CHAPTER 142: Bachelorette Party

 

"Urrrurrruuuggghhhhh....Suzy, you're awake and dressed....urgh, what time is it?" said a bleary eyed Neil Humphries as he woke up.

"It's 6am...well, 6:03 to be precise" replied Suzy.  "I was too excited to sleep in, even though it's Saturday.  So I got up, showered, got dressed, cleaned the kitchen...."

"Too excited?  This hour of the morning...and on a Saturday...is for sleeping, or at least laying in bed" he replied.  "What's there to be excited about?"

"It's my bachelorette party today, have you forgotten?" she said.

"Oh my goodness!  Yes!  I remember now!  Sorry, I didn't realise...well, I hope it goes better than my bachelor party did"

"Oh I'm so sorry about how Jeremy was with you...I wonder what's bugging him?"

"He claims its 'work'...I don't know; something you said or did seems to annoy him at the moment"

Suzy shrugged her shoulders.  "I don't know either.  Action told me that Jeremy was short tempered with him as well.  But at least Andre and you had a good time together.  Now I've got a lot packed in to my schedule.  Summer's got something planned for me this afternoon and Barbara's organising the evening entertainment."

Just after lunchtime Suzy went to meet Summer in Newcrest, where her Bridesmaid had planned a special treat.  

"Summer, thanks for organising this" she said, on meeting her friend.

"I hope you enjoy it...I know this is the kind of thing you really like" replied Summer.

"Ooh, excitement!  What is it?  Tell me, tell me!"

"An afternoon of luxury pampering at the Perfect Balance Spa!"

"That is one of my favourite places in the world!  I can't wait, let's go!  What shall we do?  Massage?  Yoga?  Pedicures?"

"Easy tiger!  Let's get in there first!" 

The spa was renowned as the best in Sim City with its combination of modernist architecture mixed with traditional East Asian woods and stone.  From the moment they walked in, past the ornamental ponds, the changing mood lighting and with the waftings of Jasmine, Citrus and Eucalyptus filling their nostrils they were entranced by what the spa had to offer.  They changed into robes and grabbed some towels and headed upstairs to where the treats lay.

"I've not been here before" said Summer.  "What do you recommend?"

"The sauna is a must" said Suzy.  "Let's cleanse those pores"

"Hmmm, I can get used to this" said Summer, as she luxuriated in the sauna.

"You and Travis should become members" said Suzy.  "I think he'd like some of the things they do here"

"He'd probably fall asleep in here" replied Summer.

"Nervous about next week?" asked Summer.

"I should be but I feel calm at the moment..." replied Summer.  "Everything is falling into place with the preparation and, frankly, I can't wait to make it official with Neil.  He's been nothing short of fantastic these last few weeks and to think when I first met him he was this shy, awkward guy who got the shakes just standing next to a woman"

"It's the effect you have on men" joked Summer.  "Now are we sure about our dresses?  I mean, we're breaking a bit with tradition with them"

"I have a reputation as Sim City's style expert to uphold" Suzy smiled, half jokingly.  "We're not our mothers' generation, Summer.  Time to make our own mark in our own way"

After a relax in the sauna, the friends then went to sample some of the other treats and services of the spa.  Suzy had a pedicure and Summer a Swedish massage.

Afterwards the two friends reconvened in the changing rooms.  Summer was stretching and craning her neck whilst Suzy was admiring her bright pink toenails.

"I have muscles I never knew I had" said Summer "That massage has really perked me up...just what I need for this evening:  We've got a big, private function on at the restaurant."

"Aww, it's such a shame you can't come to the Orange Peel with the rest of us" replied Suzy.  

"I know, but I set that all up:  Barbara, Liberty, Julia and Eliza are all going to be there, it's only your work colleague, Sadie, who said she couldn't."

"We'll have a round on your, Summer....once again, thank you for setting this all up.  I've had a great time here...you must be my guest in future." said Suzy.

The bride-to-be and the maid of honour hugged and said goodbye to one another.  Suzy headed home to change into a party outfit; her new, pink patterned one, and headed off to Newcrest again to hook up with her other guests at the swingingest place in Sim City:  The Orange Peel Club.

Suzy's friends were all there ahead of her and were having a chat on the dance floor in anticipation of the guest of honour.  Suzy saw all her neighbourhood girlfriends were there but she was pleased to see Eliza Pancakes present as well.  She had got to know Eliza from frequenting the Blue Velvet nightclub in Willow Creek and Eliza had come to her aid whenever Edna Sneedley and Nancy Landgraab tried to be short with Suzy.  From those beginnings a friendship had grown.  Eliza would be the sole married person present...but she had never met her husband, Bob.

"Here comes the bride!" they all yelled to Suzy.

"What are you all doing standing around here?  Are we going to dance or what?" Suzy replied.  And with that, the merriment began.

After half an hour of dancing, the ladies were in need of a drink so they convened at the bar.

"Julia, you are seriously good out there!" said Suzy.  "And it looks like you haven't even broken a sweat"

"Sweating is disgusting, ugh" replied Julia.  "But I do have some small ability at dancing...I come from a very musical family" she said in that particular way she had of inadvertently bragging without realising it.  The others understood that was Julia being a social ingenue, and they forgave her if she did sound pompous at times:  She didn't mean to be.

Barbara raised her glass for a toast.  "Here's to Suzy and Neil, may they enjoy a lifetime of wedded bliss!" 

"To Suzy and Neil" the others cheered.

"Good luck...you're going to need it" said Eliza, downing her drink.

"Oh come on, Eliza, I keep hearing you making jibes at Bob...surely he can't be all that bad!" said Suzy.

"Well, make sure you're not marrying in haste like I did" said Eliza.  "How well do you know Neil, honey?"

"Intimately" replied Suzy.

"I don't mean how he is in the sack.  I mean, do you know what he likes, how he prefers to spend his time, have you even been on a vacation with him?"

"We've shared perils together so, yes, I know what he's like" said Suzy.

"Perils!  I wish Bob and I had some perils to contend with...maybe he'd pay some more attention!  The closest thing we came to peril recently was this mouse eating out of the cookie jar but Bob said he wouldn't deal with it because he was too busy picking his toenails."

"Gross, Eliza, that's just gross"

"That's what marriage is like, most of the time.  Those little things he does that annoys you now...they'll still annoy you years later."

"Let's change the subject..." said Liberty.  "Tell us about your wedding dress, Suzy.  What's it like?"

Suzy told them.

"Wow, that sounds beautiful, but also a bit daring!  Neil won't know what hit him!" said Liberty.

"Well, ladies, I don't about you but I came here to dance!" said Suzy, slamming her empty glass down on the bar and standing up.  "Who's with me?"

"I'm in"

"Yep, let's do this"

"Feet, do your stuff"

"I wonder if the disc jockey takes requests?"

"OK, girls, GROUP DANCE!"

It was past 1am when the girls, all tipsy and exhausted, started to go home.  Julia was so far gone she was calling Suzy "her bestest ever friend" and giving her a hug that didn't seem to want to end.

Suzy herself hailed a taxi and bundled in along with Barbara, Julia and Liberty and it was a struggle for them to remember where they lived but eventually they made it back to Foundry Cove and Suzy staggered into the house to find Neil still awake.

"Neil...you gorgeous hunk...come here..."

"I think you're a little drunk, Suz"

"I'm very drunk and I want my future husband right here, right now"

"So I take it the day went....HMMMMMMMMMMHMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM" Neil didn't get to finish his sentence as Suzy's lips latched on to his.

CHAPTER 141: Hot Stuff

Julia had awoken very early that Friday morning and couldn't get back to bed so she headed off to the tranquillity of Desert Bloom Park carrying a bag with some breakfast items in it.  She was all alone at first, as the Sun rose above the tall rocks that flanked the North and West sides of the park.  She lit one of the grills took out her skillet and began to cook up a batch of scrambled eggs with tomatoes and small bits of German beef sausage.

When she had finished and a moment to savour the aroma, she sat down on a nearby park bench to eat her meal, still with the park to herself and no one to bother here...

Until she took her first bite, when someone sidled up next to her.  A girl in her late teens with a glint in her eye that showed she was practically a woman and wearing a very short dress in a print of swirling green, turquoise, white and yellow with accessories to match.  

"Hmmm, that does look and smell good" said the girl to Julia.  "I stupidly ate lightly with breakfast this morning:  Just a banana washed down with orange juice.  Can I sit here for a while and just inhale what you're eating"

"I made more than enough for just me...if you'd like I can plate you up a serving" replied Julia.

"Oh you are an angel, Miss!" replied the girl, eagerly.

 

"Hmmm, this is delicious." said the girl.  "By the way, my name's Gillian"

"Julia" 

"Nice to meet you.  I'd ask what the recipe is but I don't really cook and I should watch my figure anyways:  I'm training to be a model!" Gillian said, proudly.

"Does that require much training?" asked Julia.  "I barely know anything about fashion"

"Oh you wouldn't believe how much you have to learn to be a model!" said Gillian.  "How to walk, how to stand, how to sit..."

"I would have thought that's something we all do by default?" said Julia, struggling to understand how anyone over the age of 2 needed to be taught those things.

"Not the way you see in the magazines and catwalks.  It's like you have to re-learn everything from scratch...oh, hello, here's a familiar face".  Gillian's attention was drawn to another young woman approaching them.  She was a girl in her late teens with bright blonde hair but a grumpy expression on her face.  Julia recognised her as well:  She'd once been a patient of hers at the hospital.  The girl's name was Judy Keith.

                                       

"Judy!  Come and join us...now that dress is just fab.  I've been eyeing up that one but haven't got around to buying it yet.  Life's so busy with both school and my new modelling career..." Gillian said, proudly.

"Thanks, I got it this last weekend.  It's a lot more figure hugging than my other favourite dresses but I really like it.  Feel the chenille..." she said, reaching across the table and getting Gillian to feel the fabric.  All this was lost on Julia.

"Hey, I know you from somewhere" said Judy to Julia.

"I'm Dr Epstein from the hospital.  You came in with a nasty stomach bug not so long ago"

"Oh yeah...well, thanks to that trip to hospital I missed out on a party and that horrid Lulu Strang went off with this cute guy I was sooooooooooooo interested in!  I don't blame you, by the way Doc, you were just doing your job....as my Daddy said to me when I wanted to sue...but grrrr!  Lulu Strang!  I hate her!"

"She's the pits!" added Gillian.

"What's wrong with her?" enquired Julia, who was getting some insight into the minds of the popular, fashionable teenage girls at high school.

"She thinks she's special but she's not" said Judy.

"She's not even that pretty" said Gillian.

"But she tries it on with all the cute guys and it's not fair!" said Judy.

"I tell you" said Gillian.  "She's worse than Cassandra Goth!"

"Oh yes...Cassandra's a big downer but at least she's not after anyone: She doesn't get in the way" said Judy.

"Right.  I think I understand" said Julia.

"It's alright for you, Doc...you're a doctor and you've probably got some handsome surgeon going after you" said Judy.

"Actually, I don't.  I don't think about men much at all" said Julia, proudly.

The two teenagers gave her a look of amazement and confusion.

 

The truth was, when she got to work, she WAS thinking about a man:  Dr Vincent Bledsoe, MD, FACS.  He had worked a couple of days as a locum doctor at the hospital the previous week and by all accounts he was going to be offered a full time contract to work there but today he wasn't rostered on nor was his name visible on any of the schedule for that week.  Julia had liked working with him.  He was very intelligent, knowledgeable, well travelled, dedicated to medicine and nice to work with.  On top of all that he, like Julia, was a fan of classical music and had sophisticated tastes which she thought reflected well on him.  She was sad he wasn't going to be there today...

But she had a job to do and she couldn't be distracted by thoughts of Dr Bledsoe...even if he was a great help in giving her a second opinion.  But before last week she didn't even know he existed so she couldn't get hung up over one man she's known for only two days.  So she did what she usually did:  Immerse herself in her work.

When she finished her shift she headed straight home where she thought about cooking a simple dinner but as soon as she took one step through the door her telephone rang.  Was it her parents or Aunt Elle with some family gossip?  Were her folks checking up on her?  She strode over to the phone and answered it.

"Hello...Dr Epstein speaking" she said.

"Oh Julia, I hope I'm not disturbing you...it's Vincent.  Vincent Bledsoe?" came his smooth, cultivated voice.  Julia immediately perked up.

"Vincent!  I mean, Dr Bledsoe....no, you're not disturbing me at all.  I...I mean, we...that is Dr Murakami, Nurse Griffiths and myself...missed your presence...I mean missed your expertise at the hospital today." Julia replied.

"Well, I'm helping out at a number of medical facilities right now but I did very much enjoy working with the team at Willow Creek hospital; particularly with you, Julia."

Gosh! She thought to herself, he's so charming.  

"Anyway, the reason for my call...I'm still new here in Sim City and I've heard about this thing called the Spice Festival.  Have you heard about it?"  He continued.

"Oh yes, it's very popular.  I've been to it myself; it has lots of good food" she replied.

"That's good to hear...so I was thinking of heading down there this evening to try it out and I was wondering if you might like to join me there?  I mean, I don't know many people here and I thought of you first..."

"YES!  I mean, yes, that would be very nice and I would like to join you at the Spice Festival." she said, trying to sound composed and sophisticated.  

"Shall I see you at 7 then?" he asked.

"I shall see you there." she responded, cordially, but as soon as she hung up she did a little jig of joy before composing herself.  Then she changed out of her surgical scrubs and into her casual clothes:  Her favourite plaid skirt and black turtleneck sweater.

Vincent had arrived there first and his face lit up when he saw Julia.  As she came close to him he started to lean in to give her a friendly peck on the cheek but she instinctively recoiled and he quickly backed off.  However, her manner towards him was distinctly friendly, if not romantic.

"Vincent, lovely to see you and thank you for inviting me along this evening" she said.

"Not at all, and you look very nice tonight" he responded.

"Oh this?" she said, looking at her outfit "this is just my usual attire; nothing snazzy...but you like it?" 

"Yes, it suits you" he said, appreciatively.  "Anyway, shall we get some food?  Where do we find it?" he added.

She led him to the other side of the plaza where the line of exotic dishes were set up.  "You can see the cook over there preparing the food" she said, pointing to an old, Asian lady frantically stirring a wok.  "That's the food you can sample over here..." and Julia pointed to a table with a line of piping hot dishes laid out on it "...and over there is the bar where you can get milk and iced water if the food's too spicy" she said, pointing to a bar where a man was already downing an entire jug of ice cold water to kill the fire in his mouth.

"Right, I suppose we just dive straight in...now what's this one?  'Ensaymada', smells interesting" said Vincent.

"I'll try one too" said Julia.  He plated up a dish and handed it to her before serving himself.  

"Hmmm....that one's a bit....spicy..." he said, blinking.  "You get an aftertaste which is interesting to say the least....then the spice kicks in...getting hotter....hotter....HOTTER...how did you find that one, Julia?  Julia?"

He saw she had gone and sat down after having sampled the meal and her eyes were watering.

"Get....me....milk!" she gasped.

Vincent ran to the bar and grabbed a jug of milk and a glass.  Like the man from earlier, she didn't bother with the glass but instead chugged the whole milk jug down.  

"The sausages take a bit of getting used to...." she gasped.

"I'll bear that in mind!" said Vincent, chuckling.

Another familiar face was present at the festival and she made her way over to Julia to say hello.

"Jules...I see you're enjoying Spice Night as well!" she said.  "Are you here on your own?"

"Not exactly..." said Julia, looking sheepish.

"Well, Suzy, nice to see you again." Vincent had spotted Suzy's approach and came over to greet her.

"And you too, Vincent.  Nice to see the two of you together, out and about" said Suzy.

"I'm just showing Vincent the local sites, that's all" said Julia, defensively.

"She's a great guide" said Vincent, warmly.  "Can I get either of you ladies a drink?"

"Oh, yes please.  White wine for me" replied Suzy.

"The same, Vincent" said Julia.

"So is this a date?  Am I intruding because I can make myself scarce if you want?" said Suzy to Julia.

"No, it is certainly not a date...Vincent is new in town and I thought I'd show him the Spice Festival and that is all." replied Julia, haughtily.

"Sure" said Suzy, unconvinced.  "Now are you still available to come to by bachelorette party next weekend?" 

"Yes...I don't want to miss that" replied Julia.

Vincent came back with the drinks "There you go, ladies...the food is interesting but the whole atmosphere here is great.  I like the decorations they've done and there's music as well.  I can see why this event is popular.  I wonder if there are any other special events you could show me in town, Julia."

Suzy gave Julia a gentle nudge to respond to Vincent.

"Well...there are various things.  I mean, there's the science-fiction convention...that's pretty new but it's becoming more popular." said Julia.  "Then there's the Flea Market which is pretty low key but you can find interesting stuff there...oh, my favourite, the Humour & Hijinks festival.  That's where you can play practical jokes on others, there's stand up comedy and it all ends in a firework display.  I think that's all of them."

"You left out the Romance Festival" said Suzy, knowingly.

"Oh, there's that as well but it's a bit tacky" said Julia.

"Looks like plenty to see and do" said Vincent.  

Suzy could see that Vincent was trying to get Julia to open up and talk more but she was still tongue tied and awkward around him.  She tried to liven things up by suggesting they all watched the singer for a bit and Vincent was certainly up for that idea.  He reached out to Julia to come and join him but she didn't pick up on the signal and just said "I can see the singer just fine from here".  Suzy rolled her eyeballs at Julia's gaucheness around men.  She knew her friend liked Vincent and that Vincent liked her but they needed a chance to relax around each other...especially Julia.

Suzy offered to leave to not be a third wheel but Julia begged her to stay so in the end Suz reluctantly agreed to stay behind but she wanted no obstacles between Julia and Vincent.

"He's good, isn't he?" said Vincent to Julia. She nodded in reply. "I was wondering" he continued "whether you liked jazz or not"

"I do" she replied.

"Because I was thinking that perhaps...." but before he could finish his sentence a buzzing noise went off in his pocket.  He reached inside and found that his pager was making the noise.  "It looks like our evening together has to be cut short:  The hospital needs me right now.  Julia, thanks for showing me the delights of the Spice Festival...we should meet again soon."

Julia waved goodbye to Vincent as he ran off and sighed.  Suzy walked over to her.

"Wow, do you have it bad for him!" she said.

"What?  No!  It's a shame he had to leave early, that's all" replied Julia.

"He was about to ask you on a date!" 

"He was merely asking if I liked jazz...the inference that he was asking me to accompany him to some jazz concert is purely yours"

"Oh Julia, what are we going to do with you?" sighed Suzy.

"Well, I for one am going to enjoy the rest of this evening...it is a shame Vincent couldn't stay but we doctors do have our medical duty to help others."

CHAPTER 140: This ISN'T A Date

 

John Action was spending his morning before work hanging out at the gym and chewing the fat with fellow fitness enthusiasts Brant Hecking and Don Lothario.  Brant was talking about a recent vacation he'd had with a buddy that he recommended and Don was bragging about how his housemates, 3 women, were keeping him busy.  It was good to hang out with the guys and put all the recent work and personal issues to one side for just a brief moment.

As he towelled himself off after the run, he noticed Jeremy Saint had arrived and so Action walked over to him to say hello.  Jeremy had a strange expression on his face when he saw Action:  One of annoyance.

"Yo, Jez...how's it hanging?" said Action.

"It's Jeremy, not 'Jez'" replied Jeremy, coldly.

Action was taken aback by Jeremy's frosty response.  "No worries, guy, I'm just being friendly"

"Yeah, whatever" replied Jeremy, still in a tone that bordered on hostile.  Action, however, was someone who never backed down from a challenge and something was clearly up with his neighbour:  Something that needed challenging.

"You gotta problem with me, Jeremy?" said Action, bluntly.

"Maybe I just don't like all this fake machismo you project" replied Jeremy.

"Fake?  Who are you calling a fake?" said, Action, standing right up to Jeremy.

"Look at you:  You still wear your dog tags and you're not even in the army anymore" said Jeremy.

"I was in the Marines" said Action, bristling.

"Whatever; same difference" said Jeremy, turning his back on Action.

"Hey, don't you turn your back on me!" said Action, his voice raised and his hand poised to grab Jeremy's shoulder.  At that moment Brant Hecking stepped in to calm things down.

"Gentlemen...there's no need to go bouncing off the walls here!" said Brant.  "This is a gym and you're creating a disturbance for everyone.  Now Jeremy, I happen to be wearing dog tags.  They're not mine; they're my brother's...he was killed in Vietnam at the start of the year so I wear them to remember him by.  Now Action's proud of his service to his country and you have no right to have a go at him about that here. Have a little respect, hey?  Now, Action, don't start something here you'll regret."

Jeremy's head dropped and he mumbled an apology.  Action had calmed down by now and he nodded his appreciation to Brant for stopping what could have been a fight.  He went over to the weight lifting machine to work off his anger at Jeremy.  Jeremy, for his part, stood in front of a mirror, looking at his reflection and wondering what had just occurred.  It was like he lashed out, instinctively, but why he couldn't figure out.  John...Action...is my...enemy popped into his head but something seemed off.  As he thought, he suddenly got a sharp headache and he pressed his fingertips to his temples in response.

His impulse was to approach Action again but this time in a non-hostile way however, with each step he took towards him, a sense of revulsion started rising.  But why?  Action and he had always got along in the past, why is he feeling antipathy now?

"Action....I just wanted to say....s-s-s-sorry for earlier" he said, stammering over the word, sorry.

"All is forgiven...tell me to shut my yap for prying but are you OK?" said Action.

"I guess the new job is intense.  So much to learn, to adapt to."

"I hear you"

"Fortunately Geoffrey and Mother are helping me to adjust"

"Your Mom?" 

"Did I say 'Mom'?  I meant Nancy" 

"Well, I gotta get to work soon but you stay cool, man" said Action, suspicious of Jeremy's mixing up his mom with Nancy Landgraab.

Action arrived at the 13th Precinct house with barely any time to think about Jeremy's strange behaviour.  For once, his case load was in the clear and he started his shift with no ongoing investigations.

The first person he met at the station was his favourite co-worker, Bibi Stahler.  She was the deputy head of forensics at 13th Precinct, on loan from the Munich police department.  What Action liked about her was that she was cool, logical, very good at her job and on top of all that she was a hot red headed Teutonic beauty.  They weren't an item, but he sure liked having beautiful women around him.

"Bibi, got anything interesting for me today?" he said.

"Case wise, I do.  A burglary over at Oasis Springs." she replied, handing him a case file.  Action flicked through the incident report just making some surface notes in his head.

"And anything on our little ongoing investigation?" he asked, hoping that Bibi had any new information on the strange McGregor/Landgraab case.  

"Oh some very interesting things.  For example, all those samples you brought back were of commonly found fish and plants except for one thing." she said with an enigmatic upturn to her voice at the end.

"Which is?" asked Action.

"The cellular walls were much weaker than you would normally find." she said, matter of factly.

"OK, and that's surprising how?"

"It's surprising in that when subject to handling the various flora and fish become....how do you say it in English?  Der matsch or schleim?"

"Sounds like slime...all pulped up and messy?"

"Ja, that is it.  Now what causes weak cell walls?  I do not know at this stage"

"That's something to be getting on with" said Action.

"Ahem...you have this case here to be getting on with first" she said, pointing to the file he was holding.  

"Awww, and we were working so well together as well.  There's always this barrier between us and I don't mean this flimsy tape thing here" he said, indicating the queueing barrier in the lobby of the station house.

Action made his way down to Oasis Springs, to a wealthier, middle class part of the neighbourhood.  It was rich enough to be full of nice places to live, but not so rich that those houses would have decent alarms or security systems.  In short, a juicy place for burglars to target.  The crime scene was familiar as well...his first case after being assigned to 13th Precinct happened here as well.  A large, single floor house inhabited by four young professionals, one of whom he had met briefly:   J. Huntington III, member of the Lothario Club.

Action approached the senior uniform cop present, Senior Patrolman Tony Gunn.  "What's the score, Tony?"

"Looks like a break-in and theft job, Detective.  The perps made off with TVs, a fridge and an expensive stereo system.  State of the art record and cassette player and all."

"A combined record AND cassette player?  Impressive.  That'll fetch a hefty price on the black market" replied Action.

"Forensics are on their way" said Gunn.

"OK, I'll take some photos and have a look around.  You round up any witnesses" said Action.

"Graffiti...why do they always leave graffiti?" he muttered to himself as he got to work.  Judging by the size of the stereo...which apparently had a built in radio with both AM and FM bands as well...and fridge Action reckoned there had to be more than one person involved and that they would have needed a van or truck to make away with the loot.

There were three witnesses and they were all marshalled to a room at the back of the house.  When Action entered the room he saw one of them browsing through the bookshelf.

"Cut that out!  You don't live here" said Action, swatting the book out of the man's hand.  "Now, one at a time, what did you see?"

"I saw this dirty white van pull up outside and this lady stepped out and walked over to the house" said a young, Hispanic man who was sitting on the edge of the bed.

"Your name?"

"Rez Valdes, Detective.  I saw this dirty white van..."

"Did you get the licence plate number?" asked Action.

"No.  I didn't see it.  Anyway the van pulls up to the front of the house and then I see this lady step out..."

"Are you sure it was a woman?  What did she look like?"

"Yeah, pretty sure it was a woman...she had, well, you know, a woman's figure" Rez said with a little knowing laugh.

"What was she wearing?" asked Action.

"Shorts, a blouse and she had a baseball cap pulled low over her head so I couldn't see her face.  I thought it was odd that a woman in a fancy blouse would be driving a dirty old van"

"Did any of you two see this woman?" Action asked the other witnesses.

"Oh yes, Detective.  Yeah, she was wearing a fancy blouse and cap" said one.

"I saw the van and I got the first 3 numbers of the licence plate: 335" said the other.

"Very good, guys" said Action, jotting this all down on his notepad.  Turning to Gunn he said "you finish things off here, I'll head back to HQ to look through the files and see if we can get some suspects"

"OK, Action"

Back at 13th Precinct Headquarters Action was able to use the latest electronic document reader to look through a list of potential suspects...files kept on microfiche.  The reader also had a photostat printer so that files could be printed out to A4 size.  

Gunn had returned with the last of the evidence and witness reports bagged up and was joking around in the squad room how this should be an open and shut case.

"Ain't no such thing until we get a name and we're not there yet!" said Action, warning Gunn not to get too ahead of himself.  He admired the young officer's zeal but that could lead to sloppiness.  Better whip him into shape before they botch this case, thought Action.

"OK, the stolen items are all electronic goods so the thieves will want to offload them quickly.  Let's look into the local markets, shops who we know handle stolen goods and black market regulars." said Action.  "Bibi, do you have anything from the lab?" he said to her as she entered the room.

"No fingerprints, but we're looking at a hair sample" she replied.  "Also, we're running checks on that partial licence plate"

Action was impressed at how his team were working together and the rest of the shift saw people being brought in for questioning, ruling out suspects and narrowing down the list of potential ones.  An arrest was definitely in the cards for the next couple of days.

As he ended his shift and was preparing to go home, he saw Bibi once again.

"Good work today...say, I was going to grab a bite to eat; want to tag along?" he asked.

"You're not asking me on a date, Action, are you?" asked Bibi, sceptically.

"Oh no...nothing like that.  An end of shift bit of socialising, getting some decent chow and catching up on things, that's all.  What say you?"

"As long as it is not a date, that is fine" she replied.  "Where shall we go?"

"I was thinking something simple and low key such as The Sunny Side Up?"

"I have not been there.  Do I have to look smart?"

"You can go as smart or as casual as you want"

"Good.  I will go home and get changed and will meet you at this Sunny Side Up place but it will NOT be a date."

Both of them headed home and changed into more casual clothing before meeting up again outside of the diner.

"Bibi, you look amazing as usual" said Action.

"You look very smart.  That is some jacket you're wearing" she replied.

"An original Pierre Cardin.  A friend recommended it to me and I trust her fashion judgement" he replied.

"A Pierre Cardin jacket on a Detective's salary?  You must tell me your financial secrets, Action" she said, with a smirk.

They took their seats in the diner, Bibi looked around with interest.

"This is how I have always imagined what American restaurants to be like...a good idea of yours, Action, to come here:  I hate cooking" she said.

"And there I was thinking you might make a mean strudel" he replied.

"I do not" she said, curtly.

 The waiter came and took their order.  Action had a burger, Bibi a quiche.  

"And what would you like to drink?" asked Action.

"I would like....hmmm....as this ISN'T a date..."

"It's not" said Action.

"...then I will have this" she said, jabbing her finger at some kind of cocktail listed on the menu.

Action was happy to socialise but Bibi wanted to cut straight to business.  

"So, to business." she said.

"I was afraid you'd say that" said Action.

"These samples, they turned out to be unstable.  Did you obtain them from a laboratory?" she asked.

"No, in the field" he replied.

"Then was this place, remote, normally inaccessible?" 

"You could say that"

"Then that explains it.  An environment normally restricted and, if handled incorrectly, the flora and fauna lose their cellular cohesion"

"I think I know what you mean.  But why?  Is it some kind of freaky experiment?"

"Possibly scientific research into some new agricultural methods" she replied with a shrug.

"Yeah, but this 'research' as you call it could be the reason behind all the cloak n' dagger jazz we've got going on with this case!"

"I don't understand...'cloak n' dagger jazz'" she replied.

"I mean spies, Bibi."

"Ah, ja.  That I do understand.  Yes, that is a possibility.  This food is surprisingly good"

"Talk about a change of subject." Action said, raising his eyebrows in surprise.

"Yes.  This is a much nicer place and the food is of a higher quality than I expected.  Almost as if this were the kind of place you'd take a date.  Which this is not"

"If you say so" he said, taking another sip of beer.

"I thought you were seeing someone, Action?"

"That's on hold for now"

"Oh, sorry to hear that.  I will not pry"

"What about yourself?  Are you seeing an American guy or is there someone special back in Germany?"

"There is no one.  I am happy with things that way:  It was easier for me to come to America if I was not involved with a man back home, and getting involved with one here will lead to problems once I go home so this way I do not get hurt, and no one gets hurt by me."  She made it all sound matter of fact.

"So let's keep this professional then" said Action, raising his glass to her.

"Yes.  Professional...although you make it difficult sometimes" she said, smiling suggestively at him.

After dinner he escorted her home but didn't stay for a night cap.  Instead, he went home and crashed out.  The next morning he awoke, showered, got dressed for another shift and was eating breakfast when the lights and radio suddenly cut out.

"Dang...what now?" he muttered.  He went to the light switch and flicked it up and down a few times.  Nothing.  Then he checked out the fridge.  It had stopped working.  Every electrical device in his house stopped working.  Was there a power cut?  He went outside and noticed the lights on at Jeremy's house so whatever the problem was, it seemed to be affecting him.  He noticed a letter sticking out of his mail box so he went over to see what it was:  It was an electrical bill from the providers; the Landgraab Energy Company.  He looked at it; it said he hadn't paid his last bill so they were shutting off the power until he did.  

"But I did pay the last bill!  Last Monday...this is a crock of...heck, I'm going to have to sort this out but I have to get to work!  Damn electrical company, stupid admin people!  Damn the Landgrab Corporation!  Damn them!  LANDGRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAB!"