Session fourteen:

Ed reached into Ein's bowl and plucked out a piece of kibble, examining it at all angles. Her tongue stuck out of her mouth as she turned it. With a shake of her head, she dropped it back in the bowl and selected another, equally scrutinizing it. She smiled and shut one eye. With the flick of her wrist she sent it spinning through the air through her target.

Ein's tags jangled as he lept into the air and snapped up the piece a few feet out of the exit hole. He licked his lips and danced around in a circle, bowing down in the front.

Clapping, Ed sang out, "Eeeeeeyyyyaaaahhh!" She stuck her tongue out again as she selected another piece of kibble and gave it a good whip. It shot straight through the hole and into the corgi's mouth.

Setting up for another one, she grinned. The second she released it, Jet growled and slapped his hand over the hole in his synthetic arm, blocking her shot. Instead, he fired off a glare that sent her scuttling back.

"That's not funny, Ed!" Jet grabbed a strip of fabric and tied it around the arm.

She edged up closer on all fours, scrunching up her nose. "Are you mad?"

"No." He folded his arms across his chest and huffed.

"Are you mad cause Spike-person made a hole in you?"

"Grrr!" His eyebrow twitched.

Ein barked pointedly at her. She cocked her head. "Ein says you can fix it. No big deal."

Jet brought a fist down on the table. "Who says it's a big deal? Nobody said anything about it being anything. Just stop using it to feed Ein!"

Eyeing him over her magazine, Faye shook her head. "Face it, you've been grumpy ever since you came back. This is what happens when men get all self-centered and think they can do it all. If you'd called me I could have been there. Maybe then you wouldn't have a whistle every time there is a breeze."

Jet scowled at her.

"I'm not surprised. You men are such babies. It's no wonder that you choked on the trigger."

"Oh? And you think you could have done it?"

Faye closed the magazine and set it on the table. She fixed him with a dull stare, but behind her eyes boiled images of Spike with his hands all over that floozy. "Shot that lunkhead? I would have emptied my clip into him."

"Fine. You think you can get to him? The next lead we get I'll send your ass out there." He spread his hands wide in frustration. "I'm telling you, that wasn't the Spike we know standing there. The look in his eyes … it was cold, brutal."

Faye stiffened, her eyes widened. "Vicious?"

"Something happened. He's not the same guy."

She forced herself to shake it off. "You've been with him for years, Jet. This is beyond odd … and yet, he did drop everything and blow up the syndicate he was once loyal too. So … maybe … "

When she didn't continue, Jet cocked his head. "Maybe what?"

"Maybe you didn't really understand him."

"That much, Faye? I find that hard to believe."

She narrowed her eyes. "Honestly, so do I. You know, he did hit his head a lot. Maybe it's some kind of concussion that rattled his wits. So if we use Spike's logic we just hit him real hard for a reset."

Ed slunk along the back of a couch like a panther. "Grrr … we sneaks up and then we pounce!" She flung herself from the top and landed on Ein. The poor alarmed dog squealed and scrambled out of her grip. He tore down the hallway and vanished.

Jet slouched in the chair. "Well, I can tell you the only meal he'll get from me when I see him next is a knuckle sandwich! And I'll make sure my arm gets the revenge shot!"

The in-coming call alert popped up. Jet rammed the button and shouted, "What?"

From the screen, Bob blinked widened eyes. "Uhh, is this a bad time?"

Faye shook her head and sighed. "Lately when isn't it?"

"Good point." Bob rested his chin on his palm. "Well, I got news."

"What kind of news? Good or bad?" Jet folded his arms across his chest.

"The kind we've been specializing in of late. Dismal. That guy you came across, the dealer. Did he look like this?" An on-file perp photo appeared on the screen of Iggy.

"Yeah, that's the hapless piece of shit alright."

Bob frowned. "Well, then it's a was. A beat cop down by the docks found pieces of him this morning, not far from the warehouse you uncovered. The stock within there wasn't the high grade. Looks like it was a low-quality reserve. Nothing scored close to the red in the gauge."

"That means they gotta have another place." Jet rubbed his beard. "Somewhere for the premium."

"And likely Iggy wasn't let in on that. But I still don't like what we're seeing. This is going beyond a small operation. Best I can gauge Spike is aiming at a big score. And you know what that means, Jet."

He grit his teeth. "If it comes to that I want to pull the trigger."

"He's your partner."

"Ex-partner."