
"Did you make any friends?"
"Blondie was cool," she said. "I sold her a small bag of veed and ve smoked a bit in the garage. She has a pipe named Jafar. I only made about thirty bucks," she scowled. "Ve all - vell, except for Evan - got drunk and partied and listened to music." She paused for a moment. "Who is Davey Havok and vy is she so sad?" she asked.
Crane shook his head. "So Evan doesn't even have a drink at his own friends' party?"
"Nope," she said. "Kid is as straight as a board. He makes me feel like Mrs. Robinson, he's so goddamned innocent. Seriously, I feel like I should give him some cookies and milk and then ask him if he's ever seen a naked woman before."
That made the two laugh. "I know what you mean," Joker said. "You're a juvenile cougar."
Even Tatiana laughed. "It's a shame. He's kinda cute."
Joker laughed this time. "Aha! I see your ulterior motives."
"I'm not even going to dignify that vith an answer," Tatiana said. She stopped shaking the bottle. "Come," she said to Crane," now I'll show you how to make crystals." She led them into the kitchen and put the solution in the bottle onto a Pyrex dish and put it on the stove on low heat.
"This evaporates the vater and vot's left are the solidified chemicals," she told them. "You can see for yourself vith all kinds of mixtures - even salt vater."
"Ahh, I see," Crane said. "So then, it wouldn't work with a gas? Only a liquid."
Tatiana nodded. Joker was wandering throughout the apartment while Tatiana and Crane were waiting for the mixture to evaporate; and once he was sufficiently bored of the place, Joker resigned himself to the kitchen table closely.
"Vould you guys like something to drink?" Tatiana asked. "I have beer, vater, Stoli, etcetera."
"A beer would be fine," Crane said. She went over to the fridge and pulled out three cold bottles. She set one in front of Joker, who must have been excruciatingly bored, as he was now mindlessly flipping through the magazine. Tatiana chuckled at this. Joker closed the magazine.
"I don't need their smelly sex tips," he grumbled, opening the bottle and taking a swig.
Tatiana chortled. "I'm sorry it's so boring up here, but when I'm here, I'm usually vorking or sleeping. I spend most of my time out."
"How did you get this place, anyway?" Crane asked.
"Maroni knows the superintendent. He pulled a few strings for me," she answered as she took a sip.
"You get this castle in the sky and we get a fucking warehouse?" Joker asked. "What is this tomfoolery?"
"I'm special," Tatiana said with a smug smile. She then noticed that the solution was close to being almost completely gone. In the dish was now a small supply of colourless crystals.
"And that's how you do it," she said to Crane.
"Interesting. I'll definitely try this technique with my solution."
"Vell, I'm glad I could be of some assistance," Tatiana said. "Vanna try some? I don't like injecting because I think needles are icky, but I haff a few Yaa-baa pills somewhere we could ingest."
Crane looked at Joker. "I'm game," Joker said. "You?"
"Fuck it, sure," Crane replied after a moment. Tatiana got up and went into another room. They heard her shuffling round, mumbling something inaudible in Bulgarian before returning with three brightly coloured tablets. She put one tablet into each man's hand.
"Ready?" she asked, a pink pill sitting in her open palm. "On the count of three. Edno. Dve. Treeh!"
They threw their heads back and popped the pills in their mouths, chasing it with the beer.
"How long does it take to work?" Crane asked after a moment.
"About half an hour," Tatiana answered. "I'll put on some music." The CD player was behind her, so without looking, she turned it on and it started playing some Bulgarian dance music. While waiting for their high, Tatiana showed them her room dedicated to growing marijuana. She affectionately had named her own personal plant Bulbasaur.
"I gotta take a piss," Joker said.
"Second on the left," Tatiana said. She turned to Crane and laughed, supposedly for no reason. Her pupils had gone wide. She giggled and ran her fingers through his hair. The way her fingers pulled through his hair felt a thousand times better to him than usual. Her nails scratched gently against his scalp. The sensations were hyper real. Crane felt like a cat when he pushed his head into her nails.
"Your hair is so soft," she said to him.
"Your nails feel so good," Crane said. "It feels like - you know when you're get checked for head lice? It's like that but a million times better."
Tatiana giggled again. Her hand trailed down the side of his face and under his chin. She brought his face up and close to hers and swiftly kissed him. Crane didn't pull away. Her lips felt much more soft and pillowy then they actually were. He felt a heavy pelvic twinge and kissed her back. Tatiana pulled him closer to her and wrapped her arms over his shoulders. He could never hope to properly word what it felt like to him. It would be like trying to explain what blue is to a blind man, or what bird song is to a deaf man.
The two fell to the floor. At that moment, Joker emerged from the bathroom, took one look at the two and laughed. To him, the high was similar to a rush of caffeine. "I'm gonna go have my own fun, then," he said. He pulled his collar up around his face. "Have fun, kids," he said, and with that, he left.
The beers went lukewarm and flat as Tatiana and Crane got to know each other better on the floor.
