"Which one is that?" Jess asked.
"The first one," Trish answered.
"Not the third one?"
"No, that was Winter's Bones."
"Winter's everything. Place looks too frozen for murder. Ever been there?"
"Sweden? Lots of times."
"No, the place in the movies. The city where she is supposed to be a detective, where all the murders take place."
"Ystad? Yeah, once. It's nice. Real quiet. And she's an Inspector."
"Whatever. You'd think it was the fucking murder capital of Sweden from those movies."
"Then they're lucky that Inspector Klara Bergman of the Ystad Police is on the job."
"Was on the job."
"Yeah, she has moved on to bigger and better."
"What's the new one?"
"Bekke Reese, international assassin, back in action."
"Didn't she die in the first one?"
"Ask her yourself," Trish said as they entered Kyle's office to collect the woman who was just as beautiful in jeans and an oversized linen shirt, scrubbed clean of makeup, ponytail and baseball cap as she had been dolled up in a white form fitting dress an hour earlier.
"Holy shit." Jess said quietly.
"Well said." Trish replied just as softly.
"Everything signed?" Kyle asked Jessica.
"Yup. It's official. When can I pick up my check?"
"You've been working for me for like five seconds."
"When can I pick up an advance on my check?"
"I'll ask payroll," Kyle said with a sigh.
"Annelie, this is my friend, Jessica Jones," Trish said.
"Hi," Jessica said with a nod of her head.
"Hello," answered Annelie a bit coldly.
"Are we good?" Trish asked her boss.
"She left ten minutes ago. Anyone watching will not be able to tell the difference."
"Good," Trish answered her boss before addressing the woman who seemed to be in a bit of a mood.
"Jessica's boyfriend owns a small bar in Harlem. It's an excellent spot to catch some lunch and talk, and far enough from Clinton that no one will look for you there, especially anyone who is following Sharon, your humongous bodyguards, and your limo."
No one in the room failed to notice Annelie's mood improve markedly as the words Jessica's boyfriend were spoken.
"Clinton," Jessica said almost as a combination cough and sneeze.
"Jessica prefers the original name of that neighborhood," Trish explained to the bewildered face that had once again found its smile, "Hell's Kitchen."
"We'll lose anyone following us long before we get there, don't worry," Jessica said to the room in general as she looked down at her ripped jeans and black leather boots, "and any trouble that walks in on us will walk out again real fast."
There was a heartbeat's worth of silence before Annelie spoke.
"Are both of you hired to protect me?"
"No, Jessica is contracted for another job. She was in the building already, and Trish thought it was too good an opportunity to pass up," Kyle explained.
"You need a few hours of not looking over your shoulder," Trish said, "Trust me, you'll feel better afterwards."
"Assuming we can find her something she can eat." Jess said as she looked at the tall, slender Swede.
"So New York's criminal element gets a few nights off," Kyle said softly as Jess and Annelie stood at his office door about fifteen feet away talking about God knew what, "and so do you."
"I'll be hard at work, remember?" Trish reminded him as they both looked at the woman who could not help but be beautiful no matter what she wore.
"I bet you will be."
"Jesus, your mind is in the gutter."
"I can't help it. It's attached to my body."
Trish did not answer, but continued to look at her new assignment and her best friend.
"Careful on this," Kyle said, "it's bad, I can feel it."
"How bad?"
"I'm spinning up the wet team."
That got Trish's undivided attention.
"Are you shitting me?"
"No."
"Light or heavy?"
"Light. For now."
Trish was quiet for a moment.
"What the fuck is going on?"
"I don't know yet, but I am going to find out. I might want you to stay with her in Chicago for a few days."
"You have Paragon for that."
"I might want you both with her."
What the proverbial fuck?
There was another moment's silence, during which Trish saw that both Jess and Annelie had stopped talking and were staring at her and Kyle.
"Enjoy your lunch," Kyle said to all of them.
Yeah, Trish thought as she walked towards the door and the two women waiting there, sure.
Three cabs, several excursions on foot into buildings and out again, and one alleyway where Trish and Annelie waited behind a dumpster while Jess stood at the entrance waiting to intercept anyone unfortunate enough to be on their tail. But Jess was finally convinced that they were in the clear as they walked up to the red brick building with the long red awning that said Cap's Bar and Grill - I Can Do This All Day.
"He knows we are coming, and he knows how to act," Jessica said to Annelie as her hand reached for the door, "just play along. You can act, right?"
"I'll try my best."
Luke was behind the bar, as per usual. Trish had known Luke Cage for quite some time, but her mind was never quite capable of retaining how big he really was. Annelie's reaction to seeing him was typical of most people's reactions, which was to stop in her tracks for a moment as her jaw dropped slightly and her head tilted up so she could bring his entire face and head into view.
"Hey," Jess said as she walked around the side of the bar for a not so discreet PDA.
"Hi," Luke said after a moment before looking at the two women standing in front of the bar.
"Trish, Anne, good to see you both again. How's life in the big city"
"It has its moments," Annelie answered as she looked at Trish and the two exchanged smiles.
"How you doing, big guy?" Trish asked.
"Still alive and kicking."
"Three for lunch, waiter," Jess said.
"Your usual table, madam," Luke replied with a sweep of his arm, "Vonnie will be right over."
"Should she be drinking that much?" Annelie asked Trish while Jessica was at the bar getting her bourbon refilled.
"No. But she has a high tolerance for alcohol, and a low tolerance for therapy, so here we are."
Yvonne knew Jessica well enough to know that she had no interest in the specials, and had written Harlem Steak Burger, Fries on her order pad before she had even reached their table. But she waited for Jessica to confirm her drink order before writing Bourbon, Double on her pad as well.
Trish took the opportunity to have a little fun playing her part.
"What do you want, babe?" she asked.
Annelie smiled as she looked at the menu.
"I'd like the Spiced Mahi Salad."
"Chicken and Waffles, please." Trish said as she handed back the menus.
"The drink special today is Blackberry Punch: Volcan Blanco Tequila, Chambord, Fresh Lime, Cranberry, Soda," Vonnie repeated for what she was sure the fiftieth time.
"Just sparkling water." Trish said.
Annelie hesitated for a moment.
"I'll try the punch," she said before turning to look at Trish, "we can share."
Yvonne smiled as she wrote on her pad before walking away.
"Christ," Jess said.
"We have to play our part." Trish said.
"That guy over there looks like he wants you to play your part right here on this table."
"He'll have to use his imagination," Trish said as she looked at Annelie and caressed her arm.
"Don't start something you can't finish," Annelie said in a low voice and with a mischievous look.
"Who says I can't finish?" Trish asked as the drink order arrived.
"Ding ding ding, end of round one. Move to your respective corners," Jessica said, and each of them took a sip of their drinks.
Trish and Annelie spent the next several minutes playing their parts as they shared the punch and smiled and giggled.
"Oh, for fucks sake," Jessica said as she looked at the pair.
It was while Jess was getting her second drink that the man walked over and stopped at their table.
"I swear I know you from somewhere," he said to Annelie.
"I get that a lot," she answered, still sitting next to Trish.
"I bet I can guess where," he said as he moved to sit in Jessica's chair.
"I don't mean to be rude, but I'm having lunch with my girlfriend," she said.
"Hey, come on, don't be like that," he said in a tone that Trish recognized, and did not appreciate, "we can all have a good time. I'm up for it."
Jesus H. Christ, Trish thought as she started to stand up.
"These aren't the droids you're looking for," Jessica said as she stopped at her chair and placed her drink on the table.
"What?" he asked.
"Get lost, asshole," she explained.
"Who the fuckā¦"
There were several ways he might have completed that sentence, but his train of thought was interrupted when Jessica grabbed the front of his shirt, lifted him off his feet and carried him a short distance until she could press him up against the nearest wall.
"We'll keep this simple," she began as the entire bar fell silent, the pressure of her hand on his chest restricting his breathing while keeping him pinned to the wall, his feet about twelve inches off the floor, "you're probably having trouble breathing right now, so just nod your head if you understand. Let's practice."
The man nodded his head.
"You remember the get lost asshole part of our conversation a second ago?"
He nodded again.
"Are you going to remember it when I let you go?"
Nodding.
"Do you need me to tell you what I am going to do to you if you forget?"
He shook his head very definitely No.
"Good," she said as she let him go, returned to the table and downed her drink in one go before looking at Annelie, "dinner and a show."
The three women were silent for a moment as the man walked back to his friends on wobbly legs.
"You were right, I do feel better," Annelie finally said as she looked at Trish.
