CHAPTER FIVE
The memorial service was held two days later in Sector two. The section of beach reserved for funereal piers where the dead could be burned. The people were in an uproar having one of their judges killed in the most secure building in the city. Security at the service was a nightmare and only certain citizens of high rank were allowed within the gates that surrounded the piers. Lex chose to stay outside the gates and deal with the throng along side his fellow guards.
He could see the proceedings though he couldn't hear anything over the crowd. He saw several of the former Mallrats and their families paying their respects. Salene sat holding Jenny's hand while Jeremiah wiggled in her lap. Jack's new wife was quite pretty even as she shot daggers at Ellie, her husband and their infant daughter. He was surprised to see KC and his girlfriend. After the Techno rehab KC was never the same. While he remembered his old tribe he didn't seem to have any emotional attachment to their shared past. He was like a shell of his former self. That was an unfortunate common side effect of the rehabilitation process. Lex continued to stare at the familiar faces. Cloe, Gel and Sammy. Even Ebony had made an appearance and was allowed to attend.
The only time the crowd was quiet was when the pier was lit and Jay's corpse engulfed in flames. Lex was happy Amber wasn't here to see this. She still hadn't woken up and remained in intensive care at the hospital. To lose another father of her children would be more than anyone could bear. Even Amber who was the best, next to Ebony, at putting on a brave face.
He'd spent the last two days investigating the murder with no avail. The Techno guard was on high alert all over the city but young Bray was yet to be found. It seemed whomever was responsible for the crime was clear of the city now. This brought about the disturbing thought that those involved had help from the inside. People working in the city with access to the city computer's main frame.
After the service Lex kept out of site wanting to avoid any moments with his "friends". As the beach cleared out and he thought it was safe to emerge, he was surprised by Gel. Her annoyingly pretty face was the last one he wanted to see at the moment. He attempted to brush her off with claims of having to get back to work, but her small plea was enough to stop him.
"It'll only be a minute," She said quietly. Her eyes were red from crying throughout the service but there was more than grief written on her face.
"What is it?"
Gel was silent for a few minutes as she tried to find her voice. Lex grew impatient but felt compulsed to hear whatever it was she was going to say.
"I never meant for this to happen." She finally whimpered.
"What do you mean?"
She shook her head. "They just wanted to know where she was. They told me they'd kill me if I didn't tell them."
"What?" Lex narrowed his eyes and stared at her. "What are you talking about? Who... Who said they'd kill you? Who were they looking for?"
"Amber." She whispered, her watery eyes full of guilt.
"Amber?" Lex grabbed her shoulders gently. "Gel, what about Amber? Who said they'd kill you?"
Her lower lip trembled. "I don't know who they are. It was a man and a woman and they wanted to know where Amber was. They knew I was apart of the tribe and they were going to kill me if I didn't tell them where to find her." She looked down as the tears came. "I was so scared I didn't know what to do. So I told them that she and Jay lived in the Shorefront and then they said if I said anything to anyone, they'd come back and kill me. But I didn't want anyone to get hurt. Not like this."
Gel broke down completely and Lex, shocked at her confession, found himself hugging her. This was something he had to tell Mega right away. He quickly thanked Gel and told her it would be alright before taking off. He wasn't far from the Shorefront so he decided to skip the chaos in the streets and ran along the beach until the large complex was in view.
Chiava had gone to lay down as soon as they returned from the service while Mega sat thinking in the living room. Lex was surprised to find him like that considering Mega never seemed to do anything other than work in his office when at home. He apologized for intruding before repeating what Gel had told him.
"Which means Jay wasn't the target, Amber was." He reasoned breathlessly. "And Bray prob'ly has more to do with this than we originally thought."
Mega nodded thoughtfully as he continued to stare up at the ceiling. It was odd to see him this way, a hint of defeat in his dark eyes. Perhaps losing Jay affected him more than he was letting on. Could it be he considered Jay to be more than a useful ally on the counsel? Was it possible he and Jay forgot the past, respected each other, maybe even became friends?
"Anyway," Lex shook the thoughts out of his head. None of that mattered now. "I wanted you to know before I went down to the station..."
"No." Though quiet, Mega's voice was firm. "I want you to go home."
"What?" Lex was confused. "What are you talking about? This is a new lead. We gotta start asking questions..."
"And we will," Mega interrupted turning to look at Lex. "But you've been working for the past forty-eight hours straight and frankly you look like shit. Records show you haven't even clocked out."
This was true. Since the night of the murder, Lex had been chasing leads all over the city. Checking over the city computer's surveillance files, asking around, interrogating guards who'd been on duty but hadn't seen anything. He hadn't slept, he'd barely eaten and he hadn't even changed his clothes.
"You're one of my best men," Mega continued. "But I need you crisp. You're no good to me half dead."
Lex was about to protest but Mega just nodded towards the door.
"Go home and sleep or something. You used to have a life: go find it."
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Though shocked that he even gave a shit, Lex took Mega's advice and went home after clocking out at the station. He ordered some pizza, showered and threw on a pair of boxers. After many hours of sitting around, trying to sleep and failing miserably, he decided to do something to get his mind off the case. He pondered how long it had been since he'd shared his bed. When was the last time he'd reached over to feel the feminine curves of the fairer sex. Had his fingertips graze over silken skin or through sweet smelling tresses of hair.
After a few minutes of debating he slipped the messenger boy in his building an order for The Palace. It was a request for someone sweet, not interested in talking and loaded with skills. He didn't like to usually deal with Ebony's girls for various reasons, one being most were so young, but she employed the best call girls in the city. When she'd first brought up the idea of home delivery to Mega, he was pleased because it would keep many of his city officials from getting caught at the clubs.
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Ebony laughed when she received the message from Lex. After all his of protesting against her club, he was requesting a personal visit. He must be desperate, she thought to herself. The Palace was busy tonight, the floor full of dancing, teasing girls and drooling, paying patrons. The private rooms were practically all booked but Ebony knew exactly who to send over. This was a special request after all. She had to send over a special kind of girl.
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Lex sat lost in a mass of thoughts, the knock on the door bringing him back to reality. No surprise he was thinking about the Mallrats again. Nothing specific, just short images flashing through his mind like a slide show. How depressed could he get? Only by adding a musical score could his thoughts get any more pathetic. When he opened the door and looked back at the familiar face, he almost slammed it again. He managed to stop himself and stared at the girl dressed like a librarian so as not to attract attention to herself. Though anyone who favored The Palace would know who she was if they took a good look.
"Kiki,"
"Lieutenant Lex." She purred.
"What are you doing here?" He asked already knowing the answer.
"Whatever you want." She smirked.
"I bet Ebony's having a good laugh over this." He shook his head.
Kiki blinked innocently. "What do you mean?"
Lex stared back at the young girl a moment and then glanced the camera recording their rapport in the corner of the hall. Finally he opened the door wider and Kiki slipped in past him. As he shut the door she dropped her wool coat and looked around. She was sporting a blouse and skirt set made for old ladies but the frumpy get up didn't hide her lovely curves.
"Nice place." She nodded at the bay windows. "Small though. I thought someone like you would be shacked up at the Shorefront. Or at least in another sector."
"I like it here." Lex mumbled and lit a spice joint. He pointed at the leftover pizza on the counter. "You hungry?"
"Sure," Kiki answered as she unbuttoned her blouse.
Lex felt hypnotized as he watched the garment drop down her perfect shoulders and finally fall to the floor. It revealed a barely there negligee the shade of peach which complimented her fair skin tone. She continued to stare out the window as she inched her skirt down. Lex had to stop his jaw from dropping at the sight of her thong. He looked away quickly as she turned to him.
"What you got to offer?" She slinked over to the counter.
He nudged the plate of pizza closer to her without taking his eyes off the wall. He wondered how a thirteen year old had come to possess such a fantastic body. It should be illegal, but in this world Kiki was an adult free to make her own choices. And he was free to do what he liked with her though he was eleven years her senior.
Kiki ignored the food and pressed herself up against Lex, her small hands running up his bare chest.
"I see you dressed for me." She purred and tugged at the drawstring of his boxers. "Silk agrees with you."
He closed his eyes, his heart pounding as her warm lips pressed to his skin. He felt frozen for a minute as she slowly slipped her hands into forbidden places. Once upon a time he would have slept with anyone who made eyes at him, but he wasn't that teenager anymore. Suddenly Lex came to his senses and gently pushed her off him.
"Stop." He said simply moving to the opposite side of the room.
Kiki laughed not getting it. "I've never heard that before." She made a move towards him only to have him step away. She frowned. "Playing hard to get?"
"No." Lex shook his head and puffed his joint. "Look I'm sorry but Ebony shouldn't have sent you over. She only did it as a joke."
Kiki smirked. "So you didn't request a home delivery?"
He sighed. "Yes I did but not you."
"And what's wrong with me?" She gave him a playful pout and moved closer. "You're not attracted to me?"
Lex chuckled at her persistence as she trailed a finger down his arm. "You... you're... come on you know you're gorgeous."
She smiled flirtatiously stepping close enough to lean up and kiss his flustered face. "Then what's wrong? Don't tell me the great Lex is shy."
He sighed and turned his head from her lips. "I don't sleep with kids."
A hint of defiance mixed with hurt flashed through her pretty eyes as she stepped back. For a second her face was blank as she regrouped and then her beautiful lips twisted into a devilish smile. She slowly turned from him.
"Bet you weren't worried about that when you were fucking Zandra."
Lex felt his muscles tense and he saw red at the mention of his first wife's name.
"How old was she, twelve?"
Kiki snickered as she turned to face him. She barely had a chance to scream as he lunged at her, one hand gripped tightly around her small throat. Lex slammed the girl against the wall, his face contorted with rage.
"How do you know her name!" He shouted.
Her breath caught in her throat, Kiki stared back in absolute dread. She'd heard stories of Lex being a hot head back in the day but no one would have guessed it about the Techno Lieutenant now. He seemed too bored with life to get upset about anything. She couldn't even pretend she wasn't afraid after witnessing the hatred in his eyes.
"How do you know about Zandra!" Lex demanded again when she didn't answer.
"I...I... Ebony!" Kiki sputtered her eyes filling with tears. "She said you'd think... it was a... a... turn on!"
Lex felt his anger dissolve as quickly as it sprang up as he stared into the face of a child scared for her life. He pulled his hand away from her surprised at his own violent reaction. He stepped back trying to steady his heavy breathing. Salene would tell him this was the result of his repressing his emotions. Kiki slid down the wall and drew her knees in close to her body, her eyes never leaving him.
"I'm sorry," Lex shook his head. "That's... a sensitive subject."
"Obviously." Kiki mumbled with her arms wrapped around herself. Her narrow eyes continued to watch as Lex picked up his fallen joint and sat on the edge of his coffee table. He dropped his head and ran a hand through his shaggy dark hair.
"You should go." He said quietly.
"I can't."
He didn't look up. "Why?"
"She'll kill me." Kiki referred to Ebony. "She'll never believe you turned me down. No one ever has. Besides it's almost curfew. I wont make it back in time."
Lex looked up and sighed. He'd forgotten about the curfew that required slaves to be indoors by a certain time of night. Was it that late already? Looked like he was stuck with Kiki for the rest of the night. She waited for him to say something and seriously worried over what was going through his mind. She hadn't meant to do anything wrong. Ebony told her he was a special client who liked his women hard. She was only trying to play the part. She didn't even know anything about Zandra. It was just a line Ebony gave her to use. A line to get him hot and bothered.
"Look I'm sorry about the Zandra thing." She offered helplessly still not moving from her position on the floor. "I didn't know. I...I thought you liked that kinda thing."
She was answered with another sigh as Lex continued to smoke and stare at the floor. She'd never noticed before how sad he looked. His handsome face haunted, his shoulders weighed down by something inexplicable. She recognized the look. Seen it in the faces of so many of his generation. Kids lucky enough to survive the virus only to succumb to the horror that followed. Slowly she stood and approached him, resting a timid hand on his shoulder.
"I'm sorry." She repeated softly.
He finally looked up at her and gave her a half smile. "Sorry for choking you."
Kiki smirked. "Well, some girls like that sorta thing."
This made the two of them chuckle and Kiki relaxed enough to play with a few tufts of his hair.
"We can still, ya know." She gazed down flirtatiously. "I mean you have me here all night."
Lex found himself almost smiling as he stood and placed his hands on Kiki's shoulders.
"I'm not sleeping with you." He said gently, amusement in his voice. "But don't worry, I'll pay you anyway. Ebony won't be the wiser." He walked to the kitchen counter and snuffed out his joint in the ashtray. "You'll stay here tonight. Have something to eat, amuse yourself. You can have the bed." He gestured towards his bedroom door.
"Where you gonna sleep?" Kiki followed him to the counter and leaned against it.
"I don't sleep." He mumbled pouring himself a glass of what was left of his moonshine.
She watched him with curious eyes. "This is the first home delivery I've had ya know. I wanted to do a good job cause Ebony said you were like a special assignment. Are you sure you don't wanna...?" She battered her eyelashes.
Lex smirked as he sipped from his glass. "Get dressed Kiki."