 
           --===Net Wolf | Justice Seven, Episode 9 - Casework===--
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Justice Seven
 
Episode 9: Casework
 
 
 
Jim walked up to the door of the Young house with a certain amount of
hesitation.  Laura had not seemed to know what this conversation was about,
though Jim suspected that the women in his life talked far more than they let
on.
 
With a deep breath, Jim rang the doorbell.  He didn't have to wait very long
before Stacy answered the door, dressed in a loose sweater and tight jeans. 
She had her hair pulled back into a ponytail, and she smiled warmly at him.
 
"Hey, Jim.  C'mon in out of the cold."  She led him to the kitchen, where she
had two mugs waiting.  There was water heating on the stove.  Jim stayed close
to her side, but didn't say anything.  He leaned against the sink as she moved
around the kitchen, preparing the hot chocolate she was making for both of
them.
 
Even Jim was not dense enough not to realize that Stacy was nervous.  On her
way to the stove to get the boiling water, he reached out and gently embraced
her.  She turned, and immediately came to him, the water forgotten.  He pulled
her close, and she laid her head on his shoulder, wrapping her arms tightly
around him.  He could feel her shivering in her nervousness, so he rubbed her
back for a little while, hoping to settle her down.
 
When he realized that wasn't working, he knew that the best thing for her was
just to let her get it out in the open.  He pulled back from her slightly, and
she did likewise.  Then he kissed her very tenderly.  Their lips lingered for
long moments, but there was more love than passion in the kiss.
 
Finally, the two separated.  Stacy motioned him over to the bar, and he sat on
a stool.  She poured the water for the hot chocolate, and stirred them both,
then carried them carefully over to the bar.  She sat down next to Jim, and
sighed heavily, knowing there was nothing to delay the discussion anymore. 
Jim took a sip of his cocoa, but said nothing, staring at her intently,
waiting for her to reveal what this conversation was about.
 
"Jim... do you still love my daughter?" she asked.
 
"Yes.  More than ever," he replied quietly.  In the few days since the
Christmas revelations, he had spent a great deal of time with both Jen and
Andie... and on one more occasion, both of them.  He didn't believe it
possible that he could love both of them so completely, but he did.
 
"And you love Andie?"
 
"Yes," he said, less sure of himself not because of his feelings, but because
he wondered, now, where this conversation was going.  He thought he knew, but
Andie didn't fit into what he was thinking.
 
"You don't love Claire."
 
"No.  She's just a good friend."
 
"And your sister?"
 
"Well... that's much harder to describe."
 
"You love her as a sister."
 
"Of course.  But we've always been very close, and being... uh... lovers...
just seems natural with her."
 
Stacy nodded, and lapsed back into silence for a minute.  Finally, she turned
to him and asked, "Do you love me?  Even a little bit?"
 
Jim sat in stunned silence.  He wasn't sure how to answer that.  After a
minute or so, he said, "Stacy... I care for you a lot.  I am very attracted to
you.  I like spending time with you.  But... I don't know if I love you."
 
"What do you mean, you don't know?"
 
"Well... I don't feel the same way about you that I do about Jen.  But I do
feel very close to you.  I'd hate for you not to be in my life... Stacy,
what's this all about?"
 
"Just give me a minute, please?"  Jim nodded.  "So... when you graduate high
school in a couple years, will you take my daughter and your other girls and
abandon me?"
 
Jim reached over and took her hand.  "No.  I'd like to stay here so that I can
be with you, too."  Jim hadn't really thought much about that, but he wasn't
lying; his immediate reaction to the idea of leaving Stacy or Laura was highly
negative.
 
Stacy sighed softly, and smiled at him.  She knew he was telling her the
truth.  "I had to make sure," she said quietly.
 
"Of what?"
 
"Of how you felt.  A lot has changed in your life since you and I were first
intimate."
 
"That's true," he said with a lopsided grin.
 
"I needed to know whether how you felt about me had changed."
 
Jim shrugged.  "I'm not sure.  If anything, I feel more for you now than I
did."
 
Stacy took a deep breath, and blurted, "I'm pregnant."
 
Jim sat up straighter.  This was precisely what he had thought she was going
to tell him when he'd come over, but the way the conversation had gone had
thrown him off guard.  He struggled to catch his breath for a second, and then
managed to settle himself down.  He reached over and took her hand in his.
 
"You're sure?"
 
"The doc confirmed it early last week."
 
"I know we'd talked about it..."
 
"Jim... I meant what I said.  You're welcome to be a part of the baby's life,
but I *don't* expect you to take care of us.  You have enough other people to
worry about."
 
"Stacy... do you *want* the baby?  I know you said you wouldn't have an
abortion, but accepting it isn't the same as wanting it."
 
"Yes, I do want the baby.  I've wanted another baby for a long time, but Mike
was such a fucking asshole that I didn't want to have *his* child."
 
"But Jen..."
 
"Is adopted.  I thought you knew that.  She does."
 
Jim sat back a little.  "No, I never asked.  She looks so much like you..."
 
Stacy nodded.  "That was intentional.  Mike didn't want her to stand out
like..." Stacy giggled, and said, "like a red-headed step-child."
 
Jim chuckled.  "So... you don't mind having *my* baby?"
 
Stacy got off the stool and slid her body against him.  She wrapped her arms
around him and kissed him warmly.  "I can't think of anyone's child I'd rather
have."
 
Their cocoa went unfinished.
 
 
 
-----
 
 
 
Jim was very late getting home, but his parents didn't complain.  It wasn't a
school night, since Christmas Vacation was still going on, and they knew where
he had been.
 
When Jen had come home from the errands her mother had sent her on
specifically to keep her out of the house during the discussion, Jim and Stacy
had told Jen what was going on.  They were both surprised when she was
genuinely happy for her mother.
 
After they came in the house and Jim said good-night to his parents, Laura
followed him to his room.  He didn't say anything at all when she walked in
past him.  He just closed the door and turned off the light.  After they both
got fully undressed, they slipped into bed together.  Laura snuggled tightly
up against him and rested her head next to his.
 
"So what did Stacy want to talk about?" she asked.
 
"You really don't know?" he replied, surprised.
 
Laura yawned softly.  "Nope, she wouldn't say anything.  She said if I wanted
to know, I'd have to ask you.  So what's up?"
 
"She's pregnant," he said softly.  He felt Laura shiver.  "What?"
 
"Just the thought of it.  You know, you and I aren't using any protection,
either..."
 
It was Jim's turn to shiver.  "Uh... maybe we should start using condoms..."
 
"Yuck.  I hate them.  I won't sleep with any guy until I trust him enough that
I'll do it without.  I guess I could have Mom get me on the pill..."
 
Jim hugged her.  "Please?  I don't want you to be stuck with my kid."
 
"Is that how Stacy feels about it?" Laura asked, slightly offended.
 
"No, she's happy about it," he hurried to assure her.  "But you're not even
done with school yet."
 
"I would be, by the time the baby was born..." she mused, tickling his chest.
 
"Laura..."
 
"Okay, okay.  I'll talk to Mom about it tomorrow.  But, you think, maybe we
could risk it, one last time...?"
 
Jim did not have the heart to deny her.
 
 
 

 
 
 
"Jim, what's so special about tonight's party?  I sure don't mind hosting for
you, but..."
 
"We just wanted you to meet our friends, Mom," Jen said.  She looked over at
Jim.  The team had had a quick discussion about things.  Of course, Paul was
unwilling to cooperate.  Jim was fairly fed up with that particular member of
the team; he didn't fit in at all.  The rest, however, had decided that Stacy
knowing about them would be an acceptable risk, and a great benefit, as she
worked for the police department, and could perhaps help them with some things
from time to time.
 
The three chatted for a little while, but soon enough, the doorbell rang to
announce the first guest.  Jen went to get it.
 
"Hey, Akira!" she said cheerfully.  "C'mon in!"
 
"Hello, Jen."  As he was led into the living room, Akira had to keep himself
from bowing.  Instead, he nodded his head as he said, "Hello, Jim.  Hello,
Mrs. Young."         The others greeted him in kind.  He sat down in a chair,
and said, "I thought that, since I will have to leave early, I should show up
as early as I could."
 
"Well, that's nice of you," Stacy said.  "Why do you have to leave early?"
 
"My mother and I have made earlier plans to take a ride through Carter Park at
ten."
 
"Oooh.  That sounds nice," Jen said.  Akira nodded.
 
They continued to talk about small things as the other members of the team
showed up.  Paul, of course, had declined to come, both because he had no
desire to be around the team members socially, and because he did not want to
be part of the revelation for the evening.
 
 
 
-----
 
 
 
"So can you tell us what was up with you a couple weeks ago?" Luke asked Jim. 
"We didn't want to pry, and Claire said things would get worked out, but you
seemed pretty upset... anything we can do to help?"  Lori nodded in agreement.
 
Jen had overheard the question, and she came to sit beside Jim as he started
to reply.
 
"Nothing you can do, no... the issue's been cleared up."
 
"You probably ought to tell them, Jim," Jen said.
 
"You sure?"
 
"It's gonna be hard for them not to notice, Baby."
 
Jim laughed.  "Yeah, I guess so."  He turned back to Luke and Lori, who were
sitting, waiting.
 
"I'm sure you're aware that both Jen and Claire asked me to help Andie after
her father attacked her..."  Both of the others nodded.  "Well, as I was
helping her to work through her problems, we started to become close."
 
"How close?" Lori asked with a knowing grin.
 
"Any closer, and they'd need to be surgically separated," Jen answered with a
chuckle, to twist Jim's tail.  He squeezed her hand.
 
"Anyway," Jim said, to get back on track, "I was having trouble working
through what to do about having two girls that I had deep feelings for.  I
guess that made me kind of cranky."
 
"Kind of?" Luke said with a smirk.
 
"You never have bad days?" Jim shot back with a smile.
 
"So what did you decide to do?" Lori asked, to short circuit the beginning
verbal jousting match.
 
"I didn't.  They did," he said, gesturing to Jen.  Andie was across the room
talking with Akira.
 
"We decided to share him," Jen said, before one of the two could ask her.
 
"You *what*?" Luke asked, incredulously.
 
"Aw, c'mon, Luke," Lori said, teasing.  "How different is that from what
you're doing?"
 
Jim and Jen watched Luke's face turn six shades of red, and they all laughed
at him.
 
"He's so uptight," Lori continued with a wicked grin.
 
"So who are you sharing him with?" Jen asked Lori.
 
"Lori..." Luke warned.
 
"Baby... the only person I'd worry about knowing, isn't here.  We shouldn't be
hiding things from the team, should we?"
 
"That's private."
 
Lori rolled her eyes.
 
Jen looked at Jim, a communication going on between them.
 
"Do you think she'd mind?" Jen asked.
 
"Who, Laura, or your mother?" Jim whispered.  

Jen blushed, but then she said, "Both."
 
Jim turned back to them, and said, "If we're going to be revealing secrets,
I'm willing to go first."
 
"Luke?" Lori asked, goading him.
 
"Okay, but yours had better be a doozie."
 
"I'm sleeping with my sister," Jim said, deadpan.
 
"So am I!" Luke blurted.
 
"You're sleeping with Laura?" Jim asked, confused.
 
Luke coughed and sputtered, then he caught himself.  "No, I mean I'm sleeping
with *my* sister, Zoe!"  Lori laughed at him.  Just to get even, Luke added,
"And so is Lori."
 
Lori blushed crimson.  Jim thought she might be blushing all the way down to
her toes.
 
"I didn't know you were bi," Jen said.
 
"I wasn't, until Zoe got a hold of me.  But you know how hypersensitive I am. 
She... uh... talked me into it."
 
Jen giggled.  She nudged Jim.  "Go on, tell 'em the rest."
 
"I'm also sleeping with Mrs. Young."  He thought the other two would faint,
they grew so pale.
 
"Jen?" Lori asked.
 
"He has my blessing.  Besides, he's giving me a little sister..."
 
Before the other two could respond - and they were barely capable of it - Jim
asked, "How do you know it's gonna be a girl?"
 
"I know these things," she replied mysteriously.
 
"You two are weird," Luke said, finally.  His tone wasn't judgmental, or Jim
might have hit him.  He was simply overawed by what he'd learned.
 
"Maybe.  But we like it this way," Jen responded.
 
"Anyone want more punch?" Stacy said, coming into the conversation, unaware of
what had been discussed.  She soon found out, and learned a few new secrets
about her daughter's friends.
 
 
 
-----
 
 
 
"Good evening, folks," the driver said.  He helped Yumiko up into the
carriage, and Akira followed her.  The man handed them a blanket.  "In case
you'd like to loosen your coat so you can enjoy the ride more."  Akira flicked
the blanket open, and set it across their laps, to keep their legs warm.  He
then sat back and put his arm around his mother's shoulders.  She leaned
against him as the driver got the horses underway.
 
Their ride through Carter Park was very peaceful.  There was a light snow
falling, which hushed the city noises and allowed them to feel alone.  The
driver essentially ignored them, though he had to be wondering about a couple
this disparate in ages.
 
About halfway through the ride, Yumiko slipped her hand from her own lap into
Akira's lap, beneath the blanket.  She massaged his cock through his jeans. 
Akira looked over at her in surprise, but she just smiled at him softly.  He
squeezed her shoulders more tightly, but said nothing, simply enjoying the
feel of her hand as he enjoyed the scenery of the park in winter.
 
As they neared the end of the ride, Akira took a chance.  He leaned over and
pressed his lips to his mother's mouth.  She kissed him back hotly, and
squeezed his dick more tightly.  The kiss lasted for a long moment, but they
broke it off before it became unseemly.
 
Finally, the carriage pulled to a stop, back where they had gotten on. 
Yumiko's hand slipped reluctantly from her son's lap, and they stood up,
climbing down from the carriage.  They said good-night to the man, and headed
to their car.
 
 
 
-----
 
 
 
Akira embraced his mother once they were back at home, but she kept his kisses
short.  He finally let her go with a quizzical expression on his face.
 
"It is our first New Year's in America," she explained.  "I wish to watch
the... ball fall."
 
Akira smiled.  "Drop, Mother.  The ball drops.  Okay.  That's going to happen
in about ten minutes."
 
"I need to change.  Would you find the correct television channel, please?"
 
"Sure."
 
Akira watched his mother sidle out of the room, then he sat down on the couch
and picked up the remote.  He flipped it on to ABC, to catch the traditional
Dick Clark version of New Year's.  He settled in to wait for his mother.
 
When Yumiko returned to the living room, Akira smiled at her.  She was wearing
a bathrobe which was American in design, but made to look like a Japanese
kimono.  She slipped onto the couch next to her son, and she kissed him
softly.  Her hand returned to his lap, and she fondled his cock through his
pants.
 
In the six weeks that he had been sleeping with his mother, Akira had not
known her to be overly aggressive.  He was wondering what was up with her this
evening, but he admitted to himself that he liked having her come onto him for
a change.  He was very surprised when she unfastened his pants and slipped her
hand inside.
 
Yumiko was glad her son wore boxers instead of briefs.  Her hand slipped in
through the slit, and fondled his cock directly, feeling it harden beneath her
gentle touch.  She coaxed it out through the slit, and she looked at it,
standing up proud and hard.  She hummed softly to herself.
 
"And it'll be just another two minutes before the new year arrives..." Dick
was saying on the TV.  Yumiko lowered her mouth to her son's cock and started
to lick the sides.  She had never given him a blowjob before, and he was
stunned.
 
"Mother?" he asked.
 
She sat up to look at him.  "I have never done this.  Not even with your
father.  But I have studied, and I have practiced with... some things.  Will
you let me try?"
 
"Oh, god, yes," Akira said.  Yumiko leaned back down and returned her tongue
to his cock.  As Dick Clark announced the one-minute mark, she raised her lips
to the head of his cock, and opened her mouth, allowing him to slip inside. 
She let her tongue run around the tip of his cock, and then she pushed her
mouth downward, taking as much of him inside as she could before she lifted
back up, sucking strongly.
 
Akira was in heaven.  His hand went to the back of her neck, resting gently
without being insistent.  The sensations she was causing on his prick were
exquisite, and he wasn't sure he could last very long.  He tried to focus on
the TV program, to distract himself so that he could go longer.  His mother's
lips working over his shaft were just too pleasurable, however, and he knew
that it wouldn't take him long to blow.
 
He was clenching his eyes shut, trying to hold off the wave of pleasure.  He
did hear the countdown start, however.
 
"10... 9...."
 
He felt his mother begin to massage the side of his dick with her tongue.  The
sensation was just too much.  He felt the tightening of his balls, and he knew
that no amount of clenching was going to hold it back for more than a few
seconds.
 
"5....4...."
 
Akira would swear that he could feel the cum pushing its way up his cock.  It
wasn't quite there yet, but he knew it was mere seconds...
 
"2...1... Happy New Year!  Welcome to two thousand and-"
 
"AAAGH!" Akira screamed, blotting out the television.  His mother had
increased her suction, and he couldn't stand it any longer.  He blasted his
load of cum deep into her mouth.  Yumiko was shocked, but she managed not to
cough or choke.  She continued to suck as his cock spurted his load into her
mouth.  Finally, he tapered off.
 
Yumiko found the flavor of his cum neither tasty nor unpleasant.  She
swallowed it, and felt it slide down into her stomach.  After a few more
swipes of her tongue, she released his dick, and sat up, then straddled his
lap.  She knew he would need a minute or two.
 
"Wow, Mother.  That felt wonderful!" Akira said with awe.
 
"I am glad you enjoyed it.  Come to bed, now..."
 
Akira got a mischievous grin.  "Why do we need a bed?  Let's make love right
here on the couch!"
 
"I have never made love outside of a bed, Akira..." his mother said with some
hesitation.
 
Akira moved his hands, and untied his mother's robe.  Then he slipped his
hands inside and up, cupping her breasts softly and squeezing them.  The robe
fell open as he did so, giving him a view of her lovely body.
 
Yumiko sighed audibly, and let her eyes close.  She felt Akira's lips brush
against one of her nipples, and it felt so wonderful.  She could also feel
that his cock was beginning to harden, and it was pressing against her leg. 
She didn't have the will to resist; if he wanted to take her here, then here
was where it would happen.
 
Akira pushed the robe off his mother, and tugged it free of her body, then
dropped it to the floor.  She had not been wearing anything at all beneath it,
as he had suspected.  He looked down to see her nicely trimmed pubic hair, and
then let his eyes travel back up her body.  He pulled her close to him and
they kissed for a long moment while he ground his crotch against her, bringing
his cock back to full hardness.  He knew his mother was more than ready for
him; he could feel her wetness soaking his boxers.
 
Reaching down, Akira grabbed his mother's ass and pulled, so that she raised
up onto her knees.  As she did so, his cock slid between her legs.  He moved
carefully, and then lifted his hips just slightly when he was in the right
spot, to keep his dick in position.  Finally, he lowered his mother down onto
himself, his cock penetrating her pussy slowly, as she lowered herself back
into his lap.  She sighed again, loving the feel of him inside her.  At first,
she had been hesitant about their relationship, giving in to him out of
gratitude.  Since then, however, she had found him to be a much better lover
than her husband had ever been, and she appreciated his frequent attentions.
 
As soon as he was fully buried inside his mother, Akira began to thrust his
hips upward, driving himself deeper into her.  She bounced in his lap, her
pussy massaging his cock as she rode him.  Akira massaged her tits, kneading
them gently with his fingers.  She was soon gasping in pleasure, her heat
rising.
 
Akira thrust faster, and he watched as his mother climbed closer and closer to
her peak.  Just as she was about to crash over, he backed off, slowing down. 
She groaned in frustration, but she saw the impish grin on his face.  She knew
what he was doing.  He watched her breasts rise and fall as she gasped for
breath, and he would move his hips just enough to keep her right on the edge. 
Finally, she couldn't take it anymore.
 
"Akira, please!"
 
Akira gave in, and finally rocked his hips, hard, up into his mother.  She was
immediately over the edge, screaming her pleasure.  He held onto her as her
body shuddered and bucked on top of him.  He enjoyed the view as her tits
rolled back and forth, her hair flipping this way and that as her head
thrashed in the throes of her orgasm.
 
As his mother descended from the heights of bliss, Akira gently moved her off
his lap, and onto the couch.  He leaned over and sucked on her nipples,
causing her to shudder again, but then he stood up and pulled his now-soaked
jeans and boxers off.
 
When Yumiko was once again aware of her surroundings, she saw her son standing
over her, holding his hand out to her.  She took it, and he brought her to her
feet.  She thought they were going to the bedroom now, but that was not what
he had in mind.  Akira moved her to the table against the wall, which had a
mirror hanging above it.  She could see herself, and Akira behind her.  She
couldn't see anything for a second as she felt him slip his cock back inside
her pussy.
 
Akira didn't wait long, but he began to slam his cock into his mother's pussy
fast and hard.  She was quickly screaming in pleasure once again, though he
was so caught up in his own ecstasy, he barely noticed hers.  Her pussy was
rippling along his cock, and he knew that he was very close to coming.
 
Yumiko could feel her son's cock pulsing inside her.  She was aware of his
impending come, and she was holding off for it.  She knew her next orgasm was
going to be strong, and she wanted to come with him.  She squeezed her pussy
on his cock, pushing him closer to the edge.
 
Finally, he plummeted over the edge, filling her pussy with his seed.  Yumiko
cried out in pleasure, and allowed her orgasm to overtake her.  She writhed
and bucked against him, shoving her pussy back onto his cock as it loosed its
load into her.  For long moments, they moved together, crying out and
thrashing in passion, until their bodies finally calmed.
 
Akira took hold of his mother, and pulled her upright, holding her against
him.  His cock slid halfway out of her, but that was okay.  His hands cupped
her breasts, and they looked at themselves in the mirror.
 
"I love you, Mother," he said softly.
 
"I love you, too, Akira.  Thank you, for teaching me new joys."
 
"Let's go to bed now."
 
 
 

 
 
 
Becky Childress walked timidly toward the old house.  It was clearly not
someplace to be lived in; the house was decrepit and uninhabitable.  She
walked carefully through the doorway - there was no front door - and into the
living room.  In the room, she saw only a chair and a table with a laptop
sitting on it.  Connected to the top of the laptop was a camera.
 
"Hello?" Becky called out quietly.
 
"Good evening," a voice said.  It radiated from all four corners of the room. 
She couldn't see the speakers in the gathering darkness.  The voice was low
and raspy, and she was fairly sure it was faked.  "Please sit down," it said. 
Becky took a seat in the chair that sat in front of the table.  "How may we be
of service?" the voice asked.
 
"I... I'm not sure you can.  I don't know if anyone can help me."
 
"Why don't you tell us about it?"
 
"A couple weeks ago... I was raped.  I think."
 
"You're not sure?"
 
"No.  And that's why the police can't do anything.  I was at a bar, and I
think this guy came up to me, and we started talking... but after that, the
next thing I remember is waking up in my car, with my clothes off and.... you
know."
 
"Yes.  You cannot remember the man?"
 
"No.  I can't bring up a face at all.  Only that he was taller than me."
 
"It is possible you were drugged."
 
"The police said that.  But without something more to go on..."
 
"Excuse the unpleasantness, but was a rape kit collected?"
 
Becky hung her head.  "I went home and showered before I reported it."
 
"Understandable, but unfortunate."
 
"Will you take my case?  I've heard that you can do almost anything..."  Which
was a rumor they had spread themselves, very carefully.
 
Suddenly, a light snapped on, blinding Becky.  She shied away from it, and
closed her eyes.  Mimir appeared in the doorway to the hall beyond the living
room, but of course, Becky couldn't tell that.  He stepped into the room just
far enough so she could hear him if he spoke softly.  He didn't want to give
her a good voice sample to recognize later.
 
"Relax," he said.  He slipped into her mind, and searched for the memory.  The
pathways were clearly messed up, but he was still able to navigate them.
 
"What are you..."
 
"Just relax," he said again, in that calmest of voices.  He continued to work
to bring the memory forward.  Slowly but surely, he was able to pull it out of
the mists of her mind.  He was carrying a PDA with him, and it was
communicating with the laptop.  A face began to appear on the laptop's screen,
where there had merely been a blank before.  The facial features changed until
finally, the image settled.
 
The disembodied voice asked, "Is this the man who raped you?"
 
The light snapped off, and Mimir was gone from the room.  She blinked her eyes
clear, and then stared at the screen.  She shrank from it immediately.
 
"Yes!  That's him!  Who is he?"
 
"We do not know.  We will find out."
 
"But... you can't prove it.  The police said..."
 
"Leave that part to us.  You are prepared to pay our fee?"
 
"Yes.  $30 a day for each day you work on the case.  I understand that you may
not work on it constantly.  Will I receive a bill?"
 
"You will receive a statement of your account, of our time spent, and of what
we did, up to a point.  Some details of our actions must remain secret."  The
computer screen changed from the face to a form.  "Please fill out the form
with your information.  We will be in touch."
 
After Becky had gone, the team walked over from the house across the street. 
Only Mimir had needed to expose himself, and the bright light and his soft
speech meant that she wouldn't be able to identify him at all.  They gathered
up the materials, and headed out.  As Akira drove them back toward the part of
town they lived in, they talked.
 
"How do we proceed?" Jim asked.
 
"We need to have Mrs. Young help us.  The program I'm using can interface with
police records, to see if they have this mutt on file."
 
"But they can't arrest him on our say-so..." Lori objected.
 
"No.  But we need a name and address as a starting place.  I also noticed in
her memory that he took her necklace as a trophy."
 
"Luke, did you relive the entire attack?" Claire asked.
 
"Unfortunately.  The hazard of memory recall."
 
"So... when we find out who he is, then what?" Akira asked.
 
"One thing at a time.  Let's try to get a name, first."
 
"Right."
 
"I'll do that tomorrow.  It will be less suspicious if Jen and I go down to
visit her mother," Jim said.
 
"Fair enough."  He popped a memory card out of the laptop, and handed it to
Jim.  "Good luck."
 
 
 

 
 
 
"Hey, you two," Stacy said.  She looked around to make sure there was no one
else there, and then she kissed Jim, who blushed.  He was thankful that Stacy
worked alone in the records room.  "What's on your mind?"
 
"Well, you are, now..." Jim said.  Stacy blushed crimson while Jen giggled. 
"We need some information," he said quietly.
 
"Such as?" Stacy said, lowering her voice.
 
Jim handed over the memory card.  "We need to see if the system can match this
face."
 
"What's he done?"
 
"We think he's a rapist."
 
Stacy scowled heavily, but Jim knew it was not meant for him.  She put the
card in the slot, and then loaded the file.  The face came up on the screen,
and then Stacy started the search running.
 
"It could take a couple minutes."
 
"No problem.  How are you feeling?"
 
Stacy knew the question was not mere courtesy.  "Going through morning
sickness, but I'll be fine, Jim.  Promise."
 
"'kay."
 
They waited in silence while the computer searched, and it finally found a
match.  "Scott Atkinson.  8280 North Willows Road.  Accused of sexual assault,
but never indicted."
 
"Fucker," Jen said softly.  Stacy ignored the curse.
 
"Did you need anything else?"
 
"You have anything else on him?"
 
"Drives a yellow Ford Taurus, 2003.  License number KLA-424."
 
Jim jotted all that down, and then closed his notebook.  "I guess that does
it."
 
"Can you come over for dinner tomorrow?" Stacy asked.  "We can all watch a
movie or something."
 
"Sure."  Jim looked around, and there was still no one present, so he gave
Stacy a long, languid kiss that left her breathless.  When he finally let her
go, she put her hand to her chest.  "See you tomorrow," he said.  She just
waved, still speechless, as they walked out the door.  Jen just chuckled.
 
 
 

 
 
 
"What did you do to my mom last night?" Jen asked.  Jim blushed.  Stacy had
asked Jen if she could borrow Jim for the evening, after they'd had dinner. 
Jen had agreed, but not wanted to be in the house, so she went to the library.
 
"Uh... you told me not to give you the details, remember?"
 
Jen giggled.  "Okay, yeah, I did.  But geez, do I look that goofy when you're
done with me?"
 
"I decline to answer that question on the grounds that you might kick my ass."
 
Jen laughed.  "Okay, okay."  She snuggled closer.  "I love you, Jim."
 
"I love you, too, Baby," he said softly.  They kissed quickly, since they were
on the bus.
 
As they were getting off the bus, they saw Luke approaching them.  That was
unusual, so they stopped and waited for him in a spot where there weren't kids
rushing by.
 
"Hey, you two," he said.
 
"Hey.  What's up?"
 
"We have some people who want to talk to us," he said, in the exact
non-informational phrase that told them he was talking about MDSA business.
 
"We've already got one case..." Jen objected.
 
"Yeah, but we're in a holding pattern on that one, anyway..."
 
"True..." she agreed.
 
"What do they want?"
 
"We haven't gotten that far yet.  Do either of you know where we could set up
here in the school?"
 
Both of them thought for a bit, but didn't come up with anything suitable. 
"Sorry," Jim said.
 
"It's okay.  I haven't asked the others yet.  I'll catch you at lunch or
something, and let you know, okay?"
 
They both said it was, and Luke went about his business.  They continued their
walk to class, hand in hand.
 
 
 
-----
 
 
 
"Hey, you guys," Claire said to the two as she sat down with them at lunch.
 
"Hey, Claire," Jim said.  Jen nodded, because her mouth was full.
 
"The... thing... will happen tomorrow at lunchtime.  You guys won't need to be
there.  Luke said he'd tell us about the case on Saturday, and we'd decide
whether to take it then or not."
 
"That works," Jen said.  Jim nodded.
 
"You okay?" Claire asked Jim.
 
"Yeah, why?"
 
"You had a funny look on your face."
 
"Oh, just thinking.  Are you doing okay?  We haven't talked in a couple
weeks..."
 
"I'm okay, Jim.  Really.  I still haven't adjusted, but the nightmares are
fading.  I don't usually wake up from them anymore."
 
"Good.  See you at Tai Chi?"
 
"Of course."  Claire got up and headed out.  She'd finished her lunch before
talking to them.  The others simply returned to their meal.
 
 
 

 
 
 
"I don't know about this, Travis..." his friend said.
 
"Look, George, do you want to get a date, or not?"
 
"Well, yeah, but..."
 
"No 'buts'.  We've been trying on our own for over a year!  The rumor is that
these guys... they can do damn near anything.  What have we got to lose?"
 
"Our money!"
 
"Oh, geez, George.  You're such a fucking miser!"
 
The two walked into the room behind the cafeteria.  It was the same room that
Paul had first taken Claire in.  She did not remember the room fondly, but she
did remember it.  The laptop sat on top of the gym mats.
 
"Welcome," the voice said.  The boys both jumped, but they were bookish types,
and immediately recognized it as an electronic voice.
 
"I thought we were going to get to talk to you..." Travis complained.
 
"Due to the nature of our work, this is as close to us as we can let you get. 
If that is not satisfactory, then you may go now."
 
The teens were a little annoyed at the coldness of the response, but they
shrugged at each other.  It didn't really matter.
 
"No, that's okay."
 
"What is the job you wish to hire us to do?"
 
"Well... word is, you can do just about anything.  We want to get dates."
 
There was no incredulous pause like the boys expected.  "Will any female do,
or do you have particular ones in mind?"
 
"Very particular," said Travis.  George nodded.  "In fact," Travis said, "I
have a list you can pick from.  George is hung up on one girl, though."
 
"Understood.  Do you have the list with you?"
 
"Uh... no, I never wrote it down..."
 
A window appeared on the laptop's screen.  "Type in the names on your list,
Travis."
 
Travis stepped forward, then froze.  "How did you know my name?"
 
"We know everything," the voice said simply.  A lie, but it maintained the
MDSA's image nicely.
 
Travis looked nervously at George, then typed the six names into the open
window.  After a moment, the window blanked.
 
"George, type in the name of your desired date."
 
George did as requested, and the window blanked again.  Then the screen
returned to the somewhat eerie screensaver that it had been initially.
 
"I will contact you on Monday to let you know if we have taken the case.  If
so, we will require a one-day deposit on the job.  The rest of our bill will
be payable upon completion of the job.  You are *each* responsible for paying
us.  Should we succeed with one and not the other, then the one we succeed
with still owes us.  Understood?"
 
"Yeah," they both said, nodding.
 
"Good.  You may go now.  We'll be in touch."
 
 
 

 
 
 
"Okay," Mimir said.  "If we can bring this meeting to order, we have two cases
to discuss."
 
The group settled from their chat and snacks, and focused on what he was
saying.
 
"The first case we accepted on the spot."
 
"Who's decision was that?" Loki asked, annoyed.
 
"Mine.  The case is serious enough, pays well, and we shouldn't have to break
too many rules.  Besides... it hits a little close to home."
 
"What's the case?" Shadow asked.
 
"Date rape."
 
Shadow shuddered, and Herc wrapped his arm around her.  Aurora smiled at him
in reassurance.
 
"Fine," Loki said.  "What's the deal?"
 
"He used some kind of drug on her.  She couldn't remember the details until I
brought them forward.  Herc, did you get the information from...  Uh... hey,
she needs a codename..."
 
"The Oracle gave us the information we needed, yes," Hercules replied with a
smile.  He handed over the info to Mimir, who took it and nodded.
 
"Okay.  I assume you've paid 'The Oracle' for her assistance already?"
 
"Yeah, all taken care of."
 
"Good.  We need to get into this guy's house, and look around.  We need to
prove he did this.  Granted, I saw it in his memory, but that's not exactly
admissible."
 
"Why not just whack the guy?" Loki asked.
 
"We do *not* 'whack' people!" Atlanta replied harshly.
 
"C-Squared, we're going to need you to borrow the car, so we have
transportation.  Herc, you'll need to come along to handle locked doors. 
Loki... you think you can play this guy for a few minutes, just so it looks
like he's leading us into his own house?"
 
"I don't have a good enough image of him."
 
Mimir concentrated for a few seconds.  "How about now?"
 
"Stay the fuck *out* of my head!" Loki fumed.
 
"Christ!  You wanted a picture, you got a picture!  What's the big deal?"
 
"The big deal is it's *my* head, and I don't want you in it!"
 
"Okay, c'mon, guys..." Herc said.  "What's done is done.  Point is, now that
you have an image, can you do it?"
 
"Yeah, fine.  What the fuck ever.  When?"
 
"Tomorrow night.  And every night thereafter until we can find him gone from
the house."
 
"Fine."
 
"Look, Loki..."
 
"Mimir," Atlanta said, "let's just move on to the other case, okay?"
 
Mimir took a deep breath.  "All right, fine.  The other one is kind of...
well, weird.  Two of our schoolmates would like us to get them dates."
 
There was a snort from Loki and some chuckles.  Loki said, "And how the fuck
do they expect us to do that?"
 
"I'm sure they haven't got any idea how we'd do it.  We have a reputation for
being able to do almost anything.  We've worked hard to get that rep.  We need
to back it up."
 
"Okay, hot shot.  How *do* you plan to get them dates?"
 
"They have given us specific people.  I can use my abilities to find
vulnerabilities and perhaps even implant memories.  I cannot guarantee it will
work.  I can only give it a shot.  There is a risk; if we don't succeed, then
it will kill part of our reputation.  But, if we pull it off, then it would
probably double our credibility in the school."
 
"Isn't this unethical?" Aurora asked.  "Isn't this kind of like mind control?"
 
"I suppose.  That's another reason I had to bring this one to the entire team
before saying yes.  I am of the belief that if the controlled person is truly
happy, then it doesn't matter that they're being controlled into happiness. 
They don't know the difference."
 
Aurora squirmed at that, but didn't say anything.  Herc wrapped his free arm
around her, and she snuggled in close, keeping her peace.
 
"Are there objections?"  There were none.  "Okay, then I will take this case,
as well.  I will begin working on it on Monday.  If I need help, I'll let you
guys know."
 
"Herc," Nightingale said, "how's it coming with the uniforms?"
 
"The ninja suits are out.  Too impractical, and too hard to get in colors
other than black.  It would be... noticeable.  Aki...er, C-Squared and I have
been working on some stuff together... we should have them for you soon."
 
"Okay.  Just let us know if we can help out."
 
"No problem."
 
"If there's no other business?" Mimir asked.  There wasn't.  "Then I'll see
you all on Monday.  Herc, C-Squared, Loki, I'll see you guys here tomorrow
night at seven."
 



 
 
 
C-Squared pulled the car to the curb, and the other three emerged.  Loki, in
the guise of one Scott Atkinson, led Mimir and Hercules to the door.  Hercules
reached out with his mind, already working the tumblers in the lock.  By the
time they reached the door, it was open.  Loki opened the door, and the other
two moved past him into the home.
 
"What are we looking for?" Herc asked.
 
"A necklace.  Gold chain, small gold heart on it... not solid, like... fancy
metal-work."
 
"Gotcha.  Where do you think he'd put it?"
 
"It could be anywhere."
 
"Wouldn't it have made more sense to scan *him* and find out?" Loki sneered.
 
"It would, if we could easily find him.  But we can't sit in this neighborhood
for very long.  If we don't find it now, we'll try to get a hold of him."
 
"I don't think that's gonna be necessary," Herc said, pointing to another
locked door.  He picked this one the same as the others, and then pushed it
open.  They flipped on the light, and froze.  It was a shrine to Scott's
depravity.
 
"Jesus Fucking Christ..." Mimir mumbled.
 
"Fuck," Loki said.  "I mean, I've forced a girl before, but this is sick."
 
"Who the hell did you force?" Herc asked.
 
"That McMahon bitch.  I got even with her for what she did to me."
 
"And let's not forget Nightingale," Mimir put in.
 
"Oh bullshit.  She just loves to whine."
 
Hercules kept his peace about that.  He didn't like what Loki had done to
Nightingale.  The revelation about Coach McMahon was also disturbing.
 
Mimir, meanwhile, was looking through the items in the room.  The pictures
Scott had taken were bad enough, and he was trying to ignore them.  He opened
a jewelry case, and was immediately confronted with exactly what he was
looking for.
 
"It was definitely him."
 
"You gonna take it, or what?" Loki asked.
 
"No.  We have to leave it here, so that when we can find a way to get him
arrested the police can find it."
 
"Fine.  Then let's get the fuck outta here."
 
No one disagreed.  The teens left the scene quickly, locking up behind
themselves.
 
"What now?" Akira asked as they drove home.
 
"Now... we have to find a way to prove it without exposing ourselves."
 
"Joy," Loki opined.
 
 
 

 
 
 
"He doesn't want much, does he?" Atlanta asked.
 
Mimir grunted in response.  He was trying to focus his attention on a girl who
was over two hundred feet away.  She was the first girl on Travis' list.  She
was a cheerleader, which would probably be problematic for Travis, given that
the football players might be jealous, but that really wasn't Mimir's problem.
 
Finally, Mimir was able to make contact.  The girl was not active at the
moment, and that allowed him to access her mind without endangering her body. 
He could tell that her conversation with her girlfriend slipped a little, but
nothing more noticeable than that happened.
 
Atlanta stood and watched while Mimir rummaged through the girl's brain.  She
was there mainly as protection; Mimir was a 'computer nerd', and the jocks
didn't like them hanging around.
 
After about three minutes or so, Mimir relaxed, and took a drink of his soda. 
Then he shrugged his shoulders and turned his head back and forth to loosen up
a bit.
 
"Did it work?" Atlanta asked.
 
Mimir just shook his head.  "There's too much utter hatred of the lower
classes for this girl to ever accept him as a partner."
 
"'Lower classes'?" Atlanta inquired with a raised eyebrow.
 
"Her word for anyone not in the most popular clique.  She really does see
herself as the aristocracy of the school."
 
"Bitch," Atlanta opined.  Mimir did not disagree.
 
"C'mon, let's get out of here, before someone asks why we're hanging around. 
We'll tackle the second person on the list tomorrow."
 
"'kay.  Hey, Mom's out of town again… want to come over and *study*?"
 
Mimir, now Luke, turned to Lori and said, "Only if you want to study
*anatomy*."
 
The two quickly left the field.
 
 
 

 
 
 
Akira closed the door and slumped back against it with a sigh.  The concert
had gone well, but his date had not.  He wondered if her parents had actually
instituted a curfew, or if she just wanted to get rid of him.
 
*Well, it is a school night.*  He didn't know why they'd scheduled the concert
for a Tuesday, but that wasn't really important now.
 
"Mom, I'm home," Akira called out.  He was quickly picking up many American
habits, a recent one of which was to not call his female parent "Mother"
anymore.  She had once suggested that he call her Yumiko, but he simply
couldn't make that leap.
 
Yumiko came into the hallway to see her son hanging up his coat.  She waited
patiently, and then greeted him with a warm hug and very unmotherly kiss. 
They stayed in their embrace for a long moment before parting.
 
"How did it go?" she asked.
 
"Badly," he replied.  "She was so immature."
 
"Well, it will go better with the next girl, I'm sure," his mother promised.
 
"I doubt it.  The problem is that I am a senior in grade, but I am a junior in
age.  I should socialize with the seniors, but they look down on me for my
age, and truthfully, I don't feel right with them anyway.  But the juniors,
who are my age, all seem to be airheads.  At least the ones that want to date
me."
 
"'Airheads'?" his mother inquired, unfamiliar with the Americanism.
 
Akira smiled; he'd picked up the term only a few days before.  He translated
into Japanese for his mother, and she nodded understanding.
 
"At least I have you," Akira said, pulling his mother close.  Yumiko made no
effort to resist her son, but it worried her that he wasn't socializing well
with his peers.
 
"Akira, I love you, and I will always be here for you, but you do need to find
another partner.  We cannot continue to live as man and woman as you get
older."
 
Akira nodded soberly.  "I know.  But I just can't seem to find girls that fit
me.  I won't give up… but I could use some encouragement."  He smiled at his
mother to let her know just what he meant.  She nodded acquiescence, and they
headed for the bedroom.
 
 
 

 
 
 
"She's the next-to-the-last girl on the list, Sweetheart," Atlanta said. 
"We're running out of choices…"  They'd already ruled out most of the list
over the past two days.
 
"I know," he replied.  "Just wait until she sits down, and I'll check her out."
 
The girl sat alone at a table.  She was quite attractive, but they knew her to
be a nerd, and quite shy.  She didn't seem to have any use for socializing, as
she never made any attempt to join *any* clique or group.  She simply sat
alone, reading a book while she ate.
 
Mimir quickly wormed his way into her head, seeing if it was possible for him
to get this girl to date Travis.  It didn't take him long to do his scan, and
then he pulled back out, so he could take a drink, and discuss things with
Atlanta.
 
"I can do it, but it's gonna take a while.  Maybe three or four sessions,
even."
 
"Is that a problem?" Atlanta asked.
 
"Not as such, no, but it means we're going to have to be near her often… that
might be noticed."
 
Atlanta nodded.  "I see your point.  We'll just have to be careful."
 
"Right."
 
 
 

 
 
 
"Okay, she's sitting," C-Squared said.  Mimir turned his head slightly, so he
could see her, and then he began to concentrate.  Meanwhile, he feigned
looking down at his paper, so it looked as if he was working on a problem.
 
At that moment, Zoe came up to the two of them.  They were sitting in the
library, and she needed to tell him something.  C-Squared saw her approach,
and raised his finger to his lips to let her know not to speak.
 
Akira whispered quietly, "He's almost got it.  Don't stop him now."
 
Zoe, knowing how her brother was about his schoolwork, nodded understanding. 
She sat at the next table to wait, as the table that Mimir and C-Squared had
chosen was only big enough for two.
 
To keep her distracted while Mimir worked, Akira moved over to sit with Zoe. 
He nodded to her and introduced himself.  Zoe did likewise, while looking
Akira over rather obviously.  He blushed slightly from the evaluation.
 
"I have seen you around school," Akira said quietly.
 
"Oh?  Why didn't you ever come over to say hi?" she asked with a fake pout.
 
"You were usually in the company of the popular students.  I'm… not welcome."
 
"Hmph.  You'd have been welcomed by me… How come Luke's never mentioned you
before?" she asked.
 
"I have noticed that Luke tends to keep most things to himself," Akira replied.
 
"True.  So, you like the same kinds of things as him?"
 
"We are in computer class together.  I don't think our interests completely
overlap, but we do have some things in common."
 
"Cool."
 
Just then, Luke interrupted them.  "Hey, Zoe.  Sorry, I got working on this
problem, and… well, you know."
 
"Yeah, I know.  You're grumpy when someone interrupts you.  That's okay; I was
getting to know Akira.  How come you never tell me about your friends?"
 
Luke sputtered a bit, before he said, "It never occurred to me that you cared."
 
Zoe stuck her tongue out at him, but then said, "Aunt Toni's gone in for
surgery.  Mom's at the hospital to wait things out."
 
"Shit.  What's wrong?"
 
"Appendicitis."
 
"Did they catch it in time?"
 
"I guess so, I don't know.  Anyway, you'll need to find a way to get home. 
I'll catch a ride with Drew, but… you know…"
 
"He doesn't like me.  Yeah, I know."
 
"I can take you home if you need me to," Akira offered.
 
"How would you get your mom's car?"
 
"I drove today.  She tells me I need to practice my driving, so I often drive
to school."
 
"Cool.  Well, good, that works.  See you at home, Zoe?"
 
"Yeah.  See ya.  Bye, Akira," she said with a wink.  Akira blushed slightly,
but had no time to reply before she was gone.  To distract himself from his
embarrassment, he turned to Luke, now Mimir again.
 
"How did it go?" C-Squared asked.
 
"It seems to have gone okay.  Tomorrow will tell whether the memories are
sticking or not," Mimir replied.  "Let's get out of here, before she gets
suspicious."
 
"Right."
 
"Say," Mimir asked as they walked out of the library, "Why do you really have
your mom's car?"
 
"Because you said we needed to follow Mr. Atkinson around."
 
"Oh, shit, that's right.  I'm glad one of us remembered."
 
C-Squared smiled at him and nodded.
 
"Let's get Herc and get going."
 
"Do we need him?  I know he's been busy with some things lately, and..."
 
Mimir interrupted him.  "He asked to be involved on this one."
 
"I see."
 
 
 

 
 
 
Travis was sitting alone in the lunch room, by order of the MDSA, who had
contacted him on Wednesday to tell him to make himself available at all
times.  He did not know that he was under surveillance by the team he'd hired,
nor did he know that the team was, in fact, at that very moment working to get
him a date.
 
Mimir sat a few tables away, staring across at the girl, whose name was
Yvonne.  Atlanta watched the rest of the lunch room, to make sure no one
started to get suspicious of them.  C-Squared was keeping an eye on Travis, to
make sure he didn't leave.  Mimir continued to work inside Yvonne's mind,
until finally, exhausted, he pulled out and sat back, grabbing for his drink.
 
"Well?" Atlanta asked.
 
"Don't know.  Have to wait and see," he replied.
 
The wait was an agonizing, but fairly short, one.  After about five minutes,
Yvonne got up and deposited her trash in the appropriate place.  They all
thought she was going to leave, but at the last second, she turned and looked
for Travis.  Because he was sitting alone, he was easy to spot.  Slowly, she
walked over to him.  The team was just close enough to hear her.
 
"Hi," she said quietly.    

Travis looked up in surprise.  "Uh, hi, Yvonne.  What's up?  Wanna sit down?"
 
She shook her head negatively, but she didn't walk away, which the team
thought was good.
 
Finally, she said, "I've been thinking about something for a while now…" she
trailed off, trying to figure out how long she'd had these thoughts, but that
was intentionally a circular path, for Mimir had crafted it that way.  She
eventually gave up and looked back at Travis.  "Look, you wanna go out
sometime?"
 
Travis was floored.  He hadn't really expected the MDSA to come through, but
here was one of the girls on his list, asking him out!  He would make sure to
open the envelope they had given him on Wednesday, which, they said, contained
the name of his date.  They had warned him not to open it before she asked him
out, as that might cause him to behave in a way that would scare her off. 
Now, she was standing there, waiting for him to answer her.
 
Quickly, he said, "Yeah!  Sure!  Um… tomorrow?  We could go to a movie…"  He
felt this was lame, but it was the best he could come up with.
 
"Sure, that would be good."  She took his notebook, and grabbed her own pen,
writing down her phone number.  "Call me tonight, okay?"
 
"Yeah, I will.  Talk to you later," he said, and she smiled at him, and walked
away.
 
While Travis was sitting stunned, the team members looked at each other with
smiles.
 
"One down, one to go."
 
"Yeah."
 
 
 

 
 
 
"Where the hell is Loki?" Herc asked.
 
Mimir just shrugged.  The others didn't have any answers, either.
 
"Great," he grumped.  "That guy..."
 
Atlanta interrupted.  "We all know what you think of 'that guy', Herc," she
said with a grin.
 
"Fine."  He sat down next to Aurora.  Shadow, he'd explained, was home with
the flu.
 
"So do we have any new cases?" Akira asked.
 
"No new business," Mimir said.  "Just some updates on old business.  Starting
with the rapist case."
 
"Did you find out anything?" Nightingale asked.
 
"We followed him around, and finally realized that he was following someone
*else* around.  We feel that she is his new target."
 
"You mean, it's not random?"
 
"I don't think so.  From looking at the photos in his shrine, all the girls
had similar looks.  I think that he is targeting... well, truthfully, they
probably resemble an old girlfriend, or maybe someone he had or has a crush
on."
 
"So what do we do?" Aurora asked.
 
"We could crush his balls in a vise..." Herc offered.
 
"Um... I think that's a bit extreme," Atlanta replied.  "I think we just need
to get him thrown in jail."
 
Mimir offered, "Where some guy named Bruno can crush his balls for us."  He
grinned evilly, and Herc nodded with a grin.
 
"So, what *do* we do?" Aurora asked again.
 
"Here's what I was thinking..." Mimir said, explaining on for several long
minutes.  By the end of his explanation, the team was nodding agreement.
 
"So that's that.  We'll have to keep an eye on him.  Do you think he'll try
for her tonight?" Herc asked
 
"Truthfully... shit, the real problem is that it will depend on *her*.  He'll
have to wait until she goes to someplace social.  We should probably get
things together as fast as possible, though."
 
"I'll talk to my mom when we get home," Aurora said.
 
"Good.  Any other suggestions?"  There were none.  "Okay, on to the dating
case.  As far as we know, Travis could be on his date right now.  We know that
she asked him out, and they were going to talk on the phone.  I will contact
him on Monday, if he doesn't send us our money before then."
 
"What about George's girl?" Nightingale asked.
 
Mimir sighed.  "This one's much trickier.  His target is actually interested
in him."
 
"How is that trickier?" Herc asked.
 
"Because the reason she's never asked him out is her fear of breaking the
social barriers.  I'm trying to figure out a way to combat that."
 
"Atlanta," Aurora asked, "how did you handle it?"
 
"Huh?"
 
"When you started dating Mimir.  Uh, sorry..."
 
Mimir waved it off.  Atlanta said, "I was too in love to care."
 
"So we need to get them to the point where she is too in love to care?" Akira
asked.
 
"An interesting idea.  How?" Mimir inquired.
 
"They need to actually talk, without the pressure of her friends." Atlanta
said.
 
"What do you mean?"
 
"Find a way that they can be together where her friends wouldn't know about
it.  That way, whatever she does, if it didn't work out, it wouldn't affect
her reputation."
 
"Seems kind of shallow..." Herc said.
 
Atlanta shook her head negatively.  "To girls like this, their reputation has
been so much a part of who they are, it'd be like one of us losing our
powers.  She's not going to forfeit it without a good reason.  Love is a good
reason, but she needs to know whether she loves him or not."
 
"So... some time alone, away from school.  Any thoughts?"
 
"He's a computer geek, right?" Aurora asked.
 
"Yeah."
 
"And she's..."
 
"Student Council member.  Pretty, average intelligence..."
 
"Anything we can work with?"
 
Nightingale said, "She wants to be a model.  I overheard her talking in class
once."
 
"Perfect.  I have an idea..." Aurora said, continuing to lay out the details.
 
 
 
-----
 
 
 
Once the business of the meeting broke up, there was some socializing.  Jim
walked over to Lori, because he had a favor to ask.
 
"Hey, Jim.  What's up?"
 
"I, uh... was wondering if you could help me."
 
"With what?"
 
"My weight.  I need to get into better shape."
 
"Why?  Um... I mean, you've not been worried about it before, not that it's
not a good idea all by itself, but..."
 
"Uh... let's just say I need more endurance."  He grinned sheepishly.
 
"Oh," she said, drawing it out in one long syllable.  "Yeah, I can help, at
least with the exercise part.  You'll have to talk to someone else about
nutrition... I eat whatever the hell I want."
 
"Must be nice."
 
Lori laughed.  "Yeah, actually, it is.  Sorry."
 
"When could we start?"
 
"Monday, after school.  I'll take you to the gym."
 
"Thanks."
 
"Speaking of exercise, though... Hey, Claire?"
 
Claire, who had been talking with Jen, turned and said, "Yeah?"
 
"I was going to go do my... special workout today.  I was wondering if you'd
tag along."
 
"How come?"
 
"Well, I've never been able to really test my limits, because in order to find
them, I have to find what I *can't* do.  That could involve me getting hurt,
and I haven't had anyone around to get help for me.  You, on the other hand..."
 
"Wouldn't need to get you help.  Right, I understand.  Sure.  When?"
 
"When we're done here."
 
"That's okay by me."
 
"Thanks."
 
The teens talked for a while longer, enjoying the lack of tension caused by
Paul's absence.  Soon enough, though, they broke up to go their separate ways.
 
 
 
-----
 
 
 
"So... what, exactly, do you do during your workout?"  Claire asked
 
"Basically three things: strength training, by lifting and heaving rocks;
speed, by running; and agility, through my katas," Lori replied.
 
"Katas?"
 
"Martial arts forms."
 
"Okay.  What do you want me to do?"
 
"Just watch, unless I get hurt.  If I get hurt, I figure you know what to do."
 
Claire laughed lightly, and nodded.  She went to sit on a low rock, to watch
as Lori began her stretching routine.
 
Once Lori was fully warmed up, she decided to start her exercises with
strength this time, since she was going to push herself to her limits. 
Walking over to a medium-sized rock, she squatted, and got good handholds. 
With her arms flexing, she stood up, and lifted the rock over her head.  It
was about two hundred pounds, but she didn't feel stressed by that.
 
Shifting her weight, Lori balanced the rock on her shoulder, holding it like a
giant shot put.  With a groan of effort and fear, she let go of the rock with
her left, that is, her upper, hand, and began to push the rock straight up
with her right.  She strained a bit, but she managed to get full extension,
holding the rock above her head with one hand.
 
"Damn," Claire muttered under her breath.  She didn't know that she was
parroting Lori's own muttered curse.
 
Lori pushed on the rock one way, and stepped the other, letting it fall
unceremoniously to the ground with a loud thud.  She looked around for a
heavier rock that she could lift, but was having trouble finding one.  The
larger rocks were too big for her to get a grip on.
 
"You need to get a sledge hammer," Claire called out.  "So you can break rocks
down to size!"
 
Lori laughed, but thought it wasn't that bad an idea.
 
"Well, I can't do much more on strength today.  I've never lifted that rock
one-handed before, though.  I guess I'll move on to agility."
 
"'kay."
 
Lori once again started to go through her katas, starting slowly to let her
body warm up, but soon she was increasing her speed, moving faster and
faster.  Soon, she was just a blur to Claire, who was having trouble watching
her friend, as she could barely tell what she was doing.  Lori pushed herself
faster and faster, working through her katas from white belt to black belt,
and then back down to white belt.  Finally, she slowed to a stop, and then, to
let her body cool down some, she practiced the Tai Chi form that Jim had been
teaching the team.  She didn't know all of it yet, but she ran through what
she did know three times.  That allowed her to get her breathing back down to
normal, and her body temperature, which had risen two degrees, came back down
to normal.
 
Claire was speechless after watching her friend go through her paces. 
Finally, she managed to regain her voice, and said, "Shit... remind me never
to get in a fight with you!"
 
Lori laughed as she began to stretch her legs a little more.
 
"What's next?" Claire asked.
 
"Running.  I use the edge of the clearing as a track."
 
"So that's why the grass is all dead," Claire said with a smirk.  Lori stuck
her tongue out at her, and then walked over to the path.
 
"Do you have a stopwatch?" Lori asked.
 
"On my watch, why?"
 
"I'd kinda like to know how fast I'm actually going."
 
"Okay, I'll time you.  Whenever you're ready."
 
Lori moved her body around to loosen up fully, then started off at a regular
running pace.  She needed at least one lap to get her body into the groove,
before she started picking up speed.
 
After three laps, Lori was running as fast as she ever had.  She knew,
however, that she had speed in reserve.  She'd never pushed it, because she
was afraid of hurting herself.  Now, she had no excuses.  She called up the
very last bits of her speed, and piled it on.
 
Claire, sitting on her rock and timing her friend, could not believe how
quickly she was going around the track.  She knew that sprinters were fast,
but what Lori was doing wasn't sprinting; she had already gone over a mile. 
Her times were just unbelievable.
 
Lori rounded the far corner, and was on the straight portion of the path
leading back to where Claire was sitting.  She was breathing heavy and
concentrating on her movements.  At this speed, she actually had to think to
keep her body coordinated.
 
The problem with that was she didn't see the rabbit until the very last
second.  A small bunny had hopped across her path, and when she did finally
see it, she was so startled that she tripped over her own feet and fell
headfirst into the ground.
 
Hitting solid earth at thirty plus miles an hour is not a pleasant
experience.  Lori was instantly in intense pain.  Claire saw her friend trip,
and knew that there would be injuries, so she ran over to help Lori out.
 
Claire gently rolled Lori onto her back, hoping that she hadn't hurt herself
too seriously.  Lori was woozy, but still conscious.
 
"Are you hurt?"
 
Lori's eyes rolled around in her head for a moment before steadying on
Claire's face.  "I don't know.  Everything hurts."
 
Claire ran her hands gently over Lori's head, feeling for serious damage.  Her
head appeared all right, as did her neck.  When she ran her hands over Lori's
shoulder, however...
 
"Ow!"
 
"I'm so sorry!" Claire said in apology.  "Your shoulder?"
 
"No, you pushed me a little, and my arm hit the ground... I think it might be
broken."
 
Claire moved her hands very tenderly over Lori's arm, noticing the wince on
her face.  Immediately, Claire let her powers flow into Lori's body.  For a
moment, she tensed, worrying that the evil side of her ability would come out,
but it remained dormant, allowing her to begin healing her friend.
 
For several long minutes, Claire poured her energies into Lori, who ended up
having a broken arm, three broken ribs, and a nasty gash on her leg.  Claire
continued her healing work until all were corrected.
 
Lori, during all of this, was feeling the tingling power of Claire's energy. 
With her pain subsiding, the tingling began to affect her.  Her hypersensitive
nature caused her body to heat up at the sensation.
 
Claire sat back, unaware of the arousal that her healing energies had caused
in her friend.  "Are you okay?" she asked.
 
"Mm, much better than okay," Lori answered.  Claire barely had time to
register Lori's tone of voice before Lori reached up for her and pulled her
down.  Their mouths met, and Lori kissed Claire passionately.  Before Claire
could really comprehend what was going on, Lori's tongue was insistently
requesting entrance into her mouth.
 
Claire was hardly opposed to sex, and her body was certainly heating up fast,
but she was startled by Lori's forceful approach.  She didn't fight it,
though, as she was beginning to feel really good.
 
Lori embraced Claire and rolled them onto their sides.  Lori's knee gently
wedged itself between Claire's thighs, and Lori's thigh began to rub against
Claire's groin.  Claire groaned into Lori's mouth, her arousal quickly
rising.  Claire's hand reached up to fondle Lori's tit, massaging it
strongly.  Lori moaned, and then pushed backward.  Claire thought that she'd
made an error until Lori nearly ripped her own shirt trying to get it off. 
She exposed her chest to the cold winter air, her nipples hardening even more
than they had.  Claire returned her hand to Lori's chest, and bent over to
suck on her free nipple.  Lori groaned loudly at the feel of that.
 
Claire felt Lori tugging at her own shirt, but didn't disengage from Lori's
nipple until she had no choice.  Claire removed her own bra while Lori
discarded the sweatshirt in the grass.  The two then pressed together, their
tits rubbing back and forth as their lips locked once again.  Soon, their
tongues were playing wetly together, moving back and forth between their
mouths.
 
Claire moved her hand down and slid it into Lori's Lycra shorts and beneath
her panties.  Her finger slid inexorably down and made its way between Lori's
legs.  Lori squealed in pleasure as Claire's finger found her clit and tweaked
it.
 
Claire slid her finger past Lori's clit and into her pussy, stroking slowly
for the moment as they continued to kiss.  Claire could feel Lori's body begin
to shudder, but then Lori pushed her away again.
 
"Strip," Lori ordered breathlessly as she quickly removed the rest of her
clothing.  Claire wasn't nearly fast enough for Lori, who helped her pull her
jeans and panties off her legs.
 
With the two of them completely naked in the grass, Claire took over again,
pushing Lori down onto the ground.  Claire straddled Lori's head, lowering her
pussy toward Lori's mouth.
 
"Okay, girl, now eat me!" Claire growled, her own nymphomania in full heat. 
Lori didn't object, having plenty of practice with Zoe.  She stuck out her
tongue and swiped it across Claire's pussy lips, causing Claire to writhe
above her.  As Lori moved her tongue up to Claire's clit, Claire leaned down
over Lori's body.  Just as Claire was about to start licking Lori, Lori sucked
Claire's clit into her mouth and tongued it.  Claire screamed in pleasure for
a second, and her body bucked with the first tremors of her pending climax.
 
After a few seconds, Claire was able to settle a little, and she ran her
tongue slowly along the entire length of Lori's pussy lips.  Lori was quickly
bucking beneath her.  Claire continued this torture until Lori rolled her head
back and let out a scream of pleasure, her body shuddering with its first
orgasm of the day.
 
Claire held on for the ride though Lori's climax, and as soon as Lori began to
settle down, Claire took Lori's clit into her mouth, and sucked on it, hard. 
Lori was immediately back in heaven, crying out her pleasure once again.
 
After that second orgasm, Claire slowed down, letting Lori regain her breath. 
Lori, in turn, went back to work at Claire's pussy with a vengeance.  Her
tongue slithered and slid across every nook and bump.  Lori curled her tongue
and pushed it into Claire's pussy, causing Claire to squeak in pleasure.  Lori
could sense that Claire was close to her orgasm, and so kept up her
ministrations.
 
Claire returned to licking Lori's pussy, and inserted her finger deep into
Lori's cunt.  Lori writhed and her pussy massaged Claire's finger.  Claire
pumped a few times, until her finger was nice and slick, and then pulled it
out.
 
Lori was not prepared when Claire pressed her finger into Lori's asshole. 
Lori groaned in one long mix of discomfort and intense pleasure.  Claire kept
steadily pressing until her finger was buried inside Lori's ass.
 
"C'mon, girl, eat me!" Claire begged in the form of an order.  Lori regained
her senses enough to return to tonguing her friend.  Claire began to pump her
finger slowly in Lori's ass until Lori loosened up, then picked up the pace.
 
Lori was lost.  She'd never had someone do this to her, and she loved it.  Her
tongue slid furiously across Claire's pussy, trying to make her feel as good
as Claire was making her feel.
 
Lori began to suck on Claire's clit, and slid her finger into Claire's pussy. 
She began to finger-fuck her in earnest, while Claire was fucking her ass and
licking her pussy.  Lori could feel both of their climaxes approaching, but
had no time to wonder whose would arrive first.
 
Claire let loose a scream of ecstasy, her body bucking on top of Lori.  Her
movements thrust her finger deep into Lori's ass, and that sent Lori over the
edge, crying out in bliss and writhing beneath her lover.  The two thrashed
about on the ground for some time before they even began to settle from their
highs.
 
After many minutes, the two had settled, and they quickly parted so that they
could get dressed and thus warm up.
 
"I guess I should have warned you," Lori said as she pulled on her sweats. 
"When I do these workouts, I get *really* horny.  And when you used your
powers on me, it tingled... so it was..."
 
"Like a vibrator?" Claire asked with a grin.  Lori's face grew bright red, but
she nodded.  Claire waved it off.  "It's okay.  I don't mind.  At least you
weren't really taking advantage of *my* weakness... just making use of
*yours*!"
 
Both girls laughed heartily at that.  Once they'd gotten dressed and were
getting on their bikes, Lori asked, "So what was my time, anyway?"
 
"27.32 seconds per lap."
 
"Damn," Lori said, in awe of her own speed.
 
"Yeah, tell me about it, Wonder Woman."
 
The girls laughed and talked as they biked back to Lori's house so they could
shower.
 
 
 
-----
 
 
 
"That could be tough.  I'm really not sure exactly how we would pull that
off," Stacy said.
 
"All we need is for the cops to come when called..." Jim objected.
 
"True, but why would they listen to a bunch of kids?" Stacy asked.
 
"Who said they had to know we're kids?" Jen replied.  Stacy looked at her
daughter quizzically.  "Our business has a name.  The Mornington Detectives
and Services Agency.  That's the only name the police need to hear..."
 
"Right," Jim agreed.
 
Stacy nodded.  "I see your point.  If they think they're dealing with a
detective agency, then they're more likely to take you seriously."  Stacy sat
for a few long moments in thought.  Then she nodded.  "Yeah, it could work, if
you get the information to the right detective."
 
"Any ideas?" her daughter asked.
 
"Martin Sakov," she said simply.
 
"Sakov?" Jim asked dubiously.
 
"His parents immigrated when he was young.  He's almost more American than you
are," she said with a chuckle.
 
"Why him?" Jen asked, just out of curiosity.
 
"He's not an arrogant jerk like most of the detectives, and he really hates
sex crimes.  He's been pushing for a sex crimes unit, in fact."
 
"Great.  So... how do we get the info to him?  I mean, you can't just hand him
a note, that would look really bad..."
 
Stacy shook her head.  "You're right, that would expose all of us.  The best
thing to do is simply to mail him a letter, or have it delivered."
 
"Loki could do that..." Jen said.  They had told Stacy what Paul's secret
identity and his ability were, but not who he really was.
 
"I wouldn't trust him to deliver newspapers," Jim snarled.
 
"He *is* a member of the team..."
 
"Some member.  Doesn't even show up to meetings.  But yeah, I suppose the
prick can do it, if he's willing."
 
Jen took Jim's hand and squeezed it tenderly.  He smiled his apology at her,
but his anger at Paul was only barely submerged beneath the surface.
 
To get his mind off it, Jim turned to Stacy and asked, "So how is the baby?"
 
Stacy smiled.  "I'm fine.  The baby's fine.  It's a healthy fetus.  No need to
worry."
 
"Hey," Jen interrupted good-naturedly, "that's my baby sister.  Stop calling
her 'it'."
 
"Sweetheart, it's nowhere near time for an ultrasound... how can you be so
sure it's a girl?"
 
"If I tell you, you'll laugh at me," she said quietly.
 
"No we won't.  Will we, Jim?"
 
Jim shook his head negatively.
 
Jen took a deep breath.  "I dreamt it.  A long time ago... way before I met
Jim, I knew that I was going to have a little sister.  I didn't know who the
dad was... I guess I assumed it would be Dad."
 
"Not likely," Stacy said darkly.
 
"But... anyway, that's how I'm so sure.  You're going to have a girl."
 
"Good enough for me," Jim said with a smile.
 
Stacy smiled.  "So I guess we should start picking out a girl name for her. 
How about Hortense?"
 
Stacy laughed as both of the teens scrunched up their faces and stuck out
their tongues in distaste.
 
Getting more serious, Jim said, "I do need some advice about something."
 
"What's that?" Jen asked.
 
"What to tell my parents."
 
Stacy immediately replied, "Jim, I told you, you don't have to take
responsibility for the baby.  I'm not going to..."
 
Jim held up his hand.  "I know you're not *making* me.  But it is my baby, and
my parents are going to have a grandch...uh, granddaughter," he said, smiling
at Jen, who blushed.  "I mean, I can't really help you take care of *her*, but
I don't want to deny she exists..."
 
Stacy sat back, thinking carefully.  "You're only fifteen, right?" she asked
finally.  Jim nodded.  Stacy blew out a long breath.  "If your parents were
upset by the prospect, they could have me thrown in jail."
 
"What?" Jen cried out.
 
"It's called statutory rape," Jim explained for Stacy.  "I'm underage.  It's a
felony."
 
"But you were consenting.  How can it be rape?"
 
"The law doesn't care, Sweetheart," Stacy said.  "The theory is that anyone
who is underage really isn't mature enough to consent."
 
"It's a stupid law," Jim said, though he knew it was irrelevant.
 
Stacy nodded, but said, "I think you should be extremely careful about telling
them.  It would open a really big can of worms.  More like a bucket of
electric eels."
 
Jim sighed.  "I don't like them not knowing.  On the other hand, I can't see
any way to tell them without causing a big stink.  Well, truthfully, the fact
that I'm fifteen and am having a baby *period*... that would cause a big
stink."
 
"This is something that there is time to work out, Jim.  You don't need to
tell them now.  I mean, it's not like I need their help with maternity
expenses or anything, so they certainly don't need to know until you're ready
to tell them... and can find a way to do it without upsetting everyone."
 
Jen said, "I know this is going to bug you, Jim.  We'll try to figure out a
way that won't get my mom thrown in jail."
 
"I could marry you," Jim said jokingly.  "Then it would be legal."
 
Stacy and Jen laughed.  "But my daughter would kill me," Stacy replied.  Jen
stuck out her tongue at her mother.
 
"Okay, I'll let it rest for now, but I do want us to find a way to let them
know."
 
Stacy nodded, knowing this was a serious issue for him, and likely to be a
problem without a good solution.
 
"I hate to eat and run, but I need to look in on Andie."
 
"How's she doing?" Jen asked.
 
"It's just the flu.  Chances are she won't let me stay long.  She kicked me
out last night, because she didn't want me catching it."
 
Stacy chuckled and said, "Tell her we said hi, and we hope she gets well soon."
 
"I will.  Talk to you both later."
 
Jim gave them both very warm kisses, and then he headed out to catch the bus.
 
 
 

 
 
 
Paul Bell was in a fairly good mood as he walked toward the school.  He had
spent both days of his weekend with Allison.  He was sure that his stepfather
suspected something, but he didn't really care.
 
As he was about to walk up the steps to the building, he heard someone call
out angrily, "Where the hell have *you* been?"
 
Paul turned to see Jim, clearly agitated.  His girlfriend, Jen, stood behind
him, neither egging him on nor stopping him.  *Like the useless bitch she is*,
Paul thought.
 
"What the fuck business is it of yours?" Paul retorted.
 
"You missed the meeting.  All members are supposed to go to *every* meeting,
or tell someone if they're not going to make it!"
 
"Oh, so sorry," Paul said in a soft, feminine voice, "that I didn't follow
your precious little rules."  Changing back to his own voice, he said, "I had
a date, and that comes ahead of your stupid little club!"
 
"It's not a 'club', you arrogant shit!  You have a responsibility to the
team..."
 
 
 
-----
 
 
 
Luke wasn't really aware of what was going on with Paul and Jim.  He was
merely looking for them because he had to tell them something.  When he saw
the shouting match, he was glad Lori was with him.
 
As they got within earshot, they heard Jim saying, "You're supposed to be
there when cases are discussed!"
 
"Fuck you, asshole!" Paul replied.
 
At this point, Jim's arm came back.  Everyone around knew what was coming. 
Paul stiffened his body, but Lori lunged at Jim, wrapping him up in a bear hug
and pushing him sideways.  Luke could see she had him under control; Jim
wasn't about to hit a girl, especially one he wasn't pissed at.
 
Turning to Paul, he said, "Missed you on Saturday."
 
"Oh well," was Paul's reply.
 
"We have another person interested in hiring us, if you care..."
 
"Another piss-ant little case, huh?  No, I really don't care.  Unless you need
me for something, I'm not interested."  Paul walked off, his good mood
shattered.
 
"Um... Lori?" Jen asked with a giggle.  "Could you let go of my boyfriend,
please?"
 
Lori blushed as she released Jim, who had tensed at first, but as soon as he
had known who was grabbing him, he eased off.  Only when she let go did he
fully relax, however.
 
Luke said, "Antagonizing him is not going to help matters."
 
"I don't care," Jim snapped.  "The only reason he is even part of the team was
to get us to help him to -"
 
Luke interrupted, "*And* you agreed not to talk about certain things in
public.  This is about as public as it gets."
 
Jim closed his mouth at that.  He hadn't even been thinking about whether
anyone had been listening.  He nodded and said, "Sorry."
 
"We have someone else interested in hiring us.  I'm not sure what the case is
yet.  I'll let you know."
 
"Okay."
 
Luke and Lori walked off, and Jim tried to collect his thoughts.
 
"Why does he piss you off so much?" Jen asked.
 
"Luke doesn't piss me off..."
 
"I meant Paul."
 
"Oh.  Because he's arrogant.  And self-centered.  And I don't trust him.  I
don't think that doing the right thing is ever his motivation, unless it's the
right thing for himself."
 
"It takes all kinds, Jim..." she offered.
 
"The world would be a better place without people like Paul Bell in it," he
stated with much finality.  Jen didn't try to argue the point.
 
 
 
-----
 
 
 
Gwen opened the door to the old classroom and stuck her head in.  This room
was unused, dusty, and dark.  She flipped the light switch, but it didn't
work.  That made her a bit nervous.
 
"Hello?" she called out.
 
"Please come in," a feminine voice said.  A single light snapped on,
illuminating the teacher's desk and chair.  "Have a seat at the desk."
 
Gwen walked in slowly and sat down.  In front of her was a laptop computer,
currently showing an eerie screen saver pattern.
 
"How may we be of help?" the voice asked.  It was emanating from the other
side of the room, but it was too dark for Gwen to see anything.
 
"Why can't I see you?" Gwen asked.
 
"Security is of the utmost importance," the voice replied.  "You don't need to
know who we are to know that we do a good job.  Now, what can we do for you?"
 
Gwen thought that was kind of harsh, especially coming from a girl, but she
needed their help.  "I think my boyfriend is cheating on me.  I want you to
prove it."
 
There was a prolonged silence.  "That's all?"
 
"Well... yeah.  I mean, I want actual proof... not just you telling me he is."
 
"What form of proof do you require?"
 
"Well, duh.  Pictures!"
 
"Understood.  Who is your boyfriend?"
 
"John Smith."
 
She was anticipating the long silence.  "No, really, that's his name. 
Jonathan Smith.  He's got Coach Douglas in fifth period."
 
"Why do you think he's been cheating on you?" the voice asked, to recover its
composure.
 
"He's been spending a lot of time "practicing", or so he says.  We used to go
out three times a week, just for soda or whatever... now we barely do it once
a week."
 
Luke, who was the voice behind the electronically altered feminine voice,
wonder if 'do it' was what she really meant.  Not that it was important.
 
"You are aware how much time this could take?  You are prepared to pay our
fee?"
 
"Um... I have a spending limit.  It can't cost more than $200."
 
Luke, Jim and Lori raised an eyebrow at each other.
 
"If you don't trust him, why don't you just dump him?" the voice asked.  "That
is a lot of money to find out if he's cheating on you."
 
"I love him.  I just need to know if he loves me.  Look, my dad's rich, so
$200 isn't anything to me.  But I can't get more without telling him why."
 
"Very well.  We will accept your case.  When we have information for you, we
will contact you again.  One final question."
 
"What's that?"
 
"What if he's *not* cheating on you?"
 
"Uh... what do you mean?  I mean, that'd be great, but..."
 
"How do you expect us to prove it?"
 
"Oh.  Um... you know, I hadn't thought of that."
 
"Very well.  We'll think of something.  You may go."
 
"Thanks."
 
As Gwen left the room, the others stood up.  "You really think he's *not*
cheating on her, Jim?" Luke asked dubiously.
 
"I'm just willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.  Besides, it's a
question we had to ask, just in case he really isn't cheating."
 
"True enough.  Shit, how do you prove someone's *not* doing something
illicit?  I mean, they can always say, 'You just didn't catch him at it.'"
 
"I don't know.  We'll think of something," Jim said, mimicking Luke's words to
Gwen.  Luke flipped him the bird, and then they began packing up their
equipment.
 
 
 

 
 
 
"Okay, we'll rotate on and off in pairs.  Atlanta and I will start out.  Herc,
you and Aurora will switch off when we signal, and then Nightingale and
C-Squared will switch off when you signal, et cetera."
 
"I have a question," C-Squared said.  "Why can you not just read his memory?"
 
Mimir sighed.  "I've been using that a lot on these last few cases, and I'm
starting to develop a low-grade headache from doing it so often.  I don't know
if my ability will grow as I use it more, or if it has an inherent limitation,
but for right now, I'd rather not use it unless I have to."
 
"I understand," C-Squared said, nodding.  

Nightingale asked, "Would it help you if I made the headache go away?"
 
"Couldn't hurt," Atlanta said for him.  Nightingale ran her hand over his
forehead, letting her energy pour into him.  She still shivered at the thought
of what else her hands could do, but she tried not to let it bother her. 
After a minute, she let him go.
 
"Better?" she asked.  Mimir nodded.
 
"Still, I don't want to use my powers unless I have to.  I'm worried about
what it might be doing to me.  So are we all set?"
 
There were nods all around.  Hercules said, "I just hope shithead is doing
what he's supposed to."
 
"I'm sure he is," Mimir said.  "Let's go."
 
 
 
-----
 
 
 
By "shithead", Hercules meant Loki.  Loki was, in fact, doing what he was
supposed to.  It was one of the things he enjoyed doing for the team: fooling
police officers.
 
At the moment, he was dressed in a courier uniform, carrying a clipboard and
an envelope.  He walked up to the front desk, and waited for the officer there
to get off the phone.
 
"Can I help you?" he asked.
 
"Yeah, got a letter here for..." he looked down at his clipboard.  This was
not faked; he hadn't bothered to pay attention to who they were contacting.
"...Detective Sakov.  Sign here, please."
 
Loki handed over the clipboard, and the officer signed for it.  Then Loki
handed him the envelope, and left, chuckling to himself about the stupid
police officer.
 
The desk sergeant, as required, took the envelope to the security office and
x-rayed it.  He saw that it contained a single sheet of paper.  That was all
he needed to know, since it was not addressed to him.  He took it back to the
bullpen where the detectives worked, and handed it off to their secretary.
 
She, in turn, walked it over to Det. Sakov's desk.
 
"Letter for you, Detective," she said, handing it over.
 
"Thanks, Margie.  How's Danny doing?"
 
"His leg's healing up nicely, thanks.  He swears he's never playing soccer
again, though."
 
"Give him a week after he's fully healed.  He'll be running around on that
field just like before."
 
"Probably!"  She walked off chuckling, and the detective turned the envelope
over in his hands.
 
"What the hell is this?" he asked himself.  He opened the envelope, and
extracted the paper, but his confusion only grew.  "What the..."
 
Det. Sakov picked up the phone and dialed.
 
"Records room," Stacy Young said on the other end.
 
"I need to get any info we have on a company called the Mornington Detectives
and Services Agency."
 
"Wait one, please," Stacy said, trying to keep her voice even.  *How do the
kids do it?  I'm shaking like a leaf!*
 
After typing it into the computer to see if anything popped up, she was
surprised to find that there *was* information.  "Okay, they appear to be a
local detective service, but there is no known private investigator license
for them.  Then again, we don't have a personal name."
 
"Have we dealt with them before?"
 
"Not that the computer knows about," she said.  She had worded that very
carefully, because she didn't want to lie to him.
 
"So... nothing negative in the system?"
 
"Correct."
 
"Thanks."  Sakov hung up the phone, and stared at the letter.  Just then, his
partner walked over.
 
"What's up?"
 
"What do you make of this?" he said, handing it over.  His partner, Det. Jake
Millender, read through it twice, then handed it back.
 
"You sure it's legit?"
 
"No.  This MDSA place isn't in our system."
 
"Still, if they are, and we don't act on it..."
 
"Right.  I think we need to be ready for their call."
 
Millender nodded.  The two then turned to other matters.
 
 
 
-----
 
 
 
"Did anyone see anything?" Mimir asked.  The team was sitting in a pizza
joint, having followed the target until he'd gone home.  C-Squared was
currently watching the guy's house, in case he decided to go out for the
evening.
 
"He went to practice, went to the library, and then headed for the bus stop,"
Hercules said.
 
"Library?  Him?" Atlanta asked incredulously.
 
"Yeah.  He didn't read a book or anything.  He just talked to some guy there,
looked like a nerdy type, and then left."
 
"Nightingale?  What about the bus ride?"
 
"Nothing special there.  Sat by himself.  Looked like he was lost in thought,
but that's just a guess, obviously.  He didn't talk to anyone, and he got off
at the stop closest to his house.  I got off to follow him, and C-Squared went
to get the car.  He, that is, the guy, didn't go anywhere before C-Squared got
back."
 
"Okay.  I doubt that's going anywhere tonight.  Anything else?"
 
"What about the rapist case?" Aurora asked.
 
"I had a thought about that.  We need to find out when the girl does her
partying, right?  I thought maybe two of us could approach her as people doing
a survey."
 
"But we're teenagers," Herc objected.
 
"True, but survey companies will hire teenagers for this kind of thing.  It's
boring and doesn't pay well, so teens are about the only ones who'll do it."
 
"Fair enough.  But won't the guy get suspicious?  I mean, if we suddenly walk
up to her door..."
 
"We'll have to do several houses on either side.  We can keep it short.  He
won't be able to hear us, so we could ask them just one question, and leave. 
He'd assume they told us they didn't want to participate."
 
"Nice touch," Nightingale said.
 
"Okay.  Tomorrow afternoon?" Herc asked.
 
"Yeah.  Anyway, I think we can call it a night, unless there's anything
else..."
 
"Just one thing," Atlanta said.
 
"What?"
 
"Um... we've been using our... *other* names in this conversation.  I know
that's what we said we'd do but... we're in public, too, and we said we
*wouldn't* use them when we were in public...  So, what's the overriding rule?"
 
"Oy.  Um... ideas?"
 
"Really, I think that we probably shouldn't use our other names in public
unless we're in uniform."
 
"But we don't have uniforms," Nightingale objected.
 
"Give us a couple more weeks on that, and we will."
 
"Okay, so... from now on, we use our real names unless we're 'dressed'?" Mimir
asked.  There was a general consensus.  "Okay.  That's easy enough, I guess. 
Anything else?"  There was nothing.  "See you all tomorrow."
 
 
 

 
 
 
"Hi, we're conducting a survey, and we were wondering if you'd like to help us
out.  It shouldn't take more than two or three minutes of your time.  Would
you care to participate?"
 
"Um... sure, I guess," the woman said.
 
"We're doing a survey about people's going-out habits.  Do you go out to
clubs, bars, parties, or anything similar, at least once a month?"
 
"Sure."
 
"Once a week?"
 
"Yeah, probably twice a week.  On the night before my days off."
 
"Okay.  And what are your days off?  Weekends?"
 
"No, it rotates.  Crappy job."
 
Jim smiled at her.  "And your days off this week?"
 
She smiled.  "Saturday and Sunday."  When he looked at her, she said, "Got
lucky."
 
Jim nodded.  "Okay... I can either read off this long list of places and ask
you one by one if you visit them, or you can tell me where you like to go. 
Your choice."
 
The girl laughed, and then looked down at his clipboard.  "That one.  Oh, and
I go there every once in a while, but not usually."
 
"Okay, do you plan on visiting either of those places this weekend?"
 
"Yeah, I'll probably go to Kickers on Friday night."
 
"Okay.  Now, these last questions are just for classification purposes.  Age?"
 
"Twenty-three."
 
"Marital status?"
 
"Single."
 
"Household income?"
 
"Uh.."
 
"Below $15,000, $15,000 to $25,000..."
 
She interrupted him. "Below fifteen."
 
"Okay.  That's all we have.  Thank you very much for your time.  Have a nice
day."
 
"You, too," she said as she closed the door.  Jim and Jen walked down the
sidewalk toward the next house.  The each looked out of the corner of their
eye at a car about three houses down that had an occupant in it.  It was their
target.
 
"Make it look good," Jim said.
 
"At least it's pretty easy work," Jen said.  "Gets me all tense, though."
 
"I'll give you a backrub later," Jim promised.
 
"Ooh.  I'll hold you to that."
 
 
 
-----
 
 
 
"Another letter for you, Detective," Margie said, handing it over.
 
"Margie, how are these getting here?"
 
She shrugged.  "Courier, I guess.  I didn't ask."
 
"'Kay.  Thanks."
 
He opened the letter, and said, "Shit."
 
"What's up?" Millender asked.
 
"Details.  They claim that the next victim will be attacked on Friday night in
the Kickers parking lot."
 
"You gonna tell the eltee?"
 
"Tell him *what*?  That we're getting tips from an agency that we can't even
confirm the existence of?  That should go over well..."
 
"So what then?"
 
"You and me are going to be in that parking lot on Friday night."
 
"My wife's gonna love you."
 
"She'll get used to it."  Millender had only been a detective for a few
months, and hadn't grown used to the overtime.  Sakov knew he'd learn.
 
 
 

 
 
 
John Smith entered the auditorium.  It was late; everyone else had left.
 
Or so he thought.
 
Suddenly, a spotlight snapped on, focused on him.  He cringed away from its
brightness.
 
"Step onto the stage," the voice said.
 
"They told me that I was supposed to be here for some team photos..."
 
"We lied," the voice replied.  "We need to speak with you."
 
"Why?  Who are you?" John said shakily, as he made his way to the stage.
 
"Gwen sent us."
 
John stopped at that, and tried to stare into the light.
 
"Step on the stage, please," the voice repeated.
 
John moved up onto the stage and stood, facing the light.  "I don't know what
this is about."
 
"Your girlfriend believes that you are cheating on her."
 
"What?  No!  I mean no way!  I wouldn't dare!"
 
"We believe you."
 
"I mean, I love her, I wouldn't... what, did she hire you to beat me up...
What did you say?"
 
"I said, we believe you."
 
"I'm confused."
 
"We've been following you."
 
"Look, who *are* you?"
 
"We're the MDSA.  We were hired to prove that you were cheating on your
girlfriend."
 
"Gwen hired you?  Why, for crying out loud?"
 
"You've been ignoring her, apparently."
 
"Huh?  Oh, oh shit.  No, that's not it."
 
"We believe you.  But we need something to take back to her.  We need to know
what you *have* been doing. Why are you avoiding her?"
 
John looked up at the ceiling, and then back into the light.  "Shit, I guess
the cat's out of the bag.  And so close, too."
 
"Explain."
 
"Gwen and I have been going out since we started high school together, three
years ago.  Sunday will be our three year anniversary of going steady.  I've
been using up all my time to try to do something special for her.  I knew that
I was spending less time around her, but shit, I never thought she'd think I
was cheating on her."
 
"It is a natural reaction," the voice stated.
 
"So, I guess you're going to tell her about the surprise, huh?"
 
"We will have to tell her there is a surprise.  Unless absolutely necessary,
we will not tell her what it is for or when it will happen."
 
"Thanks.  I mean..."
 
"However, if you are lying to us, we will find out."
 
"I'm not!  I swear!"
 
"You may go."  The spotlight clicked off.  John could see vague shadows behind
the spotlight, but there was no way for him to make out any details.  He
stumbled his way out of the auditorium, and made his way home.  He never saw
the shadowy figures who left by the back entrance.
 
 
 

 
 
 
"We've really got to find a better way to do this," Lori told Luke.  "We need
some kind of office of our own."
 
"That's too risky.  It means letting someone know who we are."
 
"Yeah, but this isn't going to work for very long."
 
Currently, they were in a closet.  They were waiting for Gwen to show up in
the room behind the cafeteria.  Finally, she did.
 
"Hello?" she said to the computer.
 
"Greetings, Gwen."
 
"So, what did you find out?"
 
"We followed your boyfriend for three days, with no results.  We then
questioned him directly."
 
"You what?"
 
"Your boyfriend is not cheating on you."
 
"Of *course* he's going to deny it, you idiots!"
 
"Gwen," the voice said calmly.
 
"Geez, and I thought you guys were supposed to be the best, I mean, I was
told..."
 
"Gwen," the voice said more firmly.
 
"I can't believe I actually was going to pay you money for this crap, well you
can forget about -"
 
"*GWEN!"* the voice said, loudly and angrily.  Finally, she stopped talking.
 
"What?" she asked after a second.
 
"When we questioned him, Jonathan told us, in detail, what he was doing that
took him away from you.  He is preparing a surprise for you."
 
"He's what?"
 
"We do not wish to spoil the surprise, so we cannot give you details.  What we
can tell you is that it will take place within the next week or so.  If you
wish to withhold our payment until this surprise has been revealed, that is
understandable.  However, your boyfriend is not cheating on you, and we
consider this case closed.  You will receive a statement of your account
within twenty-four hours."
 
"Oh.  Okay.  Um... thanks.  Sorry I kind of snapped back there."
 
"Understandable.  Have a good day."
 
"Thanks.  Bye."
 
As Gwen left the storage room, Lori looked at Luke and said, "We don't want to
tell her the details because we never bothered to get the details."
 
"She doesn't need to know that."
 
The two sat quietly for a few more minutes, and then George showed up.
 
"Hey, uh... you guys asked me to come in?"
 
"Welcome, George," the voice said.
 
"Hey.  Uh, did you have some info for me or something?"
 
"We have something for you to do.  We wish you to be on the eighth floor of
the Wilmer Building at 2:00 PM tomorrow afternoon."
 
"Okay... but, I mean, it's Saturday.  How will I get in?"
 
"The building is open, because some businesses there are operating."
 
"Oh.  Well, okay, what am I supposed to do there?"
 
"Someone will hand you a walkie-talkie.  Once that happens, do nothing but
*wait*, and then follow the instructions given to you via the walkie-talkie. 
Understood?"
 
"Yeah, sure.  What's this about?"
 
"Amanda will be in that building as well.  We have made arrangements for the
two of you to spend some time together, alone.  It is up to you to convince
her to go on a date with you.  We will give you this piece of information: she
*is* interested in you.  Her fear is that dating you will hurt her
reputation.  I would suggest you *not* mention that your meeting with her was
prearranged.  She would, I'm sure, be upset at that."
 
"Uh, yeah, probably.  So she's really interested in me?"
 
"Yes.  Were she not a member of the popular crowd, she would already have
asked you out.  It is, however, up to you to get her to ask you out anyway."
 
"Gotcha."
 
"Remember: Wilmer Building, eighth floor, 2 PM.  You may go."
 
"Yeah, thanks."
 
 
 
-----
 
 
 
Luke yawned.  "Damn, these last few weeks have felt like a marathon."
 
Jim nodded.  "Yeah, it has seemed to be awfully hard."
 
"How are things going with you and the girls?  I don't mean to be nosy; I just
don't want you to get all stressed out again..."
 
"There are some problems, but nothing that serious.  Thanks."
 
"No problem."
 
Just then, Jen showed up, with her mother in tow.  "Hey, guys."
 
"Hey, Jen.  Hi, Mrs. Young."
 
"What, no codenames tonight?" she said with a chuckle.
 
"Not until we're in uniform, oh Great Oracle," he said with a grin.
 
"Oracle?" she said, looking to Jen in confusion.
 
Jim said, "Well, you *do* provide us with vital information.  That makes you
our Oracle."
 
Stacy rolled her eyes, and Jen giggled.  Jim asked, "So, not that I mind
seeing you, but how come you're here?"
 
"Because under no circumstances am I allowing that pig to get away.  If Sakov
isn't here to arrest him, I will."
 
"Can you do that?" Luke asked.
 
"I'm still a cop.  It will be sticky explaining why I was here, but yes, I
have the power to arrest him."
 
"Okay, good."
 
"Have you seen him yet?" Jen asked.
 
"No.  Lori's watching the other side of the building, in case he parks over
there."
 
"'kay."
 
After several long minutes, spent mostly in silence, Stacy pointed.  "That's
his car, isn't it?"
 
Jim gently jerked her arm down.  "Yes, that's him."
 
"Oops, sorry.  Not used to stakeouts."
 
"Have you seen your colleagues around anywhere?"
 
"I haven't been looking."
 
"You might want to do so."
 
"Oh, okay.  Jen, you want to come with me?"
 
"Sure."  She gave Jim a kiss, then followed her mother.
 
"And she's having your baby?" Luke asked after she'd gotten out of earshot.
 
"Yeah.  I'm still trying to figure out if there's a safe way to let my parents
know."
 
"Ugh.  That's a hard one."
 
"Tell me about it.  Okay, he's going inside.  You want to go get Lori?  I'll
watch the door and the car."
 
"Okay.  Back in a minute."
 
While Luke was gone, Jim stared at the car of the bastard that had just gone
inside.  He remembered clearly what had almost happened to Andie, and he
wasn't about to sit and watch that happen to some other girl, whether he knew
her or not.  He reached out with his mind, and he dented the car doors in such
a way that they were inoperable.  Mr. Atkinson would not be leaving via his
car.
 
Jen and Stacy soon reappeared.  "They're in the dark blue sedan."
 
"Where?" Jim asked.
 
"Two o'clock, far side."
 
Geez, I hope they actually see this thing happen.  It'd be a pain if they
didn't, and we had to expose ourselves."
 
"They look like they're looking in the right direction," Stacy assured him. 
"Where'd Luke go?"
 
"To get Lori."
 
"We're here," Lori said quietly as she came up behind them.  "Anything
happening?"
 
"No.  The woman isn't here yet."
 
"I guess we wait."
 
 
 
-----
 
 
 
The group waited for twenty minutes for the woman to arrive and go inside, and
then they had to wait an additional half-hour before anything else happened.
 
"Here they come," Luke said.  "Shit, is she wasted."
 
"It's the drugs," Stacy said, angry.  "That bastard."
 
They all watched, tense, as he maneuvered the girl toward - 

"Shit!" Jim rasped.  "He's going to rape her in her own car, not his!"
 
Quickly, Jim focused in on the woman's car.  He watched as Scott Atkinson
approached, the girl being nearly dragged along.  Jim's mind reached out as
the man's hand moved for the door handle.  He lifted the handle, but Jim made
sure the door went nowhere.  He couldn't have damaged her car; she was
innocent.
 
They heard the man's curse all the way across the parking lot.  He grabbed the
woman's purse and rummaged through it, finding her keys.  He stuck the key in
the door and turned, then lifted the handle, to no avail.
 
"Fuck!" was what they all heard, clear as day.  He slumped the woman over the
hood, and then moved to the other side.  Jim held that door closed tightly, as
well.  At this point, they wondered what the guy would do.
 
"He'll give up now, won't he?" Lori asked quietly.
 
"I'd think so.  I mean, he's got nowhere to do it..." Luke said.
 
But the man was bound and determined.  He grabbed hold of the woman and ripped
open her dress, pushing her down on the hood of the car.
 
"Oh, shit!" Jim said as the guy started to pull his pants down.  "He's doing
her in the open!"
 
"Is he nuts?"
 
"It's dark.  He probably thinks no one will see him," Stacy said, her voice
barely hiding her anger.
 
Scott had his underwear down, and his hard dick waving in the wind, when
suddenly a siren blared out.  He snapped his head around, but was faced with a
spotlight in his eyes.  He heard a car door slam.
 
"Freeze!  Police officer!  Put your hands where I can see 'em!" Sakov
screamed, his gun drawn and his finger on the trigger.  He so wanted to blow
this guy's head off.
 
Atkinson didn't give him the opportunity, however.  He raised his hands over
his head and slowly stepped backward, nearly tripping on his pants.
 
"You're under arrest you sorry motherfucker.  Don't even twitch, or I will
shoot."
 
On the other side of the parking lot, the team quietly slipped away, back to
Stacy's car.
 
"Good work guys.  I think you really made a difference with this case," Stacy
said.
 
"Thanks.  Could you reward us by maybe giving us a ride home?" Luke said.  

Stacy laughed. "Yeah, c'mon, get in."
 
 
 

 
 
 
Claire watched from behind a corner as George came into the Wilmer Building. 
She keyed her walkie-talkie and let the others know that he was there.  She
ducked out of sight as he looked in her direction, and she didn't look again
until she heard the elevator ding.
 
She saw George get onto the elevator and push a button.  She couldn't see
which one, but she had no reason to assume he'd pushed anything other than
eight.
 
"He's on his way up," she said into the walkie-talkie.
 
"Roger," Luke replied.  The team waited impatiently while the elevator carried
him to the eighth floor.  Jen was there waiting, but out of sight.  She told
the others he was there, and then waited to see what he would do.
 
After a minute of wandering back and forth, George sat down on the bench
across from the elevator.  She walked out and pressed the button for the
elevator, which opened immediately, since the team was in full control of that
particular elevator now.  She could feel George looking at her, but she wasn't
giving him a good look at herself.  She had the hood on her jacket pulled up,
and she was wearing sunglasses.  She was glad it was cold outside; it allowed
for easy disguises.
 
Jen stepped onto the elevator, and turned around.  She bent down immediately,
not giving George any time to see her face.  Just before the elevator door
closed, she reached out her hand and dropped a walkie-talkie on the ground. 
She moved her hand back, and the elevator door closed before she stood up.
 
"George?" the walkie-talkie said.
 
George was a little perplexed at why the MDSA was so secretive, but he walked
over and picked up the device.  "I'm here," he said.
 
"Very good.  We will let you know as things progress.  Amanda is not yet here,
but we expect her shortly."
 
"Thanks."
 
There was no reply.
 
Back down in the lobby, Claire saw Amanda Wainwright walk in.  She walked over
to the security officer.
 
"Hi.  I have an appointment here with a modeling agency, Murray, Calvert and
Swain."
 
"Fifteenth floor.  Take a left as you get off the elevator."
 
"Thank you."  Amanda made her way over to the elevators and pressed the button.
 
"Target has arrived," Claire said conspiratorially.  She giggled at her own
joke.
 
"Roger that.  The elevator is on its way."
 
A few seconds later, the under-control elevator arrived, and Amanda stepped
onto it.  She disappeared behind the doors, and Claire informed the team of
this.
 
"Good work.  You can go home now, if you want.  Your part's done."
 
"Okay.  See you all later."
 
On the eighth floor, George heard none of this, as his walkie-talkie was on a
different frequency.  Suddenly, it squawked.
 
"George, are you still with us?"
 
"Yes, I'm here."
 
"Amanda is in the building.  When I tell you, I want you to push the down
button on the elevator."
 
"I understand."
 
On the twelfth floor, Amanda was just exiting the elevator.  She took a left,
and looked for the agency.  She found it, and was perplexed to find the office
doors locked, the office dark and empty.  She pulled out the paperwork again,
and read over it.  She was here when she was supposed to be... she didn't
understand.
 
Sighing heavily, she turned back toward the elevator.  She would call them on
Monday, but she already knew that it was some kind of mix-up, or a
misunderstanding.  She wiped a tear as she pressed the elevator button.  She
so wanted to be a model...
 
 
 
-----
 
 
 
"George, press the button now."
 
"Okay, I'm doing it."
 
"Good.  When the elevator arrives, Amanda will be on it.  The rest is up to
you.  We promise you will have ample time to make a good impression on her. 
Leave the walkie-talkie on the floor near the elevator entrance.  If all goes
well, pay us as planned."
 
"Thanks.  Bye."
 
Amanda paid little attention as the elevator doors opened.  She did note the
familiar voice, though.
 
"Amanda, hi!  What are you doing here?"
 
"Hey, George.  Uh, nothing, it's not important.  Why are you here?" she asked
as the elevator doors closed and the lift started moving again.
 
"Had to fix a computer.  No big deal.  Are you okay?  You seem kind of sad."
 
"Yeah, just been a disappointing d-"
 
At that point, the elevator lurched, and came to a dead stop.
 
"Oh, hell, what now?" Amanda said.  She reached over and pressed the alarm
key, but nothing happened.  "Fuck it all!" she cursed.
 
George, realizing this is what the team meant by him having enough time to
make an impression, played along.  He lifted the emergency phone, to find it
dead, as he'd expected.
 
"Nothing," he told her.
 
"Goddammit," she said.  She leaned back against the elevator wall, and
actually started to cry.
 
"Hey, what's wrong?  It's okay, I mean, yeah, we're stuck, but we'll get out
just fine..."
 
"Oh, it's not this... this is just the icing on the cake.  I came here today
because I got an appointment with a modeling agency... or thought I did,
anyway... but there was some kind of screw up, because they're closed up and
no one's there.  I just thought..." she couldn't complete her sentence.
 
Though utterly terrified, George reached out and touched her, rubbing her
shoulder.  He hated that the MDSA had hurt her feelings in order to solve his
case, but he told himself he would make it up to her, somehow.
 
"I'm sure it'll all work out, Amanda."
 
"I'm never going to be a model!"
 
"Sure you will!  You're beautiful!"
 
Amanda sniffled.  She looked at him and said, "You really mean that?"
 
"Of course I do!" he said enthusiastically.
 
"Some of the girls at school tell me I'm too fat."
 
"Too fat for what?  To model straws?  You're gorgeous."
 
"Thanks, George."
 
"My pleasure.  So, you really want to be a model, huh?"
 
"Yeah," she said with a sigh.  "I don't know if it'll ever happen, though."
 
"If it's what you want, you gotta shoot for it," George replied.
 
 
 
-----
 
 
 
In the control room, Luke and Lori turned down the volume on the
conversation.  "So how do we know when to let them loose?" Lori asked him.
 
Luke shrugged.  "Whenever it seems like there's a decision made one way or the
other."
 
"And if there's never a clear decision made?"
 
"Then... in two hours or so."
 
"Gotcha.  We're the only ones left, aren't we?"
 
"Yeah.  Jim and Jen went to the movies with Andie."
 
"I'm really surprised at how well Jim handles that relationship."
 
"He's a special one, all right.  Does it bother you, ever, that I sleep with
Zoe?"
 
"Nah," Lori said.  "I know you're not serious with her."  Lori flinched
inside, because she had not told Luke about Claire yet.
 
"So, what, I'm allowed to play so long as it's not serious?" he said with a
smile.
 
"Exactly," she said, flooring him.  "And I'll play, too.  So there."  She
stuck out her tongue.
 
"Lori, are you serious?  Even a little?"
 
After a second, she said, "Yeah, I am.  I think we should have an open
relationship."
 
"You have someone in mind?  You gonna go try out Jim on me?" he said, only
half-kidding.
 
"Hmmmm," Lori said.  "I hadn't considered him..."  She looked back at Luke and
could tell that she shouldn't tease him any further.  "No, I don't have anyone
in mind.  But I'd like to be able to experience things.  Zoe taught me a lot
about myself.  I'm not saying that some other guy or girl could teach me
anything you two haven't, but I wouldn't know without trying, right?  And the
same for you.  I mean, so long as the feelings are just between you and me, I
don't see why we shouldn't have some physical fun wherever we like... just so
long as 'us' comes first."
 
"That's a lot for me to take in, Lori."
 
"I know.  I hadn't really thought much about it until now.  But it seems to
work for a lot of people."
 
"Like Jim?"
 
"No.  What he has going on is something completely different.  He is devoted
to all of the girls... well, all the girls in his 'harem', for lack of a
better word.  I mean, if I understand it correctly, he's slept with Claire,
but she's not one of 'his' girls.  But Jen and Andie and Stacy... they are
'his'.  And he would fight for all of them."
 
"You don't think he'd fight for Claire?"
 
"Not the same way, no."
 
"If you say so.  I think he'd fight for anyone he considers a friend."
 
"True enough.  I'm just saying he'd go further for the ones in his circle."
 
"Okay, that's true.  So, for us, you're talking about us being able to have...
what?  Playmates?"
 
"That's a good way to think of it.  You and I are best friends.  Anyone else
would just be a playmate."
 
"I don't know, Lori.  I'll have to think about it."
 
"Okay."
 
 
 
----
 
 
 
"I'm glad you were here, George.  I hate being stuck places, but it's easier
with someone to talk to."
 
"Yeah.  Life's always better with someone to talk to."  The tone of his voice
said a lot.
 
"I'm sure your friends appreciate you, too."
 
"Friends?  Hah.  I've only got one friend, Travis.  And he's been spending
most of his time with Yvonne."  Seeing the uncomprehending look on her face,
he said, "His new girlfriend."
 
"Oh.  I'm sorry.  You're a really nice guy... why don't you have any friends?"
 
George shrugged.  "Kinda shy, I guess."
 
"You don't have trouble talking to me."
 
"You're... different," George said, after taking a really deep breath.
 
"Why?" she asked.
 
George could feel his heart hammering a mile a minute.  "'Cause I really like
you."
 
"George... I didn't realize you felt that way about me.  I like you, too."
 
"Really?"  Though the MDSA had assured him she had an interest, he hadn't
believed it until now.
 
"Uh-huh.  I always felt bad when my friends would make fun of you.  I tried to
get them to stop, but..."
 
"It's okay.  I know that if you try too hard, they'd start picking on you,
too."
 
Amanda nodded, but then she shook her head.  "That shouldn't matter, George. 
If I'm gonna be a model, I'm going to have to put up with people cutting me
down all the time.  If I can't take a ribbing from some high school kids, how
am I going to handle some clothing designer telling me I look like a whale?"
 
"I can't imagine they'd ever say that about you," George replied honestly.
 
"You know what?  Screw it.  When we get out of here, you want to go get
pizza?  My treat..." Amanda said.
 
"I'd love to," George replied.
 
Amanda grew quiet again, her outburst of confidence waning.  She said, "I'm
really glad you were here today, George."  She stepped closer to him, and then
she kissed him very softly.  He was too shocked to respond, but she
understood.  She stepped back, and then took his hand, and they stood there in
silence.
 
A few minutes later, the elevator jolted again, and they were on their way to
pizza and a relationship.
 
 
 
 

 
