"Look, things got outta hand before I could even clap eyes on this leg, whatever it is. Tommy was yelling for his goons to get it out safe while I was scrambling to get out of the burning building. Honestly, that's all I know. Maybe I could be more helpful to you if I knew more about what the hell I'm caught up in."
She studied me for a moment. "Do you remember anything beyond the last few years at all, Mick? When you look into the past, what do you see?"
Well that was about the last question I felt like answering.
"Water." I muttered the words as I stared out the window. The streams of rain across its dark surface didn’t improve my mood. "Black choppy waves. Voices calling out. You know, random bunk like that. I thought I'd get it back. The memory, I mean. But it doesn't come. Maybe it never will."
I remember everything. Everything except my past. Events beyond two years ago are just fog. There was a hole where something happened, but I had no luck in recollecting what it was. I figured it had to be either pretty important, or else something so grim I’d blocked it out to stay sane. I try not to think about it too much. Some folks would consider it a blessing to forget their past. Considering all the jams I can recall, I figure I haven’t really missed out on much except a lot of trouble.
Selene looked at me like a bottle of nail polish that may or may not match her outfit. "So you settle for being a drunken gambler who makes a living by getting in and out of trouble."
"I’m a Troubleshooter, sweetheart. It's an honest living.”
She raised an eyebrow.
“Okay, it's a living. But instead of gabbing above my head, why don't you tip your mitts on the grift I’ve been flimflammed into?”
"No one put a gun to your head, Mr. Trubble. Just the promise of profit. You’re the one who dove in headfirst without thinking about the consequences. So try to concentrate on what’s important. Like finding Ms. Kilby, and the leg."
I frowned. "Look, what's the deal with this leg? What the hell is it?"
Enkidu stiffened at my irritation. He growled a warning.
I adjusted the tone of my voice. Just to be safe. "I meant to say, would you mind telling me a little more about what this leg is?"
The old wolf seemed to be satisfied, and settled back. I breathed a sigh of relief.
“It will probably be easier if I show you.” She set her glass down, reached for the hem of her kimono and pulled it up, exposing a nice swath of pale and shapely leg. I’ve had worse times.
“Listen, I’m down to shoot the woo as much as the next man, but this is hardly the time for—”
“Maybe you should switch brains and look closer.”
I did. That’s when I noticed the prosthetic. Her entire right leg had been replaced. Flesh colored, state of the art tech, but it was still a bionic leg.
“You mean it’s an actual leg? What the hell?”
“Now your rather sluggish mind may actual comprehend the kind of people you’re dealing with. I was at home; the one place where I can take my ease. No one has ever breached my security. Ever.
“Next thing I knew I woke up in a tub of ice with my leg missing, and a note saying it would be returned as soon as possible. It took some time for my operatives to trace the ghost trails to Tommy Tsunami. Being a cautious man, he’d be on the lookout for my Gutter Girls. We needed an unpredictable element, an agent of chaos who could tip the scales in our favor. That’s when you were activated by my handler, Ms. Kilby.”
I took a slow sip as I thought things over. It really was some darb vodka. “Only your grand scheme blew up in your face. Now Ms. Kilby is missing, along with your shapely leg. Well that just breaks my ticker, but what does any of it have to do with me?”
She tilted her head. “You really have no idea what’s going on, do you? And here I thought you were just bluffing. While Tommy and I have always had a… wary relationship, he would never step over the line like this without powerful desperation to drive him. If he is responsible at all.”
“Whaddya mean, if? You think just because he’s a member of your little society, he won’t go rogue? I’m telling you, I heard him ordering his men to protect the leg.”
“Just because he was in possession of my leg doesn’t mean he was the one who nabbed it in the first place. Tommy is a man who takes advantage of any wild card thrown his way. But he’s affiliated with the same people I am. There are rules. He’s definitely a player, but I want to know who dealt the card.”
I finished my drink. “Ok, sister. This is a great story and all, but you got all you can get from me. I’ve sliced my fingers, caught some hot lead, and had my dignity severely damaged all in one night. So I’m nixed on any more time in your rather attractive company. I’m gonna find me a bottle of hard juice, a sweet chippy who likes to skate around, and call it a night. Thanks for nothing, have a nice day.”
I leaned back and nodded confidently to Poddar, who seemed to avoid my gaze for some reason. If I didn’t know better, I’d have thought he was embarrassed.
Selene’s eye’s glittered as she leaned forward. “You’re not through with this and you know it, Mick. In fact you’re so thick in it it’s a wonder you can breathe. You have contacts and you have knowledge, whether you can remember it or not. I want that. And you want to know why your memory is lost. I can help with that. Along with the payment that will keep the Goryachevas from fitting you for a nice New Haven trench coat. It’s my print and code that will authorize the payment, after all — not Kilby’s. Face it, with all your troubles and Tommy Tsunami to boot, this is your best option. You scratch my back, I scratch yours. Tit for tat."
I wisely kept my ‘tit’ wisecracks to myself as the ride pulled to a stop. I groaned as I recognized the locale. "Great. The West Docks. Just the place Tommy said for me to scope. Now what are the chances of that being a coincidence?"
Folks think the Flats are tough, but the only good thing about living there was it wasn't the West Docks. A lot of cases go unsolved when they end up in that part of town. The whole region is a large cut of fog, battered buildings, and human animals slinking in the shadows. The West River is the major dumping ground for a lot of bodies that go missing in New Haven, and had the stink to prove it.
We stepped out in the rain to take a look around. My hackles rose when Enkidu jumped out and howled to wake the dead. The remains of a tenement building burned right in front of us. The flames roared angrily in spite of the rain, giving the Docks the biggest lightshow they'd see in a month. Or until something else blew up, anyway. No sky hosers had arrived, which was the norm for the Docks. The entire lot looked like a shell had been dropped on it.
"What’s this?"
"This was an apartment building. Ms. Kilby was supposed to meet me here.” Selene's unflappable calm was definitely disturbed. Her honeyed locks were plastered as rain wept down her face. Her Gutter Girls circled protectively, searching for unseen threats. The wolf continued to howl in mourning.
"That ain’t gonna happen. Tommy got to her first. Gotta say, this is extreme even for him."
"No. It wasn’t him. But whoever it was is looking for the leg, and obviously thought they could find it here."
"Find it? The entire building is blown to hell. There’s gotta be hundreds of stiffs in there. Are you sure Kilby even showed up?"
Her eyes hardened into chips of jade. "Of course I am. I got word she received unexpected visitors and was seen leaving with them. Soon after that my contact reported someone else showed up. The only description of the individual was he was hard to describe. I didn’t get anything else because the call was interrupted. Now I know why."
The flames still flared in the building’s corpse as if defying the downpour. I imagined all the disadvantaged folks who were sleeping or minding their business when their lives were suddenly snuffed out.