Chapter 6

They shoved me and Gloria into separate detention rooms. It was so hot in there, within minutes my head felt like a boiled egg.

"Hey, I want a lawyer," I said when a guard finally came to visit me. "Haven't you heard of due process?"

"This is military detention," he reminded me. "There's no such thing."

"Well, when can I leave?" I asked. "I'm a businessman you know, and I've got places to be."

He looked me up and down. "What kind of business do you run?"

"I'm self-employed. I'm a gumshoe."

The guard smiled, as though he thought I was putting him on. "Yeah right. You just look like some drunk guy, to me."

I leaned back against the cement wall. "You didn't answer my question. When the hell are you going to let me go?"

"Once you've met with your visitor," he said, and there was an odd look in his eye.

I sat forward in confusion. "Visitor?"

"Yeah," he confirmed. "Most people don't get visitors like this, so for a drunk, you must be sort of important." He stood aside as the door opened and a tall man strode in, dressed very spiffy. He took off his hat, and all of a sudden I realized why the General outside the base had seemed so familiar. I'd seen a face just like his in the news rag yesterday morning.

I draped my hands over my knees as I sat there and tried to look calm, cool and collected. But a chill ran up my back and made the fuzz on the back of my neck stand up. "Mayor Cue?" It came out as a question, maybe because I was so very confused at that point.

Mayor Cue simply nodded, and then crouched down to my level and stared into my face like I was some kind of insect. "Fascinating," he said, and broke into a slow, creepy smile.

I scratched the back of my neck. "Mayor, you might not know this, but I think you'd be interested to know that the base commander is your identical twin. Seems a little wacko..."

He laughed and stood up. Suddenly my fedora appeared in his open palm and he tossed it at me. Stunned, I let the hat fall into my lap, and just stared up at him in shock.

"Of course, I know that…in fact there's really nothing that I don't know," said the Mayor. Then he reached out to touch the tip of his index finger to my forehead, and all I saw was a bright flash of light.


I have no clue when Mayor Cue left me alone in the clink—all I know is that I woke up in a pool of sweat on the concrete floor. I pushed myself up into a sitting position, and my head was just pounding. It had grown much later, judging by the dim light coming through the window. Then I touched the back of my aching head and suddenly it all came back to me in a rush.

I had dreamed I was sitting in that strange chair wearing those same strange pajamas again. This time, the two guys from the dock were there, with the smaller guy wearing a funny looking barrette over his eyes—the kind of clip a woman might use to hold her hair up. If he could see through the thing, I have no idea how. He was talking some kind of mess about an engine coil, but I have no idea why. The big guy…well, I suddenly understood why he wore that hat down at the docks. He had a forehead only a mother could love.

Next to me was Billy Reisner, but in the dream he was sporting a beard and no trumpet case, and was just sitting there. As usual, he seemed to think he was looking smooth. He didn't seem to mind the pajamas, and was wearing his own pair about four sizes bigger than my own.

On the other side of me was a lady—a real dish, with long black curly hair and an even tighter pair of pajamas on. She was wearing the kind of low cut deal that showed off her assets, but for some reason in the dream I wasn't interested. Instead, I just seemed to be ordering people around—everyone in fact. And then just like that I woke up covered in my own sweat.

I reached out to touch my hat which sat by my side on the floor. I thought about the Mayor and that magic trick he'd pulled, making it reappear out of nowhere. He'd said there was nothing he didn't know. Maybe he meant he was in with Redblock, and was sending me a warning. Who knows? I shrugged to myself. Let's face it, a politician with underworld connections was nothing new to me. I tried to put the strangeness of the situation out of my mind, including that dream.


After a bit I heard footsteps, high heels to be exact, and I pushed myself up to my feet. My left calf muscle was asleep so I stomped my foot and limped over to the metal cell door.

"Who's there?" I demanded, leaning against the door and hoping it was who I imagined. I waited patiently for a few moments, but there was no answer. So I gave it a try. "Let me guess…you're the most beautiful woman I've ever seen in my life."

She cleared her throat slightly and I could tell she was annoyed and more than a little embarrassed. "Why did you come here today, Mr. Hill?" Dr. Howard's voice was as cold as usual, but somewhere deep down, maybe she was happy to have me on the base, even if I was in lock up. Closer to the surface was a very clear curiosity.

I leaned my forehead against the door and grinned. "Open the window and I'll tell you," I offered.

I heard her sigh and then slid the small metal eye-level window open with a click. I smiled again, and the one quarter of her face that I could see—that perfect cheekbone, that dark blue iris and that smooth skin, was just about perfect.

"Well?" She prompted.

"I was just helping out my cousin," I said.

She frowned. "What?"

"My cousin," I repeated. "Gloria."

Her red eyebrow shot up into a funny looking arch. "Gloria's your cousin," she said flatly, as though she thought I was pulling her leg.

"You don't see the resemblance?" I asked innocently. "Me and Gloria are like two peas in a pod."

Her pretty eye fixed on me through the tiny square window. "Now that you mention it, neither of you is exactly…reputable," she allowed.

"Hey!"

The skin next to her eye crinkled and I could tell she was smiling, which was a welcome change even if it came at my expense. "Suddenly sensitive now, Mr. Hill?"

"Maybe so," I admitted. Something occurred to me and I held up my hat for her to see. I explained what had happened during my strange visit with the Mayor. I also told her that he was the spitting image of the base commander, General Q. "I mean what kind of last name is Q anyway?"

"Strange, but that's the least of our problems, Mr. Hill."

"Why the formalities? Call me Dix," I suggested.

"No."

"Why not?" I asked, flummoxed.

"Because it's quite possibly the worst name I've ever encountered. Simply awful," she added, looking me directly in my eyes.

I took a breath in through my nose and scratched my forehead. She was right about my name, so I just changed the subject. "What is Redblock up to, and what's your chisel?"

She laughed sharply. "Chisel—you mean what's my angle, Mr. Hill?"

"Now we're speaking the same language."

"Hardly," she said. "In fact, Mr. Hill, I have no angle. I'm trying to create a cure for a strange new disease that is plaguing our city."

"I know you ain't talking about corruption, because that's not new," I said.

"Haven't you noticed your neighbors are disappearing around you Mr. Hill? Given your line of work, I would have expected you to be just a little bit more perceptive."

I laughed, but the scene from the park came back to me. "Just 'cause a few borderline nuts decide to take a powder and lay low for a bit doesn't mean they're diseased," I said. "Leaving town isn't—"

"But they are disappearing, Mr. Hill, not just leaving town."

My eyes narrowed. "Then maybe Redblock is involved. He's been known to make his former associates disappear, not to mention his rivals."

She shook her head making her hair bounce slightly. "I've seen it with my own eyes. Some of my test subjects have even disappeared right in front of me. Physically disappeared into thin air. Time is running out," she said.

I straightened. "What needs to be done?"

She sighed worriedly. " I need the Army to give me some room. All of a sudden they've been crowding me. And this new drug I've been getting from Seňor Datos—"

"Wait a minute…Seňor Datos? Is that the South American Kid?" I asked.

"Yes," she said slowly as though I was a twit. Then she lowered her voice. "He has been supplying me with a serum that I think could help us all. If I only had enough of it and enough time to spare I know I could perfect it."

"Why don't you just ask General Q, R, S, T,U,V to help you out?"

"It's not that simple. At first the Army sponsored my research, but lately they have been treating me with suspicion" Her voice suddenly grew anxious. "I'm worried, Mr. Hill."

"You and me both, doll," I said in as comforting a way as possible.

"Don't call me that," she said simply. "I'm a doctor, not a doll, Mr. Hill."

I held up my hands in surrender. "Alright then…I'm just trying to make nice."

"But you're not nice are you, Mr. Hill?" she asked as if she knew we both knew the answer. We both stayed silent for a minute.

Finally I couldn't help but smile again. "I'll be whatever you want me to be," I said.

She sighed in exasperation and turned her head away quickly as something seemed to snag her attention down the hall. She lowered her voice again as she turned back to me. "Must your motivations always be so base, Mr. Hill?"

"And how do you know what my motivations are?" I asked.

"Didn't I tell you earlier? I've known plenty of men like you," she reminded me coolly.

"So...does that mean I'm your type?" I asked hopefully.

She in leaned toward the door. "I don't have a type," she assured me. "I have my work, and my dignity and that is all I need."

"I like a woman with principles," I said. "I also like a woman without principles," I added.

She smiled dryly. "Why does that not surprise me?" Her attention was taken away again. "Someone's coming," she said. "I have to go."

"Wait!" I whispered loudly. "Wait…what if I was able to ensure you a steady pipeline to get this drug?"

She raised her eyebrows. "Then you would far exceed my present expectations of you, Mr. Hill. Goodbye," she said moving away.

"That's it?" I demanded, but she just gave me a little wave as she hurried away down the hall quickly.


I cursed and moved over to a steel bench and sat down. As steel benches went, this one was pretty comfortable. A moment later, a key turned in the lock, and the door clanged open. Two guards stood there. To my surprise, one of them was holding onto Gloria's arm. The other one waved me out. "Come on sweet heart, move it along," he ordered.

I laughed and clapped my hands. "I'm getting out?" I caught Gloria's eye and she grinned at me. I grinned back, and we were both as relieved as could be.

The guard nodded. "The Mayor said to let you both loose. But if we catch either of you back here on the base again believe me, there will be hell to pay."

"Yeah, no sweat, Sarge," I said, stepping out of the cell. "I'm as good as gone."

They ushered us down a long corridor and out of some double doors. ""If you show up packing heat again, buddy, we'll shoot first and then bring you in for questioning," the lead guard called after us.

Gloria and I kept walking right off the base and didn't look back.