"Oh shit," I whispered. "This can't be good." As I watched the situation unfold, though, it turned out to be a lot different than I expected. Joanne and Collins turned around to face the guys with smiles on their faces. They said something and the guys laughed, and one of them did some sort of fist handshake with Collins. Collins nodded his head, put his arm around Joanne's waist, and walked away as the other two guys turned around and walked back into the bar.

Mark and I headed over to Joanne and Collins. "How did it go?" Mark asked.

Collins laughed. "A lot better than I thought."

"Maybe it helped that you were a bit high before we went in," remarked Joanne. "In any case, we made a deal with our buddy in there."

"Nick's a pretty cool guy," interrupted Collins.

"If you don't count the fact that all of his business transactions are illegal," Joanne pointed out.

"Well of course you would say that, you're a damn lawyer."

"Shut up." She gave him an evil eye. I had a random thought: they would be an interesting couple if Joanne wasn't a lesbian. I held in my laugh.

Mark replied, "So everything's set up?"

Joanne nodded. "Yeah, we're actually moving in on Max pretty soon. Apparently Nick was looking for an opportunity to do something to his brother for a pretty long time. This was very convenient for him."

"Hmm, what happens if he finds out you're not a hooker…?" I wondered.

Mark put a hand on my shoulder. "Let's not let him find out, okay? Look, we have to do this one thing at a time. But I know this for sure: we're going to get Mimi back."

"Yeah, he even mentioned her," said Collins. "Said that she was the reason why Joanne wasn't getting any business."

"Nick said that?"

"Yep." Collins began to dig around his jacket, probably for a joint or something. "He even said he would do the same thing his brother was, but girls aren't worth the trouble."

"Oh, and guns and drugs are?" I asked. "How ironic."

"You're telling me," said Mark. "All right, everything's ready then. When is Nick taking care of his brother?"

"Tuesday," answered Joanne.

I raised my eyebrows. "That's cutting it close. Max and Mimi were supposed to leave Wednesday."

By now Collins had found his stash. He took out a joint and lit it, then shrugged his shoulders. "Hey man, it's the best we can do." He puffed smoke into the empty night air.

"I just hope it's good enough."

"Me too," agreed Mark. "Come on, let's go home. Let Nick do his thing."

******************************************************

Back at our place, Mark and I were sitting in the dark (damnit Benny, get the lights fixed). We were both sitting with our thoughts, until Mark spoke up. "You okay?"

"Yeah. Just worried about Mimi."

"I know. There's only so much we can do."

"Well, I could fight Max again."

"No, I don't think that's a great idea."

I rolled my eyes. "What do you suggest then,

That I forget Mimi again?

I've found her,

I've almost got her home—

There's nothing that's going

To keep me alone—

I love Mimi with my heart

And there's no way I'll let us be apart."

Mark stood up. "I know, Mark,

But you've told me that before.

Sorry if I don't believe you.

One minute you want to forget her name,

The next day you just aren't the same.

I know you love her,

But it's a strange thing—

That all of a sudden you give a damn

And you cling

To that last hope in your heart—

In our hearts—

That we will be like we were before.

Don't you know how long it's been?

Don't you know there's more

To this story of our lives?

Roger, our life is short enough. Don't make it shorter with stupid decisions."

"What the hell, man? I thought you were supporting me on this," I shot back.

"I was just thinking about how you suddenly cared about Mimi all over again. Now we're all risking our necks for her."

"Man, just stop it. If you don't want to help, then don't. But I'm not leaving her behind again."

Mark stared at me. "Fine. I'm already in this, but just be careful." He headed to his room.

I sat there, staring off into space. What the heck was that all about? I know Mark explained it but it didn't make sense that he would mention this now. Guess he was still jealous that I was getting a girl and he wasn't. No, that wasn't Mark. He wasn't like that.

I turned my head and looked at the door to his room. What was going on?