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.
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