Max stepped inside the old building, appreciating the difference between the appearances of the outside and inside. She looked around, noticing that there was a men's room to the right, but no ladies room in sight. A large, gorgeous wooden staircase adorned the left wall, and dominated the space. The walls were a rich burgundy, accented with dark wood crowning and baseboards. All in all, it looked luxurious. The only thing that looked out of place was the flag at the top of the stairs, comprised of stripes of the colors of the rainbow.

The doorman noticed her pause as he arrived at the third step on the staircase. "Is there something wrong, miss?"

"Uh, no." She snapped herself out of her trance, "I just didn't expect it to be so nice in here."

"Yes, well, we get that a lot. If you'll follow me, miss, I'll take you to see Mr. Raymer." She followed, taking in every sight as she walked up the stairs. On the first landing, there was the flag, of course, in the corner she saw from the bottom, and in the other one, there was a faux-marble pedestal with a vase on it. Turning to see up the next set of steps (which lacked risers, ugh…). There was a small hallway, which had one men's room, and two other doors on the opposite side. The third set of steps, she thought as she reached the landing, must lead up to the main floor of the club. However, the doorman was knocking lightly on one of the unmarked doors.

"Come," A voice called from within, and the old man pressed the door open, standing aside for her to enter. What she stepped into was unmistakably the most over decorated offices she'd ever seen. Small items were everywhere, littering every surface, including the large oak desk in the center. Behind it sat a man, quite large and ugly, in a leather chair.

"Hi," She started, once again stunned by her environment, "I'm a Jam Pony messenger. I have a package for a Jakob Raymer?" She assumed he was Raymer, but she had to be sure.

"I am Jakob Raymer. You can set it down on the settee." She complied, and brought out her mini clipboard.

"Can I get you to sign this, please?" She asked, moving towards the large desk. He held out his hand impatiently. Slipping it into the outstretched, pudgy palm, she stepped back. He used his own pen to scribble his name in the blank provided, and pushed it back at her.

"Thanks." She hesitantly spoke, moving to leave the office.

"Oh, Miss?" He grumbled, "I'd appreciate it if you didn't talk about this place to anyone. There's a reason we're in the industrial sector." She turned back to him.

"Sure." She walked out and left, deciding it would be a good time to go visit Logan.

Alec stumbled back into Jam Pony, one hand pressing down on his opposite forearm. Blood stained his pale hands, and a small section of his shirt, where his injury was. Normal saw this, and rushed over.

"What happened?"

"Well, let's just say the cat our client owned didn't like me very much." He gave a small smile, trying to show that he was really okay.

"Come on over to the counter." Normal suggested. "I can get you bandaged up." Normally, Alec would have refused and done it himself, but he was bleeding more than he should. Man! That cat really clawed deep! Normal gently pulled back the ruined sleeve to reveal three long, gushing claw wounds. Alec hissed at the sensation, replacing his hand on his arm while his boss got out what he needed. It didn't really hurt too badly, but he needed to play it up for everyone else's sake.

Normal coated a square of thick gauze with disinfectant, and then hovered over Alec with it. His employ pulled his hand away quickly, allowing him to firmly place the bandaging on. He sealed it with tape from his first aid kit, and went to wash his hands.

"You're gonna need to go get stitches later." He called, on his way to the sink in the back. "For now," he spoke, walking back, "I think you should go home. If you get dizzy, go to the hospital, please. I don't need you passing out from the blood loss.

"Will do, Normal." He sighed, pulling himself away. "Oh, and thanks." He meant it in earnest, flashing his signature grin before making his exit. Well, he though, I guess Logan gets me back early, then.

Max stormed in, not bothering to be her stealthy usual self. "Raymer's an ass."

"Uh, yeah. What are you doing here?" Logan rounded the corner, accustomed to hearing her voice following the sounds of a break in.

"I just delivered a package to that club you're going to. It was supposed to be Alec's package, but he asked me to switch to keep his cover. Anyways, he couldn't even spare a moment to look at me when I gave him the damn package!" She fumed.

"Yeah, he doesn't really play nicely with people he doesn't know, unless they have connections to people he does. Do you know what was in the package?"

"No. It was pretty heavy, though."

"Think I can get you to break in tonight and find out?" He requested.

"Sure. I'll take care of it."

"Take care of what?" Alec's voice startled them both, as he was assumed to still be at work. Instead, he was clutching his arm, looking at both of them like everything was business as usual.

"The package you were supposed to deliver to Raymer. I wanna know what's in it. What happened to your arm?" He clarified and inquired, all in one breath. Max looked a bit confused as well.

"I don't think I really owe you for that package, Maxie, because the second that old lady opened her door, her cat attacked me. By the way, Normal thinks I need stitches."

"Alright, fair enough. But how'd it claw you deeply enough for stitches?" He through up his uninjured arm, a gesture he regretted immediately, due to the loss of pressure on his other arm.

"I have no idea. I guess it probably smelled me and thought I was another cat, trying to get into its territory or something."

"I wonder if your little incident with that other X-5 screwed with your pheromones a bit." Logan thought aloud, walking over to his computer to look for answers.

"That would make sense, if I were still afflicted, but I'm better now."

"What are you guys talking about?" Max pried, a bit suspicious. Alec decided to answer, hoping she would be able to shed some light on his situation, despite its personal nature.

"At the club the other night, they had a female X-5 as a barmaid. She was going into heat; I could smell it. For some reason, my body overreacted to it. It's never happened before, and it kind of freaked me out."

"I assume you didn't blow your cover by jumping her?" She asked.

"No, I rushed off to the bathroom, and Logan told everyone I was sick. He took me home, and then I jumped him." Funny how suddenly this is home. Max's eyebrows shot up, as she tried to scrub the mental image out of her head.

"Well, I'm glad you seemed to have resolved it, but I've never heard of something like that."

"Yeah, nor have I."

"Oh crap." Logan cursed from the other room.

"What?" the two transgenics spoke simultaneously.

"I think I know why Alec reacted like he did to the female transgenic."