Benny's Café
Last night had been a disaster. Max and Asha had spent the entire night looking up every informant, snitch and lowlife they could think of and none of them had any information.
Max had been surprised – and a little hurt – at how much Asha knew about the Informant Net and its operatives. It seemed the only thing she didn't know was the identity of the organization's founder. Admittedly, Max had never officially signed up for Logan's crusade, despite jokingly referring to her as his field commander. Even after that business with Gerhardt Bronck she could only really describe her association with Eyes Only as casual. She did the assignments Logan asked her to but didn't take much interest in the organization itself. Her interest leaning more towards the man than the myth. Because of her intimate knowledge of the network, Max began to wonder (not for the first time) just how intimate Logan and Asha had been?
Asha, for her part, was exhausted. She hadn't slept in over twenty-four and wanted nothing more than to curl up in the backseat of her car and pass out. But she dare not. Every time she shut her eyes she could see Logan burning to death. Why hadn't Logan taken any back up with him? Asha looked up from her coffee at Max and was irritated that the young woman didn't even look tired. She took another shot of caffeine determined not to let sleep overtake her in front of Max.
"So how do you and Logan know each other," Max asked, unexpectedly.
"What," Asha said, shaking her head awake.
"When did you and Logan meet?"
"Oh, um, we met in college."
"Oh."
Awkward silence.
"Were you and him ever…"
"No. He was already involved with someone at the time."
Max nodded. "Daphne."
That surprised Asha. "How'd you know?"
"I met her at Logan's cousin Bennett's wedding."
"Oh."
More silence.
"Well," Max said. "I suppose I better get to work." She needed to keep busy; to keep her mind off what was happening. "Let me know if Bling finds anything."
"Right."
When Asha was sure Max was gone, she returned to her car, curled up in the backseat and prayed for dreamless sleep.
JAM PONY
"Excuse me."
Normal looked up to see a nervous young woman with mousy, brown hair standing on the other side of his cage. "Sorry, we're not hiring."
"What? No I'm looking for Max Gueverra, is she here?"
Normal glanced at his watch and grumbled, "You're a little early. She usually drags herself in here at the crack of ten."
The girl sighed and disappeared before Normal looked up.
When Max arrived at work, she almost collided with a girl she didn't recognize. The two mumbled apologies and continued about there business.
"Normal," Max said marching up to the dispatch desk. "What've you got for me?"
Normal looked up in surprise. "You are aware it is before ten o'clock, don't you?"
"Don't start with me, Normal," Max warned. "You got a run for me or not?"
Normal handed her a package. "396 Clancy."
It was like that all day. No back talk, no smart mouth comments, no complaints. Normal called out runs and Max delivered the packages. Most employers would be pleased with such a diligent employee – Normal was terrified. This was not right. He wasn't used to almost respect from his employees, especially Max, and began to wonder if he was loosing his mind.
Max for her part just wanted to get the day over with, so she could contact Bling to see if he'd found anything. Of course if he had discovered anything, he would've called. Around the end of the day when she was at her locker, she met up with Alec. His nose was heavily bandaged but fortunately for Manticore genetics it was already mending. She should probably apologize for messing up his pretty face, but she wasn't in the mood for apologizing right now.
"Original Cindy told me about Logan," Alec said. Max stiffened slightly but didn't acknowledge his presence. "Look Maxie, I'm sorry. I know how you feel - "
That got a reaction. Max jumped up, grabbed Alec by the lapels of his jacket and threw him against the lockers. "Don't try it dickwad. Just don't. I am so not in the mood for your sensitive guy bullshit act. You don't know how I feel. Your incapable of understanding a tenth of what I'm going through, so shove it up your nose and blow it out your ass!"
Alec's face unexpectedly darkened and looked like he was about to say something when Normal yelled, "No fighting on the premises. Max, you got a phone call on line one."
Max quickly forgot about Alec and raced to the payphone. Snatching up the receiver she said, "Bling?"
"Max," he replied. "Something's come up, can you come over?"
"I'm already there." Max slammed down the receiver and made a break for the exit. "Gotta blaze Normal. Family emergency."
As Normal watched Max disappear out the front. Outwardly he was fuming, but mentally he gave a sigh of relief – all was right with the world.
Logan's Penthouse
She found Bling sitting at Logan's computer scrolling through data. It was strange seeing someone else at his keyboard, but pushed the thought aside. "What've you got Bling?"
"Hey Max. I got a name."
"His killer?"
"Sorry no." Bling pressed a few keys and a picture of a beautiful mocha coloured woman with lustrous black hair appeared on screen. "Dorian McIntyre, one of Logan's sources. She was killed a few weeks ago and Logan was investigating her death. He seemed to think it was connected to another story he was working on."
"Any idea what that was?"
Bling shook his head sadly. "No, we hadn't got that far."
"Do we know anything?"
"Only that the night Logan died, he was meeting a co-worker of her's."
"Where'd she work? Maybe I could find her."
"Dorian was a dancer at the Cherry Bomb. Asha said she'd meet you there tonight."
Cherry Bomb -After Dark
"What'd you bring him for," Asha demanded when Max and Alec peddled up to the front entrance of the strip club.
"I didn't 'bring him'," Max said. "He did what he always does – he tagged along hoping for a little attention. He's worse than a lost puppy."
"Hey," he said defensively. "I'm just trying to help out a friend. Besides I figured you could use my expertise in this area."
Alec flashed a charming smile at a couple of ladies going back inside. When they smiled back, he thought tonight might not be a total loss.
Max reached over and grabbed Alec's not quite healed nose, giving it a vicious twist. "Listen up, pal. You will not talk, flirt, charm, breath or do anything that might otherwise annoy me, got it?" When Alec didn't answer fast enough, Max twisted his already broken nose a little harder and repeated, "Got it?"
"Yes," Alec yelled in agony.
Max snapped his nose back into place before letting go. "Good boy." As far as she was concerned, straightening his nose was apology enough for breaking it in the first place.
"How did you break your nose," Asha asked as Max marched into the club.
"Well you see," he began to crow. "There were the ten big guys-"
"Never mind," Asha snorted and followed Max inside, Alec on her heels.
Asha and Alec took a seat at a table by the stage while Max spoke to the bar tender. Alec looked up and managed to catch the eye of an attractive brunette dancer. Maybe his day was finally starting to look up. Just as she was cozying up to him, Max joined them.
Ignoring Alec and his new conquest, she spoke directly to Asha. "Bar tender recognized Logan, apparently he was a semi-regular. He's going to let us talk to one of his girls about his relationship with Dorian McIntyre."
"How'd you manage that?"
"I told him I was his wife, you were his girlfriend and Alec was his boyfriend, and we all want to find out just how many people he's been stepping out with."
"What!" Alec sputtered hearing his part in this.
"And we think he might have AIDS, which is why the bar tender is letting us talk to his dancers to make sure he hasn't spread it."
That pretty much put the kibosh on whatever Alec had planned with the nubile brunette. Hearing he might have and STD she quickly turned her attentions to another table.
"No," Alec pleaded. "I'm not – I don't-" but it was too late. "Well thank you very much."
"Get over it," Max snapped. "You'll find another shortie later."
A pale dancer with joined them heavily dyed red-hair, called Cally. Introductions were made and after Logan's identity was confirmed, the interrogation began.
"Did he have a favourite girl? One he specifically came to see?"
"Just Mocha. But she didn't dance for him or nothing. Whenever he came around, they'd get together and talk at the back of the bar. We always thought he was her guy, but she always said it wasn't like that. Of course we could tell if he ever wanted it to be more, she'd jump to it in a heartbeat."
Alec rolled his eyes. Oh great another member of the Logan Cale Lonely Hearts Fan Club. Honestly, what did that scruffy, self-righteous, crippled ordinary have that he didn't? He was younger, stronger, a hell of a lot better looking, a sexual dynamo and all he'd ever gotten from the two of the three lovely ladies sitting him was derision and rejection.
Max and Asha remained oblivious to Alec's mental turmoil. "Did you notice any change in her behaviour recently," Asha asked."
"Well, there was this one time. It was at a party Scott hired us out to, real high-class event. Us and a group of working girls. Between shows, Dorian disappeared for a few minutes. It wasn't like her, she was usually very professional. When she turned up, she was really nervous and you know. Said she wasn't feeling well and asked Benny to take her home. A few days later … she," Cally broke off, unable to finish.
"Do you think Logan had anything to do with her death," Max asked, deciding to play devil's advocate.
"I don't know, maybe. Dorian was usually a good judge of character. She could always tell the difference between the creeps and perverts from the lonely guys just looking for a good show." Cally began to break down again.
Asha waited patiently for Cally to compose herself before asking, "Do you know who was hosting the party or recognize any of the guests?"
"No, not by name. But I'm sure I saw some of them on television."
"Can you think of anything that might help?"
"He was here a coupla a nights ago. Not in the club, out back in the alley. He was talking to Katydid – Mocha's roommate."
"Do you know what they were talking about?"
"No, but it was pretty intense. All hushed yelling and stuff. Kyle thought he was harassing her and chased him off."
"Can we talk to Katydid?"
Cally shook her head. "She hasn't been in the last two nights. Everyone's starting to get worried."
"Can you give us an address?"
She did and Max and Asha got up to leave.
Alec hung back, "Did Mocha or any of the girls mention me?"
"Yeah, she said you were a lousy tipper."
Dorian's Apartment
Someone had gotten there before them. Cupboards emptied, drawers overturned, pillows and mattresses slashed, wall's smashed, your basic ransacking.
As they surveyed the carnage, Max said, "Look around, see if they missed anything."
"Like what," Alec snorted. "The windows?"
"Instead of trying to be funny," Asha snapped before Max could. "Why not put some of those superior senses to finding something us mere mortals would miss!"
Much as she to admit it, Max was starting to like Asha and began to see why Logan trusted her. She began to wonder, not for the first time, if Logan would have been better off if she'd stayed dead. Free Logan so he could have something passing for a normal life.
During her search, Max came across a photograph of Dorian, a young man and a kid. Her genetically enhanced vision easily identified familial traits. The man was probably her brother, the kid a nephew. Did they know about Dorian? Did they care?
The shattered glass of the picture frame reminded her of her own broken family: Logan and Tinga were dead; Zack and Brin were lost to her; she had no idea where Zane and Jondy were; and all she had left of Ben was a smart-ass carbon copy. Fuck, she even missed Lydecker and all he had ever done was make her life miserable. But looking at the distorted smiling faces reminded her of what she'd lost and never had. She noticed two drops of water splash across the picture. Damn, she thought. My eyes are leaking again.
"Max," Asha called softly from the entrance to one of the bedrooms.
Max ferociously wiped her tears away. She couldn't handle it if Asha caught her crying. Alec she could handle, she'd just beat him up and threat to tell everyone he'd gotten his ass kicked by a girl (something his macho ego could never accept). With Asha it was different, just the fact she'd know was humiliating.
"Dorian needed to clean up in here more often," Max said lamely. "This place is almost as filthy as mine."
"Yeah," Asha said softly, walking up to Max, with an understanding half-smile. "I got a call from Bling. He wants us back at the penthouse, sounded important."
"Right," Max put the picture down gently. "Where's Alec?"
"Raiding the fridge."
Max sighed irritably. "Okay, we'll dump him off back at the Cherry Bomb before heading over there."
As they left (dragging Alec by the scruff of his neck) Max's mind began to drift to could be responsible for all this. Eyes Only had no shorted of enemies, but which one was it? Who had succeeded where Gerhardt Bronck, John Darius, the sector cops and various other dirt bags had failed? Just who were they up against?
To Be Continued …