Duplicity

By Divamercury

Hey! Sorry it took so long for this chapter to come out, but I had to get all my facts straight. I have resolved to say this every few chapters just to be PC, but everyone knows I don't own anything Witchblade save the characters of Mac, Jackson, Ciara, Adair, and Luke, as well as the plot or whatever. So, now that that's been said, I just want to add that if you are a huge Jake fan, you will not like what is coming in future chapters. So beware. Thanks so much for all of your support and praise, and don't you dare forget to review! Or I will definitely *forget* to post! ;)

~DM

Chapter 7

I was getting ready to leave for the night after an extremely boring rest of the day when Vicki came up from the morgue to talk to me.

"Aaaah! The Queen of the Dead has emerged for her nocturnal hunt!" Connor exclaimed, feigning horror.

"Knock it off, rookie. What's going on, Vic?" I asked.

"Well, we've got the results on Kenneth Irons's autopsy," Vicki said, shooting a scathing look at Connor, who flinched.

"Well? What've we got?" I asked, ignoring my partner.

"Apparently Irons ingested a great deal of a drug that's just come out on the market. It's somewhat hallucinogenic, but in a wayit's not."

"What? I kind of lost your answer in all the vagueness surrounding it."

"Right. Anyway, this stuff's called La Morte Allegra*, or the Merry Death. I like to call it LMA, cause it's faster. By whatever name, it's a stimulant but it has some slight hallucinogenic properties and substantial mood-altering qualities, making the user feel extreme happiness for a short time. Guess it's like a high or something, but whatever. If given a high enough dose, a person's system could be sped up so much that the person's heart could literally burst. And that's what happened to Kenneth Irons."

"So you're telling me that someone gave Irons some weird new drug from somewhere—"

"Italy," Vicki supplied. "Yeah, I know. Not the first place you would have thought of."

"—Okay, from Italy, then he toyed around with his will for a second, and, all of a sudden, out of the blue it overloaded his circuits and his heart exploded?" I asked, incredulous.

"Pretty much," Vicki said.

"But if he were under the influence of drugs, wouldn't his change to his will be invalid?"

"Normally yes, but this is one of your cases, Pez."

"Oh, no," Connor groaned.

"What do you mean?" I asked, dreading where this was leading.

"Well, Irons changed his will on computer. Therefore the original status of the document has been lostthe other person's name was deleted, according to the witnesses. So even if the new will was contested, there's no way of knowing who he originally left everything to."

"Great. So, is that it?"

"Not quite," Vicki said. "It seems that Irons had a multiplier effect type of thing going on. LMA was in powder form in this case and Irons had alcohol in his blood."

"Meaning?" Connor asked.

"Meaning that LMA was probably in his drink. That's my analysis, but that doesn't mean I'm right."

"So this could be a murder after all," Connor said.

"Could be."

"I think we should go back to the crime scene. Look around for clues," I said.

"But aren't you getting ready to go?" Connor inquired.

"Oh, yeah. Well, can I trust you to go down there and hunt around?"

"Pez, I'm your partner. Of course you can trust me."

Just because you're my partner doesn't mean I can trust you,' I thought, remembering some of the more unsavory times with Jake. Remember how paranoid I am?' Aloud I said, "You're also a rookie who's learning the ropes."

"Aww, come on Pez! I can handle it. I swear I'll call you if I find anything noteworthy."

"Okay. Just don't do anything stupid. I'll see you tomorrow. And if I end up getting a call from you tonight at an ungodly hour, it had better be for a damn good reason or else I will have your ass on a platter tomorrow morning. Do I make myself clear?"

"You couldn't be any clearer than that."

"Good. See you tomorrow. And thanks for the info, Vic."

"Not a problem, Pez. Hey Connor, wanna walk me back to the Palace of Doom?"

"Ergh. Not likely. You can go back to your creepy kingdom alone, Your Highness."

Vicki sighed. "I get no respect."

"Rookies. You just have to knock them around a little."

"I'll keep that in mind," Vicki said, throwing a glance at Connor. "See you later, Pez." She headed back down to the morgue.

"Well, we'd both better be leaving. You need to get over to VorschlagI'm not sure when they close," I said.

"Well, okay. I'll keep you posted, Pez."

"Thanks." I left the building and headed for home.

Seeking to reconnect with friends, and realizing that I had a little time to spare, I pulled up outside the building that housed Talismaniac.com, Gabriel Bowman's brainchild. As I walked up the stairs, the opening strains of "Proud Mary" by Creedence Clearwater Revival came blaring through the (closed) door of the Internet oddities shop.

I pounded on the door, which was probably a hopeless cause considering the volume of the music, and shouted, "Gabriel! Gabe!" I turned the doorknob and walked in, since it was unlocked, and came face to face with Gabe, who instead of his typical 70's garb, was wearing jeans, a T-shirt, and a flannel long-sleeved shirt. Will wonders never cease,' I thought with a slight smile.

"Hey Chief! It's great to see you upright!" he said, impulsively hugging me. I grinned and returned the hug.

"That seems to be the general consensus," I said. "It seems like it's been forever."

"Seriously. But it's only been a few weeks."

"How's Mac?"

"She's fine. She still hasn't quite gotten over the warehouse fire, though. I mean, with all the money she spent on computers, anyone would feel sick if they all burst into flame."

"True. I've been wondering where she got all that money."

"Well, some she raised herself but most of it came from her inheritance from her parents."

"What happened to them?"

"She's never really elaborated but I do know they died in a car crash. Her father had more cash than most small countries," Gabe said. "So she could afford the expensesbut still. It took her a while to formulate the whole organization."

"I guess so. How many people are still in it? I haven't heard about any death tolls."

"I'm not sure myself. I don't think anyone died in the fire, since the warehouse was pretty much empty for the night. I think a handful or so died in the raid on the Bulls' warehouse, but after that I don't know. You'd have to ask Mac."

"Well, anyway, the reason I'm here is—"

"What, you mean you didn't just stop by to see your devilishly handsome friend Gabriel?" he asked, eyebrow raised.

"Welldo you want me to lie?"
"Yes."

"Then yes, that was the only reason I came."

"Hmmmsounded way better in my head. So, why are you really here?"

"I wanted us to get together. You, me, Mac, Ian, Raven, and Jackson."

"Sounds good to me. I'll call them if you want me to. Dinner?"

"Probably. I talked to Raven earlier today. I think any time this week is good for us," I said.

"Awesome. I'll see if I can set something up with the rest of the gang and then I'll let you know when it is."

"Great. Well, I've gotta head out. Ian's probably wondering where I am."

"Just tell him you had to work late."

"Why, when telling him I was here is so harmless?" I asked, teasing.

"Yeah, yeah." Gabe waved me off and I grinned.

"Bye, Gabriel."

"Bye, Chief. Talk to you later."

I left Gabe's place and smiled, shaking my head, when CCR cranked up behind me. "Some things never change," I said to myself.

*I used one of those Internet translator things, so I'm pretty sure that La Morte Allegra either means the Merry Death or the Cheerful Death. Something along those lines, and I'm sure you get the point. ;) Anyway, if anyone knows for sure what this phrase means, please let me know! Thanks!


~DM