the wall and saw the tiny switch in the three dimensional art.
"So why did you send Alfie to kill me?" he asked softly, his eyes as
-cold as space.
\ No newline at end of file
+cold as space.
+
+==== Harlan: Thief ====
+
+Cassidy met his gaze. "We figured you'd come after us if we killed
+your father. So we decided to eliminate a threat. ‘Cept Alfie screwed
+up."
+
+Harlan leaned back abruptly. "You knew that the Chief was my father?
+How?"
+
+"Strictly accidental. One of the boys was passing by and saw you jump
+onto the balcony. He said it took him a couple of minutes to recover
+from the shock of seeing that jump. He said he didn't think a human
+being could twist in the air like that and land wherever he wanted."
+He shook his head. "Boy. I wish I'd seen it." Then he shrugged. "Then
+he consulted the window diagram of the building and realized it was
+the Chief's balcony. So we kept an eye on it. You pulled your stunt a
+few more times. Meanwhile we were digging into the Chief's past and
+guess who we found?"
+
+Shaking his head, Harlan started to chuckle, surprising Cassidy. "You
+have a window chart of the building? That's impressive work."
+
+Cassidy smiled. "Yeah. It was my idea. Lots of important people in
+that building."
+
+He dropped the smile. "So you're not one of us. You're a traitor, a
+snitch. Just like the dopers hooked on slam. The cops use you. You
+have no loyalty to anyone, you worthless piece of..."
+
+He saw the change in Harlan's face and he shut up but continued to
+glare at Harlan. "Getting rid of you was a bit more than good sense.
+It was eliminating a threat to the organization."
+
+Harlan continued to stare at the crime boss for a full minute or two.
+Then he shrugged and smiled. "Who killed Sam Tavis? And who ordered
+it?"
+
+Cassidy shook his head. "You know I can't tell you that. I'd be
+signing their death warrants." He stood up. "Do what you have to do to
+me. But I'm not going to tell you."
+
+The green haired woman spoke up. "It was the Bastard and Jonny Tool."
+
+Harlan looked at her Cassidy cursed. "How do you know?"
+
+"What are you a male chauvinist? I'm a vital part of this
+organization, too. Don't jump to conclusions just because I'm female."
+
+She had gotten out of the bed trap and had gotten dressed while Harlan
+was intimidating Cassidy.
+
+Grinning, Harlan said "I won't underestimate you a second time." Then
+his face went stony. "Who ordered the hit?"
+
+The woman shook her head. "Can't help you with that. I don't know. We
+operate on a need to know basis and that's outside my purview."
+
+Harlan's eyebrows rose as he realized that her education was probably
+far better than the average person in Crater City, which meant that
+she came from a wealthy family. He didn't think she had used the word
+to show off. It was just part of a large vocabulary.
+
+She continued. "And please don't kill Cassidy. I like him." She smiled
+a tiger's smile at Harlan.
+
+He was glad she hadn't done that at the beginning. He could feel the
+draw of her charisma.
+
+"Thank you." he said to her. Turning to Cassidy, he growled "I will
+find out. Meanwhile, don't cut paychecks for the Bastard and Jonny
+Tool. They won't need them." He went out the door quietly. Cassidy was
+in mid-jump to reach the tiny switch when the gun poked back into the
+room and blew the switch away.
+
+==== John Behan: Detective ====
+
+Behan had to talk to Harlan. Nothing made sense unless Harlan and Sam
+Tavis were very close somehow. And Mellie would know what their
+connection was.
+
+He arrived at Mellie's condo just as she was getting home. She jumped
+when he spoke her name from behind.
+
+"Jumpy tonight?" he asked.
+
+"You did that deliberately just to see me jump, didn't you?" she said
+as she opened the door. She didn't sound angry.
+
+"Guilty as charged, Boss." Behan smiled at her.
+
+"I am not now and never will be the boss, John." Mellie disappeared
+into the kitchen. Her voice floated back. "I haven't seen Harlan since
+the Chief..." Her voice broke.
+
+He followed her. She had the fridger open and was just staring at it.
+
+He sighed. "Mellie. You're lying again. Please don't do that. We're
+partners. You've got to let me in on this or both you and Harlan are
+going to get hurt. Or worse."
+
+Mellie turned and gazed into his eyes. After a minute, she said "He's
+already been hurt. He was shot with an old fashioned bullet by a
+sniper 2 weeks ago. And he disappeared today."
+
+Her face crumpled. "I don't know where he is and I'm so scared for
+him. I'm sure he was going after Cassidy." Tears coursed down her
+face.
+
+Behan pulled her close and hugged her. "Harlan is... resourceful. He's
+smart and he'll get through."
+
+"Damn straight." Came a voice behind them. Harlan entered the kitchen
+with a grin. "You're hugging someone I love, Johnny. It's a good thing
+I heard what you two were saying or I might have misconstrued this
+scene."
+
+Mellie came and put her arms around him but carefully, mindful of the
+recent injury and surgery.
+
+He pulled her close and kissed her, but Behan could see the flash of
+pain that crossed his face. He smiled at the thief "I don't think
+we've ever been introduced." And stuck his hand out. "John Behan."
+
+Harlan took the hand and shook it warmly. "Harlan Tavis." he said.
+
+Behan's eyebrows rose as he realized the true relationship between the
+Chief he had admired so much and the cocky young thief.
+
+==== John Behan: Detective ====
+
+The three of them talked for hours. Harlan had decided to trust Behan.
+His father had trusted the man. He told him everything, including
+their participation in the Resistance, although he refused to name
+anyone else in the organization.
+
+"Don't blame you. You need to keep that information secret."
+
+Behan stood up and started pacing around the small room, pulling at
+his lower lip and muttering to himself. Finally he stopped and looked
+at the younger couple. "As I see it, we have three problems to solve."
+
+He sat down abruptly. "First, we need to find out who killed your
+father, Harlan." His gaze switched to Mellie. "Second, we need to find
+out if Sam's killer is the same person who tried to kill you, Mel."
+
+Standing up, he walked to the kitchen and fixed himself a cup of
+express. He walked back into the living area. "And third, we need to
+kick start this revolution before the whole planet withers away."
+
+==== Mellie: Detective ====
+
+Mellie's jaw dropped. "What!?" she squeaked.
+
+Harlan came to his feet. "What have you got to do with it?"
+
+"I have some responsibility in the Resistance." Behan said.
+
+"He IS the Resistance." said a voice. Santorini entered from the
+kitchen.
+
+"Is my door wide open?" grumbled Mellie.
+
+The Boss grinned at her, then let his gaze include Harlan. "You think
+I'm the Boss? Actually John is."
+
+Harlan stared at the detective. "He's what!?" His voice had risen.
+
+"Calm down, Harlan." said Behan. "Greg just checks in with me once in
+a while."
+
+Mellie's eyebrows rose. "Greg? Who's Greg?"
+
+Santorini laughed. "I am, Mel. My name is Gregorio Santorini."
+
+"Oh." was all that Mellie said. "Okay. Let's drop the comedy act. Tell
+us what's going on."
+
+The two older men exchanged glances and Behan gave a slight nod.
+
+Santorini sat down. "We are about to launch the revolution. And you
+two will play important parts in winning it."
+
+Harlan opened his mouth, but Mellie said "Shut up, Harlan.", her
+attention focused on the Boss. Harlan's mouth stayed open as he stared
+at his sweet, cuddly girlfriend whose face had turned to stone.
+
+Santorini continued. "You, Harlan, are going to organize the thieves,
+destroy the Syndicate, and get the remnants to join us."
+
+He raised his hands as Harlan started to protest. "No, it's not going
+to be impossible. You will find many allies in this coming war and a
+number of them are in the underground. You even have friends in the
+Syndicate now."
+
+He made placating motions with his hands as Harlan half rose. "Relax,
+kid. Like I said. You have friends. Lots of them. And they will be
+there for you. You and I will go over the general outline later."
+
+He turned to Mellie. "Mel, you are going to take over the police
+headquarters and hold it until we can break through."
+
+Mellie stared at him. "Oh. And can I call on the Gods of Olympus and
+Saturn and the Titans to help me?"
+
+"You'll have real help, Mel. Do not doubt it." said Behan.
+
+Harlan and Mellie looked at each other. Mellie shrugged, then grinned
+at the thief.
+
+"What do you think? Should we throw our lot in with these crazies?"
+
+Harlan just gazed at her for a moment, then burst out laughing. "Hell,
+yes!"
+
+==== Harlan: Thief ====
+
+Hours later, Mellie shooed them all out of her home and fell onto the
+bed fully clothed, asleep with a smile on her face after one last
+thought about Harlan.
+
+The thief himself decided to be a smartass and slipped through the
+same window he had used earlier. He appeared in Mellie's bedroom with
+a big grin and was greeted by a snore.
+
+He sat on the bed next to her and kissed her. Then he kissed her
+again. Then he shook her gently. Then he shook her a bit less gently.
+All he got was snores.
+
+With a rueful smile on his face, he undressed her and got her under
+the covers. Tucking her in, he kissed her gently on the forehead. Then
+he looked at her for a minute and lay down on the floor and went to
+sleep.
+
+He woke before she did and quietly left the condo after making sure
+all the windows and doors were locked securely.
+
+He arrived at John Behan's little house about ten minutes later. After
+disabling the security system and entering through a window, he crept
+silently down the hallway toward a bedroom. He eased the door open
+without a sound and went to the bed where a lump lay motionless. Too
+motionless.
+
+It took him a second, but by the time Behan put his stunner behind
+Harlan's ear, the thief had figured it out.
+
+"You coulda just knocked." the detective said grumpily. "Now I have to
+reconfigure the security system."
+
+"That's no fun." said Harlan. "But how did you know?" He stepped away
+from the muzzle of the stunner.
+
+The detective chuckled. "I have a secondary system. It goes to an
+earplug that I wear whenever I'm at home. I heard you breathing."
+
+Harlan turned and looked at the somewhat slovenly, middle-aged man in
+front of him with the protuberant belly, the thinning hair, and the
+tired eyes. "You're the Resistance?"
+
+Behan smiled. "Greg and I founded the organization about seven years
+ago. I went undercover and Greg has always been a bureaucrat. So he
+runs things. I just try to keep him informed."
+
+Behan sat on the bed and looked up at Harlan. The thief noticed that
+he still had the stunner in his hand. "So why are you disturbing my
+beauty sleep when we've been over just about every detail."
+
+Harlan turned and looked out the window at the back of another
+building, two disposal units, and a burned out aircar. "I just don't
+like what you have lined up for Mellie. So much can go wrong. I would
+rather she didn't have to do that."
+
+Behan looked at him and shook his head. "First, if she knew you were
+here trying to take her assignment away from her, she'd probably shoot
+you. Second, she really is the best person for the job. The department
+is riddled with moles. There aren't very many people I can trust like
+I do you and Mellie. She is bright, capable, and deadly. She can
+handle it."
+
+He stood up, holstered the stunner, and placed a hand on Harlan's
+shoulder. "I know it's tough letting someone you love go into a field
+of danger. Especially after your dad died a week ago. But you have to
+trust her. And me. And Greg. You do your part. We'll do ours."
+
+Harlan's eyes turned to Behan and held his gaze. "You think she can do
+this and come out alive?"
+
+Behan nodded. "Yes. She really is that good."
\ No newline at end of file
projects / universe.git / blobdiff