CHAPTER 116: Going Steady

 

There she sat; Summer...a picture of loveliness, a sweet look of innocence upon her face as she ate her breakfast whilst watching I Love Lucy on the TV.  Her turtleneck sweater hugging her body without a wrinkle, showing off every wonderful curve and then beyond...down to her long, tapering legs.  Travis Scott felt like the luckiest guy in the world to be dating such a hot chick....not only dating her, living with her as well.  He inhaled deeply, sucked in his stomach (which, to be honest, he struggled to keep in shape) and prepared to sidle next to her to enjoy some intimacy on the couch...."here goes", he thought.

But just as he was about to sit right next to her the third member of the household, Liberty, had sprinted into the room and plonked herself right in the spot that Travis was eyeing up.  

"Heya, roomie!" said Liberty.  "Lovely day today, got anything planned...hey, Travis, come and sit down next to us!" she said, patting the seat next to him which put Liberty in between Summer and him.

"Yeah, great" he said, unconvincingly.

"Summer and I have a day off today" continued the effervescent Liberty.  "What about you?  Hey, we could make a day of it, just the three of us!"

"I have to go to work in a couple of hours" said Travis, trying to figure out how to drop a subtle hint that he wanted some time with Summer alone whilst he was still here.  That was the trouble with this house share:  Once romance had entered into things, privacy and intimacy became complicated.

"Oh, that's a shame" said Liberty.  "Still, Summer, you up for a girl's only day of fun?" 

"That sounds great!" said Summer, but as she looked towards Travis she could detect a hint of sadness in his face:  He wanted to be part of the fun, she knew it and her instincts about people were seldom wrong.  

Summer finished her breakfast and went to the kitchen to tidy up...even though they had a maid who came in to clean the place, Summer couldn't help herself tidying up here and there:  It was the way she was raised.

Summer wanted more one on one time with Travis but she too felt the 3 way house share often got in the way.  As she finished washing her breakfast plate she turned her head towards Travis, who was still sitting on the couch, and batted her eyelashes at him as a signal to "come hither".  He took the hint, made his excuses to Liberty, and walked over to the kitchen.

"Hey, you" said Summer.  She took his hands and held them.  

"I wish I didn't have to go into work today" said Travis.

"I know...I know, but we can make the most of the time we have until you have to leave"

"I really want to spend more time with you, Summer; it's frustrating that every time we get a quiet moment together...something happens or Liberty walks into the room.  You know, we just got together...I never properly asked you if you wanted to go steady with me"

"Well...here's your chance" said Summer.

"Summer....I dig you like no other girl.  Will you go steady with me?"

"I thought you'd never ask"

"Let's retire to the study for a bit of....erm...study" said Travis, winking at her.  They scurried off whilst Liberty seemed oblivious as to what was going on.

That hour went all too quickly and Travis had to head to work, leaving the girls to plan the rest of their day.  

"I miss him already..." Summer sighed.

"Aww, bless.  It's so cute when you two get all sentimental for each other" replied Liberty.

Summer shut her eyes, took a deep breath and opened them again.  "You know what, Libs...we've been stuck inside for too long.  It's here, work, here again.  We need to get out and get active!" she said.

"Oh I know that look!" replied Liberty, a note of caution on her face.  "You want to go to..."

"The...GYM!" replied Summer.  "Work those muscles!  Tone that body!  Feel fresh and alive!" she continued.

"Fresh and alive?  How about worn out and half dead..." replied Liberty.

"Come on!" said Summer, lightly punching Liberty on the arm.  "We need to GET ACTIVE!"

MOVERS & SHAKERS GYMNASIUM, 11:23am

"How about we head over to The Blue Velvet club instead?" said Liberty upon arrival at the gym.

"This early?  No, we need to work up a sweat!" replied Summer.

"Sounds icky" said Liberty.  "OK, how about instead we head on over to the river for a nice stroll and a chat?"

"Are you wimping out on me, Liberty Lee?"

"Not so much wimping out more like...suggesting alternatives" said Liberty, trying to sidestep things.

"Come on, I promise you we'll go somewhere to drink AFTER the exercising.  My treat"

"Your treat?  Why didn't you say so earlier...let's go!" said Liberty, eventually caving in.

The girls ran upstairs to the locker room and changed from their trendy street clothes into their exercise gear:  Summer in her sleek, form fitting leotard that was especially designed and made for the gym, yoga and dance class and Liberty in a pair of old shorts she had, some long socks left over from her college field hockey days and a lightweight singlet vest.  Summer knew that the treadmills were a members favourite:  They were the new, electrically powered ones instead of the old ones which were mechanical and powered by running itself.  Liberty looked around and saw a vacant weight lifting apparatus.  She moved the pin that adjusted the amount of weight on the device to the minimum setting.

Summer had managed to involve the personal trainer for Movers & Shakers in her running routine. 

"INACTIVITY!" he bellowed to her.  "The curse of the modern American lifestyle....now pick up that pace, lady!"

Liberty, in the meantime, had her own challenge.

"...Ugh.....hngh....eeeeaaarrrggghhhhh....ONE!" she said, as she did her first lift of the weights.  "...nggghhh....hnghhhh....aaarrggghhhh....two...whoa, pause there for a moment" she said to herself.  As she sat there, resting, she noticed that Julia Epstein was also in the gym.  She was doing some stretches and sit ups instead of using the apparatus but whilst Liberty's muscles ached she thought that she could combine being at rest with being friendly.

"Julia!  How are you?" said Liberty, enthusiastically.

"I'm fine, thank you...I am halfway through my exercise routine...you?" Julia replied.

"Me?  Phew, I'm putting in the effort, the hard yards, the distance, you know" said Liberty, in a voice that indicated that she'd done 20 times more effort than she actually had.

"Look at Summer there!" said Julia, pointing to their friend who was still being cajoled by the instructor.  "She's really going for it!"

"That's our Summer!" said Liberty, wondering where Summer got her energy from.

Summer stopped running and but instead of staggering over to the others covered in sweat and with a face the colour of beetroot, she bounded over with a skip and a jump with only slightly pinker cheeks to show for her exertions.  She lit up when she saw Julia. 

"Julia, fancy seeing you here...give us a hug, it's been too long!" she beamed.

The three of them chatted and swapped recent stories of what they'd been up to but they hadn't realised that time was marching on and that it was nearly 1pm.  Summer suddenly had a plan.

"Say, what are you up to this afternoon?" she asked Liberty and Julia.

"I'm working the evening shift so, nothing" replied Julia.

"Now we're all fired up, how about we have a little fun?  What about we all head down to the Orange Peel club?"

"That sounds acceptable" replied Julia.

"I arranged to meet Gary this afternoon but I could call him and arrange to meet us there" said Liberty.

"Sounds like a plan!" said Summer.

They all rendezvoused at the Orange Peel club but on seeing one another, Gary and Liberty were overcome with affection for one another and rushed into each others arms.  

"Hey sweetie, so good to see you. Mwah!" said Gary, kissing Liberty squarely on the lips.

"Hmmm, It's wonderful to see you too" said Liberty, holding him tight to her.

"Harumph!" muttered Julia, quietly to herself.  She really didn't like public displays of affection.

"Let's get inside before the dance floor fills up" said Summer, grabbing Julia gently by the elbow and escorting her inside the discotheque before she became ill.

Everyone was having a fab time but when Summer and Julia went to the bar for some food and drink, Liberty and Gary used the opportunity to sneak off to an alcove where there were some very comfortable love seats designed for two...

After a few moments of smooching Gary said to Liberty "What's with your friend and her kissing hang up?" 

"She's just more of a prim and proper type.  In another dimension she's Mary Poppins" replied Liberty.  "But other than seeing people kiss...or cuddle, or stroking each other's hair, or touching knees (she really hates that) she's great company...a good joke teller."

"Oops, watch out...she's coming back...time to hit the dance floor again" said Gary, taking Liberty by the hand and leading her.

After another hour of dancing both Gary and Julia had to leave for work.  Gary offered to escort Julia part of the way as she was unfamiliar with Newcrest.  That just left Liberty and Summer and the latter's energy levels just hadn't dropped all day.

"You know what I'm thinking?" said Summer, with a mischievous smile on her face.

"Oh no, what have you got planned now?" asked Liberty in trepidation.

"DANCE OFF!"  cried Summer, punching the air.

 They challenged each other to the Watusi, the Mashed Potato, The Twist, The Go-Go before Summer pulled out her trump card by smashing the Hully Gully.  Liberty conceded defeat.  The girls decided it was finally time to head home.

Travis was already home and having his dinner.

"Hey...what did you two get up to today?  Oh, by the way, the coffee machine is broken" he said.

"Why didn't you fix it?  You're an engineer" said Summer.

"I didn't want any coffee" said Travis with a shrug.  "You're looking perked up, Summer but Liberty looks tired out"

"Oh we just went to the gym and had a dance off at the Orange Peel club afterwards" said Summer.

Liberty said nothing but instead opened the cupboard under the sink and reached for the toolbox.  She then proceeded to fix the coffee machine.

"How was your day, Trav?" said Summer.

"Oh you know...circuit boards, punch cards and reel to reel tapes...the usual" he replied.

While Liberty was focussed on the repair Travis and Summer managed to have a hushed conversation.

"I missed you today, Trav....Liberty had Gary to dance with but I didn't have you" said Summer.

Travis said nothing but instead reached across the table to stroke her cheek.  Eventually he said "well, the evening is still young...you and I can still do something together".

Summer yawned.  "I'm sorry, Trav, I don't mean to imply I'm bored...I'm so tired after everything I did today.  Can we not go out but instead stay here tonight?  I think we should move our conversation to our bedroom"

"Our bedroom?" said a puzzled Travis, who still...technically...had his own bed and room.  "Oh...I see" he said as the penny finally dropped.  "Our bedroom.  I hope you have enough energy for one more thing..." he continued in a suggestive tone.

"Oh I have enough energy for that!" said Summer, cottoning on.  Travis then whispered something in her ear.

"You're right!  It will be our first ever time" she replied.

"Hey...I've finished fixing the coffee machine!" said Liberty.  "Oh...they've left the room" she added after looking around the kitchen.

Summer and Travis didn't spend much time in the bedroom either in conversation or with beginning intimacies.  As soon as the door had shut, they were taking each other's clothes off and kissing passionately.  

"I can't believe....it's taken us this long....to do this..." said Summer in between kisses and gasps of excitement.

"The wait is over, baby" replied Travis.  Once they were both fully undressed they fell into the bed, clutching one another as they began to woohoo.  

It was Travis who woke first.  He looked over at Summer, who was fast asleep with a smile upon her face, and gently brushed a strand of loose hair out of her eyes.  He turned to look at the bedside clock:  It was only 9:30pm and he decided to get up for a while.  Putting on his pyjamas, he went into the kitchen to get a glass of water and think about the fantastic time he'd just had:  Summer didn't disappoint in the bed, that's for sure.

There was a knock at the door.  Travis looked through the window and saw it was Jeremy.

"Hey buddy" he said, opening the door to his friend and neighbour.

"Just a friendly call...how are you doing?" said Jeremy.  "Wait a minute...you look like the cat who got the cream"

"Oh I most certainly did" said Travis, grinning broadly.

"You mean?  You haven't...you know...done....'it'....with Summer before now?" said Jeremy, fumbling over what words to use.

Travis shook his head.  "It gets pretty hectic around here, man" he replied.  "There never seemed to be the right time when we were both together and alone until now".

Jeremy nodded and patted him on the shoulder.  The two friends didn't need to say another word on the matter.

CHAPTER 115: Cops n' Doctors

There are few pleasures in life quite like the taste of Brochette by the light of a cold, San Myshuno morning.  It was the reason why she took a diversion from her regular route into work just to sample a little piece of indulgence.

She sat down the savour the taste and looked out over the Arts Quarter; it was well before rush hour and only a handful of souls were out and about this morning.  She knew that in precisely 15 minutes this place would be awash with commuters and the lonely food stall would have a throng of hungry and eager customers all trying to cram in a pre-work breakfast they missed at home.

A busker was setting up nearby but Julia had no time to stay and watch the performance.  She headed over to the subway but when she passed the busker she saw that it was Rez, a familiar face around here and someone who awkwardly tried to hit on her some weeks ago.

"Julia!  You're here!  Stay a while and I will sing a song especially for you!" he exclaimed.

"I really don't have the time..." she replied.

"I've been experimenting with Flamenco guitar..."

"Please, don't do this on my account"

"Here goes....JULIA...I LOVE YOU!  I GIVE YOU MY BULL AND MY COW!" he sang loudly, jangling the guitar strings in the Flamenco manner.

"Please, stop" said Julia, all clenched up.  "I have to go to work now" she said, gritting her teeth whilst she walked to the subway station.

"SOMEONE GET ME A ROSE!" yelled Rez.

_________________________________________________________________________________

Sim City Medical Centre: 8:01am

There was a commotion at the hospital.  One of the private rooms had a police guard standing outside and the senior surgeons were all busily heading for the intensive care ward.  Nurse Francesca Griffiths pulled Julia to one side to bring her up to speed as to what was going on.

"It's been crazy like this since yesterday...policewoman was the victim of an arson attack and, as you've seen, there's a police presence on site and Dr Murakami is personally looking after the case.  They've got a burns specialist and a plastic surgeon flown in from Chicago to deal with this." said Francesca.

"Golly...should I volunteer to assist?" asked Julia.

"Murakami wants you to take over a whole bunch of her cases.  Relieve the pressure on the top surgeons by doing a lot of post op care"

"I can do that...it's more than my usual grind of chores Murakami gets me to do...give me the case files and I'll get to it" said Julia.

"Hello Mrs...Hager" said Julia, hurriedly checking the notes.  "Ah, I see those are nasty blemishes on your face.  I'll need to check your eyes, ears and get a swab from your throat..."

"Will it hurt?" said Mrs Hager.  "That's all I want to know:  Will it hurt?"

"There might be some slight discomfort as I'll have to swab the back of your throat" said Julia.

"In other words...it will hurt"

Another patient.

"Now, Mrs Lewis, just take this now and I'll write out a prescription for you to take to the pharmacist.  You take it 3 times a day on an empty stomach." said Julia to her next patient:  Mrs Vivian Lewis.

"This?  This is going to cure me?  I've had a bad back, bad knees, my stomach hurts, I can't even move my left elbow anymore, and then there's the headaches but this...pink goop...THIS you say is going to cure all that?"

"Yes, Mrs Lewis.  That is precisely what it's going to do" replied Julia.

Mrs Lewis raised a sceptical eyebrow.  "I had better not be just sugar, water and pink food colouring like last time!" she said as she gulped down the medicine.

Another patient.

"Tell me I'm not going to die!  I'm too young!  Tell me I'm not going to die!" said the extremely nervous patient.

"You're not going to die" replied Julia, flatly.

"Say it with more conviction!" said the woman.

"*sigh*...You, are seriously not going to die of....oh hello...actually you're going to have the opposite:  It appears you're now eating for two" said Julia, checking all the symptoms and looking at the test results.

"Oh!" said the surprised woman.

During a brief respite in her shift, Julia drank an energy drink concoction of her own design to boost her flagging energy levels.  It had been extremely busy picking up the senior medics workload but she relished the challenge and believed it helped her chances of promotion.

More patients, more tests but Julia couldn't find any more information about the injured police woman.  The guard was ever present and the specialists came and went from her room.  Julia was just too low down on the pecking order.

The shift ended but another one was about to begin:  She had her regular, weekly, slot playing piano down at the Blue Velvet Club.  She changed out of her scrubs, into her red skirt and top, and headed off to the club.

She played a few jazz standards and took a couple of requests before her break in sessions.  Grabbing a giant pretzel and a glass of fizzy fruit drink to stave off the hunger, she sat down at a table to get some rest.

"I liked your set" came a man's voice.  Looking up, she saw that it was Cole Michaels; a police officer she had recently met.

"Oh...did you?  Thanks.  It's 'Cole', isn't it?"

"That's right, Julia" he replied. "May I join you for a bit?"

"Oh yes, by all means" 

 

"I've never been here before but I was tempted to come when you and Jolene told me you performed here.  I like it." said Cole.

"Jolene's not here tonight; sorry to disappoint you" replied Julia, who thought that Cole was interested in her friend.

"Not to worry; I got to see you perform and you're very good" said Cole.  

Julia blushed.  "Well, you know, I'm not a professional or anything..." she said.

"If I didn't know you were a doctor already I would have said you were a professional pianist"

"You're too kind" said Julia, still blushing and dropping her head bashfully.

"I might make this a regular haunt from now on" he said, smiling.  "May I buy you a drink?" he asked.

"Sure!  Another fizzy fruit cocktail please" she replied.

Cole went to get the drinks in and they continued to chat.  "Anything exciting happen at your work today, Julia?" he asked.

"Not for me, but we've got your colleague still in intensive care.  It's not my case so I can't tell you much" she said.  Cole nodded.

"She works at the same precinct as me, but in a different department" he said.  "I hope she pulls through...Action's the lead detective on that one."

"Well, you've got the best on the case" said Julia.

"Yes, we sure do....say, change of subject...how about you and me hit the dance floor?"

"Well...I don't really..." she said, bashfully.

"Come on, I bet you dance as well as you play" he said, taking her gently by the hand.  Instead of resisting, Julia took it, stood up and they headed for the dance area.

They danced and had a pleasant conversation.  Julia found herself enjoying this.  At one point Cole took her hand and they jived;  eventually he twirled her around and she spun, her skirt flaring out and showing her legs in full.  Julia almost stumbled but Cole caught her by the waist and she ended up with her hands on his shoulders.

"Whoa, steady there" he said.  There was a brief pause as she felt his gentle arm around her waist but she didn't know what to say.

Cole broke the silence.  "That was nice...." he said, but his face turned serious.  "I want to swing past the hospital and check on Marina...that's my colleague.  I've had a great time; we must do it again"

Julia nodded.  The two said their goodbyes and walked away from the Blue Velvet in opposite directions.  She found herself skipping most of the way home.  She really did have a great time tonight...with a man.  Of course, she was focussed on her work and there was no question of a relationship.  Besides, how could she be sure he even thought of her romantically?  Crazy suggestion, why entertain the thought?  No, he just enjoyed her company as a friend.  Yes, a friend.  He would obviously go with someone like Jolene; someone beautiful, sexy, fun loving.  And Jolene was looking for a steady relationship now so Cole would be the ideal man for her to hook up with.  No, Cole was definitely a friend, nothing more.

Nevertheless, when Julia pictured Cole in her mind she let out a happy sigh.

CHAPTER 114: Fire Down Below

The young woman walked purposefully past the opulent mansions of Skyward Palms.  It was not a place she visited often but today there was important work to be done.  The other members of the Triangle had been careless lately and had betrayed its secrets to an outsider; someone who had not been assessed and approved.  A message had to be sent to the other two factions, a warning that they must be more careful in the future.  The members of the Triangle had been selected over decades of close and careful observation; characters assessed, behaviour predicted and destinies shaped.

In the distance she could see the person that needed to be confronted:  Nancy Landgraab was a very predictable person, always going for a fitness run beginning at precisely 6am and lasting exactly one hour.  She had a different route for each day of the week and it happened that this morning was the Skyward Palms route.  The young woman crossed the road and stood directly in the path of Nancy.

As Nancy approached the woman, she swerved slightly to avoid her but the woman matched her move and blocked her.  Nancy took two steps to the left to continue around her but again, the woman matched the moved and blocked her path again.

"Excuse me, I need to get past" said Nancy.

"You are.  Landgraab.  Nancy.  Businesswoman.  Confirm" said the woman.

"I beg your pardon?" replied an incredulous Nancy.

"You are.  Landgraab.  Nancy.  Businesswoman.  Confirm" the woman repeated.

"I am, and who might you be?" said Nancy, getting annoyed.

"I represent the interests of your partners in the Triangle."

"Lilly Feng sent you?  I might have guessed" said Nancy.

"No.  Your other partners" said the woman, coldly.  Nancy went quiet.

"Oh.  I didn't expect to hear from you.  It's been a long time..." she said with a hint of worry in her voice.

"The agreed protocol was violated" said the woman.

"Not by me or my husband"

"Irrelevant.  Protocol was violated.  Action to remedy this has been taken"

"Wait, were you the one who tried to shoot Lily Feng?" asked Nancy.

"Action to remedy this has been taken" repeated the woman and she turned to look at the mansion known as Granada Place.

"Wait...that's Alan Cuffe's house!" said Nancy in shock.  "He's not a participant!  What are you going to do?"

"Action.  To remedy this.  Has been taken" said the woman, also turning to look at the mansion.

The woman walked off, noticing that there was a visitor to the house.  Collateral damage, she thought, not her concern.

The doorbell of Granada Place rang and Alan Cuffe went to answer it.  The woman on the doorstep was a dark haired lady of about 30 years of age wearing and all black outfit with a chrome chain link belt.

"Marina, lovely to see you, you're looking fantastic" said Cuffe, enthusiastically and kissing her on the cheek.

"Alan, I couldn't resist your call" replied the woman, Marina Beckett.  She was a member of the Sim City Police Department and someone who would pass information on to Cuffe if she thought it would affect him or his business.  The two had met at a Police Benevolent Fund dinner last year and hit it off.  Now she was another entry in his famed "little black book".

"Do come inside" said Cuffe.  "I would dearly love to wine and dine you all day but, alas, business is calling so I can only spend a precious little amount of time with you today but I promise I'll make it up to you"

"I'll keep you to that" she said, smiling.

"But let me cut straight to business..." said Cuffe, ushering her into his living room.  "John Action...is he still investigating Madelyn?"

"He hasn't ruled her out as a person of interest in that shooting" Marina replied.

Cuffe shook his head.  "That's too bad.  This month is a potentially difficult one for me and my business:  The first Lothario Kitten Club premises is opening this week and I don't want any adverse publicity affecting it.  I would appreciate some help from you, Marina"

"What can I do?  It's not my case" she replied.

"Couldn't you steer him away from me and Madelyn?" asked Cuffe.  "Dig around, try to put the suspicion on the Fengs or Landgraabs for example; you should have plenty of leads linking them to something nefarious.  I mean, why not suggest that Malcolm Landgraab...desperate to maintain his dear mother's honour, tried to have Feng shot or something like that?"

"I don't know...Action is pretty hard headed...or haven't you noticed?" said Marina.

"Oh I have, Marina, I certainly have...anyway, I must change into more suitable attire for my meeting.  I'll leave you here to warm your hands over the fire and consider what I said.  I'm not asking you to do anything illegal...just leave a trail of crumbs away from me and towards someone else." and with that, he stood up to leave to go to his bedroom.

Marina stood up and paced around the room.  This was the biggest request Cuffe had ever made of her and she wasn't sure what to do.  Maybe she could just gently suggest to Action that Feng or Landgraab were more responsible for the shooting than they're letting on?  Maybe she could go through the records and put a few criminal files of known hit men on his desk?  What harm could it do?  After all, Alan wouldn't resort to murder, she was sure of that.

Alan returned wearing a blazer and cravat.  "Have you thought about my suggestion?" he asked.

"I have" replied Marina.  "Leave it with me, I'll see what I can do"

"Excellent, well I have time for one little drink...would you care to join me?" he said and as he reclined on his chair he was about to summon Madelyn to pour some drinks when he noticed a brilliant flash of light and a jet of fire shoot out from the fireplace, almost filling the room.  He instinctively ducked down for cover as the fireball shot over his head.  Sitting back up to see what was going on he saw that Marina was on fire!

"MARINA!" he cried out.  "Drop to the ground and roll!  Marina!"

Cuffe leapt to his feet and looked around for a rug or even curtain to wrap around her to smother the fire.  The woman began to panic and thrash about as the flames engulfed her body.  "Drop, Marina, DROP!" yelled Cuffe as he struggled to tear one of the curtain's off of its railing.  He had a flashback to when he was in the Army Air Force in World War 2 when he had to pull an injured crewman from a burning B-17 bomber.

"Madelyn!" he screamed.  "Get the fire extinguisher from the kitchen....NOW!" 

Madelyn came running in with the extinguisher and quickly read the instructions as Marina still burned.  

"Hurry up!  She'll be a gonner soon!" yelled Cuffe.

Madelyn pulled the safety pin out of the extinguisher, aimed the hose and squeezed the handle.  CO2 gas shot out of the nozzle and onto the burning figure of Marina.

The CO2 did its work and the fire was put out.  Marina collapsed to the ground, her clothing was charred and melting...some of the molten nylon had stuck to her skin which was badly burned.  Alan picked up the phone and called the Fire Department and asked for an ambulance...but tellingly not the police...whilst Madelyn put Marina's burned body into the recovery position.

Meanwhile, outside, the strange young woman cast a glance at a terrified Nancy Landgraab.  Nancy decided to run and keep running.

12:45pm, WILLOW CREEK

"Anything biting today, Spenser?" asked John Action to an old acquaintance of his, Spenser Lam.  Spenser liked to come to Foundry Cove to do a bit of fishing and he was always grateful to Action ever since he helped sort out gang trouble in Spenser's neighbourhood.  

"Not much, Action...say, I just heard on the radio that a policewoman was injured in a fire.  Is she someone you know?" said Spenser.

Action nodded.  "Yeah, and she works in the same precinct as me.  Word from the hospital is that she's in a stable condition"

"I hope she pulls through, Action."

"Thanks, Spenser, you take care and hopefully you'll get a good catch" 

"I hope so too!"

SKYWARD PALMS, 1:35pm

"So this is how the other half live?" thought Action to himself as he arrived at the site of the fire; Granada Place which was owned by none other than Mr Alan Cuffe himself.  Well, well, well, thought Action, isn't that man at the centre of everything these days?

He headed over to the lounge, where the fire happened and found a team of Fire Department investigators plus his own colleague, forensic expert Bibi Stahler.

"Bibi...what's the latest?" he asked.

"Fire investigators are already saying it's arson" she replied.  "Traces of an accelerant not commercially available were found in the fireplace.  The witness says it was like an explosion so we're looking into the possibility it was a bomb"

"Where is Cuffe at the moment?" asked Action.

"Upstairs" said Bibi.  Action nodded thanks and headed up to find Cuffe and his live in assistant, Madelyn.

"Mr Cuffe, we meet again" said Action.

"It appears so" said Cuffe, wearily.  "How's Marina?" he asked.

"In a stable condition:  She's got 2nd degree burns to large parts of her body." replied Action.  "So you're on first name terms, are you?"

"Yes, she's a friend.  I know her socially" said Cuffe.

"So why was she visiting you?"

"Like I said, it was a social call...just two friends catching up" replied Cuffe.

"But you had a business appointment to get to and this social call was, what, just for half an hour or so?  Why trouble Marina Beckett to travel from Willow Creek, where she lives, to Skyward Palms...over an hour's drive away...just for a half an hour meeting?"

Cuffe paused.  "She was in the area and wanted to ask my opinion about a matter" he said.

"Which was?"

"She was pitching an idea for a future Lothario article:  Women in uniform...she said she knows a couple of hot looking policewomen and, well, she's a very attractive woman; I could see potential in such an article"

Action said nothing but just nodded.  Did this story ring true?  Well, once Marina had recovered sufficiently he'd be asking her why she was there.  Madelyn then appeared on the upstairs balcony.

"Detective Action...how is she?" she asked.

"As I said to Alan, she's stable.   Doctors say she'll pull through." Action replied.  "Madelyn...did you notice anyone or anything suspicious outside or in the area at the time of the fire?"

"No.  I was in the kitchen when it happened and the kitchen looks out over the garden and the lake, not the road.  I saw nothing unusual."

"It looks like foul play at the moment and now there's been two attempts on your lives...I need to know who's out to get you, Mr Cuffe" said Action.

Cuffe threw his hands up in the air "How the hell should I know!" he said in frustration.  "As my business expands I'm now moving in the circles of the rich and powerful and they, as I have found out, have enemies.  The only threats I'm getting is from those crackpots over at the League of Decency"

"The League of Decency?" asked a puzzled Action.

"Yeah, a bunch of whackos who want my business shut down.  They hate sex, sexy people, the libertine lifestyle and fun in general...my office gets bombarded with mail from them demanding that I cease publishing Lothario magazine with threats of protesting outside of my premises.  I'm sure you'll find someone truly unhinged and capable of murder among that lot!"

"Thanks, I'll look into that" said Action, standing up.  "I'll check with the forensic team downstairs but rest assured, Mr Cuffe, I will call on you again so don't leave town."

"Action..." said Cuffe.  "...keep me posted on Marina's condition" he said with concern and sadness in his voice.  Action nodded and left Cuffe and Madelyn.

After checking on the team, Action's work shift had formally ended.  He'd agreed to meet his girlfriend, Katherine, at the Spice Quarter in downtown San Myshuno.  

"Now you are a sight for sore lips" said Action, taking in the beauty of Katherine after his tough shift.  They embraced each other and kissed.

"Ahhh, that's so good." said Katherine.  "Hey, how are you holding up?  I heard about your colleague and the fire"

"I'm doing OK" he said.  "Just got to wait for forensics to do their job before I can do mine.  Anyway, let's hang out and have some fun"

"Sounds good to me...it's the flea market today, fancy some bargains?"

"And here I was thinking you liked the expensive things in life" he said with a smile.

"Hey, I like that lamp" he said, stopping by one stall.

"I told you there would be something just right for you here" she smiled.

"Yeah, I can see that lamp just by the bookcase...hey, I'll take this" he said to the vendor.

"That's 15 Smoleons" said the guy.

"Done" said Action.  "I'll stop by before I get home to collect it"

Turning to Katherine, he put an arm around her waist and said "After all, I need to keep my hands free for more important things".

They stopped at another table and Action saw a carved, wooden elephant.  "Hey, buddy, do you know where that's from?" he asked the vendor.

"Yeah, it's an old vacation souvenir from Kenya" said the man.

"Kenya!  I need a little bit of African stuff for the house....what's it worth?"

"$25"

"I'll give you 15"

"No way, 20 at least"

"18"

"Done"  This time, Action took the little figurine with him.

Action and Katherine went to sit down and chat more whilst they listened to the local busker on guitar.  They were joined by a familiar face; Barbara Dubois.  

"Do you mind if I sit with you while I eat this meal?" she asked.

"Sure, go ahead" replied Action.  "Have you met Katherine before?"

"I have not.  Lovely to meet you; I've heard lots about you...all good" said Barbara.

They chatted for a bit until the subject of the fire came up again.  "How is your friend?" asked Barbara.

"Recovering." replied Action.  "She's not conscious yet so we haven't been able to talk to her about what happened."

"Do you think it has anything to do with that shooting...I mean, Alan Cuffe and his assistant seem to be targets?" asked Barbara.

"Could be...could be" mused Action.

"Anyway, enough about that" said Action.  "How's the shop going?"

"You have a shop?" asked an inquisitive Katherine.

"Yes, a fashion boutique on Magnolia Promenade.  It's only been the first week since we opened but it's going well.  I'm kept VERY busy!" said Barbara.

"You must write down the name and address...I'd love to come and visit it" said Katherine.

"Yes..." said Barbara, reaching into her handbag and pulling out a small pad and pen.  "Here we go.  Anyway, I'm looking for little artistic objects for the shop to decorate it and I want to look around before the market closes...all the best, Action, and lovely to meet you, Katherine"

"She's a lovely girl" said Katherine.  "and that's Jeremy's girlfriend?  Lucky man"

"How about getting a drink at the bar?" said Action.  Katherine looked enthusiastic.

They headed over to the Waterside Warble and ordered drinks.  Sitting on the plush sofa in the bar they began to chat but Katherine had noticed Action was distracted.

"It's this case, isn't it?" said Katherine

"That obvious, eh?" replied Action.  "Look, this isn't a random case; this is another officer who's been hurt and I believe it's somehow linked to that attempted shooting"

"So you think Alan Cuffe and his assistant are the targets?"

"It's increasingly looking that way but the question is why?  Cuffe thinks the people out to get him is this League of Decency.  Ever heard of them?"

Katherine shook her head.  "Not come across that name before.  They might be a registered charity, I could look into whether they are or not"

"That would be great.  This case is eating me up from within:  Who and what is going on?"

At that moment another person had entered the bar; Spenser Lam, who John had seen earlier on in the day.

"Yo, Spenser, what brings you here?" he said.

"Oh just out and about.  Say, I heard on the news that it was a fire bomb this morning and the funny thing is, I drove past that area just a few minutes before the bomb went off."

Action sat up all of a sudden.  "What did you see?" he said.

"Not much...I was checking out the fishing spots there because the lake waters are usually good around there.  I caught up with an old friend, Bjorn Bjergsen...we often go fishing together....and he said the lake had been overfished recently so I went on to Willow Creek.  I did spot a couple of women having a discussion right outside the home that got bombed."

"Can you give me a description?" said Action, enthusiastically.

"Erm...one was a blonde lady in a white outfit.  The other lady I don't remember much about.  Dark hair...wearing a hat.  Hmmm, Bjorn got a better look as he was there before I arrived and hung around afterwards."

"Spenser, you've been a star!" said Action, jotting all this down in his notebook.  He stood up to go to the phone in the bar so he could call Precinct 13 headquarters when he noticed Katherine still next to him.  He sat back down.

"Sorry baby, I forgot we're on our date" he said, apologetically.

"Just go, Action" she replied.  "This is eating you up, you need to get that information to your colleagues now, not later.  We'll do this another time"

"Rain cheque, I promise!" he said kissing her cheek before getting up and going to a payphone mounted on the wall.

"Hello, Precinct 13?  Who's that I'm speaking to?  Bibi?  Perfect...any new developments?  Really?  Well I've got a potential witness who might lead us to some suspects.  Run a check on a Bjorn Bjergsen...can't be many of them in Sim City.  I'm at the Spice Quarter, I'll meet you halfway to the station at the Arts District...and get Bjergsen there as well!"

Twenty minutes later and the precinct forensic officer met up with Action outside the Casbah Gallery: The midpoint between the Waterside Warble and police headquarters.

"Did you manage to track down Bjergsen?" asked Action.

"Yes, and he will be here shortly" replied Bibi.  "I have a more detailed report than the preliminary one I gave you at the mansion"

"Go on"

"We found traces of a chemical accelerant, not found on the wood or coal that is commercially sold for fireplaces.  It seems the coal was coated in this substance which lies dormant except for when it comes into contact with another chemical and heated"

"So what's this other accelerant and where was that in relation to the coal?" asked Action.

"We also found the remains of a small container which was connected to a miniature radio receiver."

"It was a remote control detonator?  Is that what you're saying?"

"Ja.  A remotely operated device...only a small receiver so range wouldn't be good"

"But far enough for someone to press the button standing on the other side of the street from Granada Place" Action nodded, another part of the jigsaw fell into place.  "Which means if Bjorgsen can give us a description of the two women standing outside of the house we may have a suspect!"

They waited a little longer, talking about the case in more detail when Mr Bjergsen arrived.

"Are you Detective Action?" the man asked.

"John Action and my associate, Bibi Stahler" replied Action.

"I was told over the phone you want to know whether I saw anyone in Skyward Palms this morning" said Bjergsen.

"That's correct, sir.  Did you see two women having a discussion at around 10am right outside of Granada Place, where the bomb went off?"

"I did as a matter of fact.  A blonde lady...age 30-35 I guess...hard to tell, she was wearing sunglasses.  She was wearing white tracksuit."

"And the other lady?" asked Action.

"Ah, now she struck me as odd.  I remember her being quite thin, long dark hair, dark eyes that penetrated your soul when you made eye contact with her?"

"Did you speak to her, or just look?" said Action.

"Only looked in her direction the one time as I got out of my car and walked to the lake.  But I shan't forget those penetrating eyes...like she could see right into you.  I must say it seemed unsettling at the time but I put it out of my mind.  She was wearing a black and white patterned dress...short, like all the young women are wearing these days...over an orange sweater and she had a black cap on as well."

Action jotted this all down; the description of this lady sounded familiar.  He couldn't place where, though.

"Did you overhear anything they said?" said Action.

"Not really...the blonde lady seemed upset about something, the dark haired one was cold as ice to hear.  No emotion in the voice at all.  But I didn't catch what they were saying, just how they were saying it"

"Well, that's a start" said Action to Bibi when he had finished taking Bjergsen's statement and the latter had gone home.  "Now why does that description of the dark haired woman sound familiar?" he mused.

"I don't know, but the description of the other lady...white tracksuit, blonde...that matches Nancy Landgraab on one of her epic runs" said Bibi.

"It doesn't make sense that she would want to kill Cuffe.  Let's grab a drink and sit down to sort this out"

They grabbed a couple of drinks from the bar and found a nearby table to sit at and talk.  

"The remote device...was it sophisticated?" he asked.

"Yes.  I'd say so.  The miniaturisation and precision was of the highest quality workmanship.  It's lucky that Cuffe ducked when he did"

"OK, so he and Marina are standing by the fireplace.  Do you remember where the windows are in that room and what they look out on to?"

"Yes, the road outside"

"Precisely where Bjergsen says the two women were standing.  The trigger mechanism can be concealed in the palm of a hand"

"Conceivably" replied Bibi.  "enough at that range"

"But who is this woman?  Black and white dress, orange sweater, penetrating eyes...penetrating, penetrating" he repeated the word softly to himself, in search of inspiration.

"or rather....HYPNOTIC!  That's where I've seen her before!  I was on patrol in Oasis Springs and some guy said a woman matching that description had hypnotised her!"

"Do you think it's the same woman?"

"The man said she was evil and trying to hypnotise him...he also claimed she had levitated!"

"Clearly this man was out of his mind on drugs" said Bibi, dismissively.

"No, that's it.  The guy passed a drugs test...he was clean.  And get this...that incident happened outside of Cuffe's old house in Oasis Springs!...I'm telling you, find that woman and you've found our arsonist...maybe even shooter as well!"