SEVEN

.

Kato looked up as the door to the tiny office opened. "No," he said smartly. "I need your laptop for a few more minutes."

Britt closed the door softly, making no move to approach the desk. "Look, bro…" he sighed. "I'm sorry, ok? I'm sorry I locked the garage. I'm sorry I forgot you had to get your bike. I'm sorry I screwed up with the blanks and the DA and… just… everything."

Kato paused his hands on the keyboard. His jaw stuck out. But he did not look up.

"From now on I'll let Lenore check all the plans, ok?" Britt added.

"Why now?"

Britt sighed. "I just spoke to Mike. He says one of our journos got the scoop about the DA being dead last night - not just eye witnesses but photographs - actual graphic evidence of a dead DA."

"So? So what?"

"So?" he gasped, coming forward and putting his hands out. "Do you realise what that means?"

"It means Sapphire will believe the DA is really dead."

"No! Well - yes, that too! But it means Lenore spent all last night making up a story - then she fed it to a low-level reporter and faked all the evidence! For us!"

"You mean for you. You and your big plan."

"No, dude! For us!" He leant his hands on the desk, towering over both the laptop and Kato. "I'm sorry, man. I thought you should get happy for a change. And I actually believed… I mean I thought I could…"

Kato glanced up, saw the vulnerable look on Britt's face, and quickly slapped his eyes back on the keyboard. "It wasn't a… bad plan," he muttered. "It just… Well… Lenore would have not used blanks."

"Yeah," Britt sighed.

"Some of this is my fault."

"What? No."

"I thought Lenore knew about your plan - but she didn't. That wasn't the plan she was working on. I should have asked her."

"Ok, so we both messed up," Britt said miserably. "But we got the DA."

"We did get the DA," he nodded.

"And you got a date."

"And Sapphire will not try to kill yours," he said. He looked up. "What did Lenore say to do next?"

"What did she tell you to do?"

"I have to stop you doing anything until she tells us what to do."

Britt smiled ruefully. "Sounds like a good plan to me." He bounced his knuckles on the table, then stood straight. "So what you looking at?"

"Nothing."

"Aw come on, maybe I could help. I do know like everyone in the city who does stuff."

"It's ok. I want to find something on my own."

"You do everything on your own, man," Britt whined. "Come on, just once - trust me."

Kato looked up. "I trust you, Britt."

"You do?" he asked critically.

"I trust you… to be you." He closed apps and then the lid of the laptop, getting up. "I need coffee, and then I will be awake enough to take my bike home."

"Yeah I'm bailing too. I need to go make sure our guest is still ok in the wine cellar."

"Don't even open the door," Kato warned, pointing at him.

"I won't."

"I'm serious! Lenore will hurt us both if you do."

Britt chuckled. "I know she will. I'm just going to make sure the door's still bolted from the outside and the safe-room lock is still engaged."

Kato yawned, ran a hand over his face, and picked up his phone. "I call you when Lenore tells me what we do next. I need some sleep."

"Take a bagel from the break room," Britt said. "Eat it for me. You're wasting away."

"I'll eat two," Kato said, heading out of the office.

Britt waited until he was gone. Then he opened up the laptop, opened the web browser, and went to the most recently used page. He frowned in confusion. "Radar-reflective… car bodywork paint? Whoa - he really is a genius."

.

.

Kato's fingers juggled with cups, grinding filters and switches as if the coffee machine could produce a Chopin masterpiece. Just as he was flicking the last switch a voice made him jump.

"Hi."

He spun, knocking an empty mug off the side with his elbow. A twirl and a reach had him snatching the cup out of midair. He froze with it cradled in his palm.

"And that is possibly the fastest thing I've ever seen," Amy said brightly. "Morning."

"Hi," he said, turning deliberately slowly and putting the cup down. "You - uh - want coffee?"

"Well I certainly didn't come down here for the fresh air," she said. She leant against the other side of the counter top, watching him move his now full cup of coffee to one side and reset switches, empty some filters, and find ingredients. "Did you get home ok last night?"

"Eventually."

She nodded. "I… was worried. You didn't… well, you didn't text me."

His head came round the side of the machine and his eyes met hers, larger and rounder than she remembered. "I should text you?"

"Well no - not if you don't want to," she said. "I just… With everything crazy that happened last night, I just… It would have been nice to know you were ok."

"Sorry," he said wincing. "A lot happened."

"It's ok," she said, somewhat quietly.

He continued to look at her for a long moment. Then he went back to the coffee machine. "Mocha today?"

"Hmm… Yes please. But with milk this time."

It went quiet until eventually his hand appeared round the side, offering her the coffee mug. She looked down at it, seeing the ripple pattern on the surface and smiling. She reached for it but he pulled it back slightly, making her look at him.

"I'm sorry I didn't text you," he said with distinct discomfort. "I didn't know… I didn't think anyone would worry about me."

Her smile died. "I get it." She took the coffee mug, smelling it and letting her smile come back out to play. "This is amazing."

"It's a good coffee machine."

"And you're good at using it." She sipped it and grinned. "Perfect."

Someone came into the break room and Kato picked up his mug, moving out of the way. Amy put her hand through his elbow and pulled him along, out of the emergency exit at the back of the room. They found themselves on a patch of grass, looking up at the sun.

"So I was thinking of where to go for our next date," she said.

"You… still want a next date? With me?"

She gasped in surprise. "Well of course! We didn't finish our discussion on literary classics and how they shape society through subconscious exposure."

"What?"

She grinned. "Reading volumes of the same ongoing graphic novel since you were a kid and wanting to be a warrior in ancient China."

"Oh," he allowed, smiling at his feet for a moment. He looked back at her. "Where do you want to go?"

"How are you at bowling?"

"Bowling?" he asked, surprised.

"Yes. I'm terrible, so no pressure," she grinned. "Want to go sometime?"

"Yes," he urged with a smile. "I know a good place."

"You already go? That's not fair - you'll be better than me."

"I'm very bad. But my friends are better, so we can both be bad at bowling but good at watching them," he said with a cheeky smile.

She chuckled, leaning back against the wall. "Yes we can."

"You want to go with them or just us?"

"Hmm… do I want to meet some of your friends…?" she mused. "Yes, yes I do. When do we go?"

"Uh - weekend. No office in the morning," he said.

"Well it is my turn to get a weekend off, so… Good idea. I think after last night I need a few days just to do boring things. Then when we go out I'll feel normal again."

"Friday?"

"Friday," she nodded. "Oh no wait - I have a thing Friday. How about… Thursday? Then it's only a Friday at work until weekend freedom."

"Ok - Thursday," he nodded.

"Cab or your bike?"

"Mmm - bike."

"Agreed." She sipped her coffee, then sighed in satisfaction. "Seriously - this is good."

He looked at her over the rim of his mug. "As long as you like it."

"I really do." She sipped again. "So you never did finish the story - what happened to the orphan and the son? In the graphic novel?"

"Oh, they are many volumes," he said. "So many things happen."

"Like what?"

He smiled, and she settled into smelling her coffee and listening to him explain stories of far away lands in a way that made his eyes light up as if he were there.

.

.

Lenore sat back, closing her eyes for just a moment. She felt her head dip and snapped it back upright. "I need sleep," she moaned, getting up from her working-from-home desk and looking at the far door to her bedroom longingly. She sighed and made herself go instead to the coffee pot still innocently catching drips from her tiny machine on the kitchen counter.

Her phone buzzed. She poured out her coffee first, leaving it black and sweetener-free. Then she made the effort to cross the kitchen and pick up the offending article.

'Britt Reid

1 message'

"Why haven't I changed your name to 'asshole'?" she muttered, opening the message.

'Haven't opened door to cellar. Think she's ok. Do I give her food?'

She rolled her eyes, then pressed the phone symbol next to the text. It rang and rang, finally giving a click. "Britt?"

"Hey!"

"Stop talking and listen," she said evenly. "Has she had anything since last night?"

"Nothing! I swear!"

"Then take her like a litre of water and something simple, like bread. Do not let her see you and do not speak - not one word, do you hear me?"

"Alright! Ok! I'll do it!"

"Good. Text me when it's done. And do not take her to the bathroom. Leave her a bucket and some toilet paper."

"What? Hey - she's a classy broad, she shouldn't—"

"I guarantee she'll try to escape, Britt. Just do it." She waited but he didn't speak. "Ok?"

"Yeah, ok - got it," he said, sounding crestfallen.

She sighed. "I'm sorry if I snapped. But I was up literally all night knocking up a cover story for you and proving the DA was dead."

"And you were awesome! Oh my god you were awesome!" he cried. "I can't believe you, Lenore! You just made all that shit up from like nowhere! I am so impressed!"

"And you're lucky I'm on your side," she said. "Gotta go. Water, bread, bucket. Ok?"

"Got it. I won't do a single other thing without your say-so."

"Thank you." She cut the call, putting the phone down. She looked at her watch, then picked up the phone again. She texted quickly with her thumb, already sipping the coffee but knowing it was not going to perk her up one bit. She pressed Send and let the phone fall to the table, turning away for the laptop.

It buzzed. She huffed and turned back, picking it up.

Under her message was another one. She read them both.

'Did you text Amy? Is she ok?'

The answer underneath made her grin: 'She said we go bowling on Thursday.'

Her thumb went over the keys. 'Good. Now don't screw it up. She's nice.' She walked back to the laptop, checking the time again and thinking that maybe six in the evening was a perfectly reasonable time to pass out face down on her bed, considering the night and day she had had.

Her phone buzzed. She lifted it to read the new message.

'I will do my best. Lesson Saturday?'

She tapped back: 'As long as we're all alive and well then yes'

A thumbs-up appeared as a reply, and she smiled and put the phone down.

And then she really did give up and go to bed.

.

.

Sapphire pulled out the office chair, sinking into it and propping her elbows on the desk. She let out a long, hard sigh as her head fell into her upturned hands.

"Hey - we got out, right? And the cops have no idea we were even there," Charlie said, walking up to the table and sitting opposite her. He looked around the tiny office, making sure the door was closed.

"Yeah but I didn't get the DA."

"Maybe you shoulda got her instead of me. I mean I could have sat in overnight jail until you bailed me out, or whatever. It woulda been no sweat."

She didn't lift her head. "No. I don't leave people behind."

"And I appreciate that… but you could have come back the next day to not leave me behind, boss."

Now she looked at him. "Charlie… Do you know why I trust only you?"

He shrugged, leaning back in his chair. "We go back a long way."

"Yeah, we do. And the reason we do is because you only ever have one thought - and it's always about you and me surviving."

"Gotta have a hobby," he smiled.

She shook her head. "So what do we do now?" she sighed. Her back straightened and she melted in the chair, bouncing into the backrest. "The cops didn't get the Hornet or his sidekick. I left the DA on the floor, and we're back where we were - including the Hornet being alive, which we really do not want."

"Has the boss… ordered a hit?" he asked carefully.

"She hasn't - because she thought I'd handled it. Now I have to admit I failed and she'll take it out on me and probably half the west coast."

"Hey - we failed," he corrected. "I got gassed right in the face like a rookie."

"She won't see it that way. Captains take all the responsibility for everyone under them."

"Yeah well that's horseshit," he tutted. "Anyway… we could just find this Green Hornet guy - and his little friend - and kill them both before she we catch her up on current events."

"We're going to have to," she nodded.

He jumped suddenly, then felt in his jacket pocket. He fished out his phone, reading the alert on the display. His eyes went back up to her in surprise.

"What?" she demanded.

"News, boss - the DA is dead."

"What?" she gasped. Charlie tapped at a link and then reached across the table to hand her the phone. She read the article quickly, shaking her head. "That double-crossing…" She read it again, more slowly. "He went back for her! He made out we were all leaving, and then he went back for her! He killed her like he planned all along!"

"Then does he think the deal is back on?"

"He can't do - I made it very clear I never wanted a deal in the first place and he'd be dead in short order." She paused, slapping a hand into her forehead. "I knew I should have just shot him right there and then."

"We all make mistakes," he said.

"Yeah well this time we fix ours - before the boss finds out."

"I heard that." He stood slowly, and she handed him back the phone. "Where do we start?" he asked.

"First of all… someone has to know who this Hornet guy is. I don't care if its a lowlife we have to get out on bail, or someone in hiding because he's put the frighteners on them… Someone has to have a clue who he is."

"Your police and media contacts - they couldn't find out?" he asked.

"They've got nothing. I mean they have tonnes of reports but they no leads to his ID or even what he actually looks like," she grumped. She looked up at him. "I'm guessing Chudnofsky never shared any of his insight before the Hornet killed him?"

"Not a word. But… some of the others under him… they had run-ins with this guy. Maybe they know something."

She nodded, getting up. "Alright - see what you can dig up. On the quiet, Charlie - I don't want anyone to know why we want to know."

"Sure." He went to walk away but then came round the desk to her side. He landed a hand on her much lower shoulder. "We'll get through this, ok? Just like every other time."

She smiled. "Thanks, Charlie. Sometimes I just need to hear someone say that. Even if I don't believe it."

He patted, then walked off.

She flicked her hair back out of her eyes. "Right. Footage. There are tonnes of cop-cams around that party venue. They must have captured something." Then she sat back and thought for a moment. "What are the odds…" She reached into her pocket and retrieved her phone, "…that at least one of the journalists at that party…" She dialled a number with her thumb, "… got a quick picture of the Green Hornet before they ran for cover?" The line clicked. "Hey. Tell me you have pictures from last night." She nodded. "Excellent. I want them all. Send them over. Usual channels." She paused to listen. "Ask me if I give a shit for legalities. Do it." She cut the call and grinned to herself.

.

.

Lenore knocked softly before walking into the small office, carrying her bag over her shoulder. She found Britt at his laptop, one hand under his chin, the elbow on the desk. His other hand was playing with the trackpad idly. He looked up.

"Oh morning!" he grinned. "Thought you were totally home-working now."

"Normally," she said, "but we need a war meeting. Where's Kato?"

He looked down again, his face decidedly sad. "No idea. The dude just appears randomly."

She eyed him, closing the door and picking up a spare chair from the corner of the room. She brought it up to his desk, sitting herself down. "You… ok?"

"Me? Pfff," he scoffed. "How are you?"

"Mike said you looked a little down," she hedged. "You do look a little down."

He re-arranged a few pens on the desk, watching his hands. "Nah - I'm good. I'm always good." He looked up with a smile. "So what's this war meeting for? Who are we going to war with?"

"Sapphire," she said, opening up her bag and fishing out a notebook and pen. "We need to figure out what she wants and use it to draw her out - then get her arrested."

"Right," he said firmly, wagging a finger at her. "And her huge sidekick dude, too. He might have a grudge against us."

"Why?"

"Well Kato kinda kicked him the face. It was epic," he grinned. "And then at the party I shot him with gas."

She clicked the pen and wrote something down on her pad. "Did you get a name?"

"Charlie," he said.

She nodded. "Good, right, something to work with." She paused to pull her phone out of her bag, firing off a text and putting it back. "So you met her and she showed you her underground operation?"

"Yeah - it was way cool," he said enthusiastically. "Charlie said they had like sixty people down there, but we must have seen thirty. They were counting cash, bagging up pills and drugs - and they were boxing up bullets, too. No idea why when you can just buy those but hey."

She nodded, scribbling. "What did she say?"

"She… said she didn't need us, I said if she didn't want us in her way then she had to let us in her operation or I'd make her life real difficult… If you can't beat 'em then let 'em join kind of thing."

"Oh. That's good," she said.

"Maybe I'm not an idiot all the time."

She paused and looked at him. "Britt… you are not an idiot all the time. Sometimes you just… let things run away with you. Let them have their head and… that's when things get messed up. Right?"

"Yeah I get it," he said with discomfort, sitting back in the chair.

Her phone buzzed and she picked it up, reading it quickly. "Kato's in your garage - he's tinkering with something."

Britt's head tilted and his smile was a sad one. "Yeah. I was a bit of dick to him and I think he's still mad at me."

"You're admitting you were a bit of a dick?" she asked, surprised.

"Yeah I know, right?" he said ruefully. "I kinda was though. I wanted him to have a nice time at the party, ok? Get to know that Amy girl, maybe get a little action. He has been cranky lately."

She rolled her eyes. "So why would that piss him off?"

"Because after the whole party fiasco went down and he took you home…" He sighed. "It was my fault he was up all night putting things straight." He eyed her. "And I didn't check my plan with you, and it was stupid, and it nearly went really really bad. And… that's on me. It's always on me, and…"

"Britt."

"No, I…" He shrugged. "When Dad was alive I just kinda partied all the time, you know? And there were no consequences, no fall-out. And then… Then he's gone and now I'm pretending I'm a responsible person." He looked at her. "It's hard."

"Yes, it is," she said, but there was no anger in it. "Look… Being an adult sucks, ok? I know that. But you have friends now, not just one-night stands and random phone numbers in your cellphone."

"Friends? I have Mike who tries to be nice to me but I know he thinks I'm still the screw-up who nearly ruined this entire media empire of my dad's. And Kato tolerates me because I give him access to cool toys and work benches where he can play with rockets and Hornet gas. And you - you're only here because we need to talk about the Green Hornet. If he didn't exist and you were my PA? You would never speak to me out of work."

She curled hair around her ear, sighing to herself. "The truth is… you're not a bad person, Britt. Just stop trying to hit on everyone all the time and you'll be amazed how you get on with people."

He smiled. "Maybe that would be an idea."

"And Kato doesn't just tolerate you. I think sometimes…" She bit her lip.

"What? What's he said?"

"He hasn't - you know what he's like. But sometimes you do things and he's… well he's hurt, ok?" she said, looking at him with piercing eyes.

"When? Me and him are supposed to be bros, right? Why would I try to hurt him?"

"You don't mean to, Britt. But… Like when you forgot to invite him to the party."

"I didn't! I didn't invite him because we do all the work stuff together anyway!"

"But he didn't even know there was a party. Maybe he felt that… he felt that you didn't want him there because you wanted the DA there instead."

Britt stared at her in disbelief. "That's what he said when we argued about dates - that's not how it is, man! I told him that! And I ask him to hang out all the time but he's got friends he drinks with or something."

"Have you ever wondered why he'd say no to hanging out with you after work?" she asked quietly.

"Yeah! Like all the time!"

"Then just ask him. Talk to him about something that's not work or the Hornet."

"I've tried but he just makes the excuse that his English sucks and walks away - and I know his English doesn't suck because he swears at me just fine."

She couldn't help smiling. "Speak to him, please. You two have to work together and it'd be so much easier if you were friends again."

He raised his hands. "Hey - I will. You know what? We'll do this plan of yours and if we don't die then me and him will do bro-bonding stuff, ok?"

"Ok," she said. "Now, tell me about Sapphire. Did she mention anyone else's name, or who she worked with, anything like that?"

He thought about it. And then he tried to explain everything he had seen underground.

.

.

"Boss?" Charlie said, knocking on the door.

"Yeah Charlie," she said, pre-occupied.

He walked in, an iPad in his hand. "We're ready to ship the first ten boxes of ammo to Nguyen," he said.

"Ahead of schedule?"

"I might have told our guys to hurry," he said, taking the iPad to her and handing it over.

She took it and read the inventory, nodding. "Perfect. She was moaning about how she hadn't had any armour-piercing cop-killers since Chudnofsky went down. Now she can shut up and pay us."

"You want me to check with the Russians, try again to get them to buy from us?"

"Yeah, do it. Tell them they can have seven-day terms."

"Seven?"

"Well they got COD with Chudnofsky, so they should jump at this."

"Got it." He took the iPad back and went to the door. He paused. "Oh - that other thing. Still listening out. So far zip - no-ones knows him, even people who've had a visit and weren't happy about it."

"Yeah - the traffic cams at the place weren't working that night," she said. "Very suspicious."

"Well he has a cool car with all those toys. Maybe he fixed the cameras too."

"Yeah." She sat back, rubbing her forehead. "Ok, so… no footage. No sight of him entering or leaving the building. Nothing inside the building. Nothing on the car number plate, nothing on the gas he shot you with, nothing to indicate how he even knew the party was going down." She looked at the desk. "The police files from my guy are useless, and the Sentinel stuff is like what they've printed in the paper plus outtakes. Again - nada."

Charlie swung his hands out in surrender. "What about the DA's phone - would that help us?"

"Been there, tried it," she sighed. "Got her cell number from our friend in the DA's office, then used our guy in the phone company to track it. She must have had a burner that night - we got nothing. We will never know where she was killed or if the Green Hornet's hide-away is nearby."

"So… anything we can do?"

"I guess we go back and check the traffic cams on the routes to and from the venue that night - and how everyone got there in the first place. He could have been someone's plus one, hiding in plain sight."

He nodded. "I'm on it. I think there were about three hundred guests so it may take a while - but I'll get something."

"Thanks, Charlie."

He nodded and walked out. She went back to the laptop in front of her, staring again at the media pictures relating to the party - and again trying to discern whose cars were parked out back.