Chapter 2

"Metro Vice, Jamieson," the red-headed policeman said answering the phone and leaning back in his chair, crossing his feet atop his desk.

"Tommy? Bill Mayfield. Do you have a few minutes?"

"Sure, Doc, what can I do for you?"

"I need some information about the drug Nirvana." Tommy Jamieson sat bolt upright, his feet slapping onto the floor.

"Meet me at O'Malley's at 5, okay Doc?"

"See you there, Tommy."

Doc Mayfield slipped his thin frame out of his car and sauntered over to O'Malley's Bar and Grill across the street. He hadn't seen his friend Tommy Jamieson since Jamieson was shot in the arm nearly two years ago. He and Tommy went way back and had always found time every couple of years to get together and have some fun. But this was only the second time they had met on a professional level, and Doc was a little nervous, especially the way Tommy sounded on the phone. He took a deep breath and pulled the door open.

Tommy was easy to find. Doc saw his stocky red-headed friend sitting at the bar with his back to the door. Doc walked up behind Tommy and stuck a finger in his back and said, "Your money or your wife?"

"Take her, she's yours," Tommy responded, laughing and turning around to embrace his high school buddy.

They talked about their lives in general and sports for a while and finally, Tommy asked, "So what can I do for you, Doc?"

"Well, Tommy, I want to know more about Nirvana. We've had a dozen cases of Nirvana overdose brought into the hospital in the last three days. I've managed to keep four of them alive, but they will never see. I talked to Paul Marcus at St. Luke's and John Astor at Memorial. Neither one of them has had even one case brought in. What's going on? What is the drug? I need more information so I can help my patients."

"That's a tall order, Doc. We don't know a whole lot about Nirvana. It is a chemical that is manufactured. We aren't even sure what it is made from. It is really addictive. Addicts either smoke it or inhale it and are given a rush more intense than Cocaine."

"Who makes it?"

"If I knew that, I'd be out there arresting them. The only people we've found are addicts and they don't know more than the guy who sold it to them. We believe it is being manufactured somewhere near Central Hospital, and your information makes that all the more likely."

"Is there a sample we can analyze somewhere?"

"Not that I know of, Doc. We are at a loss to even tell you what it looks like. Those few we've talked to have barely been able to talk or think about it without wanting more, much less give us a detailed description."

"Well, Tommy, I appreciate your time and the information. Give Maggie a hug and please let me know if anything surfaces on this stuff." Doc stood up and tossed a twenty on the bar to cover his and Tommy's drinks. He held his hand out to shake Tommy's.

Tommy grabbed Doc's hand and shook it heartily. "Sure thing, Doc. Good luck with those patients. If any of them recover enough to be coherent, I'd like to talk to them, okay?"

"You got it. See ya," Doc waved as he disappeared out the door and headed for his car.

Tommy Jamieson watched his friend walk away wishing he could help more, shrugged and hopped off the barstool and headed out to meet his wife for dinner.

Raven walked down the hallway, smiling at the anonymity she felt. After all, her paychecks came from the Foundation for Truth and Justice. She even had an office on the second floor of their building and was listed as a research assistant. Little did anyone know that the real work done by the Foundation was carried on several floors up in the Directory, far from the prying eyes of the public.

"Mandy!"

Raven was pulled out of her reverie by the sound of her little sister Traci's greeting. She turned and embraced her sister. A casual observer might not believe they were sisters. Traci was a bit taller than Raven/Mandy and a little thinner. Traci's blonde hair was cut stylishly and short. Her green eyes sparkled as she held her sister at arms length.

"Life in the Capital agrees with you, Sis. You've been getting some sun."

"You're looking good too, Traci. You're not the only one who can spend some of her weekends relaxing."

The two sisters fell in together and arm-in-arm the headed off to the baggage claim to gather Mandy's baggage and head for the family home. They reacquainted each other with their lives as they walked. They were closer than most sister's, but not so close that Mandy shared her secret profession with her sister.

"What's this I hear about you having found a sugar daddy, Traci?" Mandy winked as she sat in a chair to wait for her baggage to come around on the carousel.

Traci beamed as she sat down beside her sister. "Oh, I hope you get the chance to meet him, Sis! He is delicious. Deep brown eyes that I could get lost in forever. A bank account that can support me in style for at least a few years. And the cutest butt I've ever seen!"

Both girls broke out in giggles. "You never change, Traci. Every guy you ever fell in love with had deep brown eyes and a cute butt!"

"Oh, but this one's different, Mandy. He's nice, athletic, and has a great sense of humor. Jonny's from one of the richest families around here. Daddy left him the business and Jonny's turned it into a big money maker."

"He's too good to be true, who is he?"

"Jonny Jefferson, you know. You went to high school with his brother Peter."

"I don't remember Peter Jefferson."

"Oh, that's right. Jonny took his father's name. His brother was Peter Ramirez. Whatever happened to Peter, anyway? You two were an item in high school."

"He died in an automobile accident, Traci, don't you remember? Two weeks before the Junior Prom. Poor Petey."

"That's right. And you ended up going to the Prom alone. Sorry, Mandy, I guess I forgot about that."

"Old news, sis. So have you got Jonny lassoed?"

"Just about. He promised we'd announce our engagement at his mother's annual midsummer party in a couple of weeks!"

Raven fell silent. She'd pushed her memories of Peter Ramirez and the Junior Prom back into the deep recesses of her mind. She began to remember a little about Jonny. He was always a cocky bastard. He kept telling Mandy that she should dump Peter and let him take her to the Prom. He even asked again after Peter died. But Mandy couldn't stand him.

Maybe he's changed, Mandy thought. I hope so for Traci's sake. She grimaced and looked over at Traci, who hadn't stopped talking about Jonny since they sat down. How would she tell her sister about Jonny?

"Isn't that your bag, Sis?" Traci asked as Raven came out of her reverie. Mandy nodded and grabbed the bag and the two women headed out the door arm in arm, Traci still talking.

"Timmons and von Teufel are here, Mr. Jefferson," the shapely redhead announced after opening the door to the ornate office.

Her boss looked up from the computer screen and winked at his secretary and then sighed, "Very well, Lorraine. You may send them in. And hold my calls please."

"Yes, sir," she replied, turned and sashayed out of the office. He smiled as his eyes followed her shapely derriere. He closed his laptop down and pushed it aside as the two men walked in.

Timmons was a small man with balding brown hair and wire rimmed glasses. He looked like just what he was, an aging chemist. The boss shook his head as he recalled the first time these two entered his office nine months ago. Timmons was a struggling inventor who had stumbled on a new stimulant with interesting side effects. Nirvana was born that day and they had made a fortune on it already.