Chapter 22

Two distinctly different sounds assaulted my ears and woke me up.

The first was the insistent electronic beeping of a cell phone near my head. The second was the low, thudding pounding on the hotel room's door.

I rolled over on my side, gently easing Lilly onto the carpet next to me, looked around and spotted the cell phone lying under the coffee table. I picked it up and thumbed the button.

"Hello?"

"Ike?" It was my sister.

"Hey beautiful."

"I've been calling for two hours. Where have you two been?"

I chuckled. The pounding on the door intensified.

"Asleep on the floor. Look, there's someone at the door. Let me see who it is and I'll call you back, alright?"

"Ike, who is it?" Lilly asked, rubbing her eyes and sitting up.

More pounding on the door. I handed the phone to Lilly, gave her a quick kiss and got to my knees.

"It's Izzy. I'll get the door."

I stood up, walked out of the living room, around the corner, thru the shallow entryway and opened the door.

Two men and a woman formed a vee wedge on the other side. The man at the apex pushed forward, holding up a leather case and a folded sheet of paper.

"LA Sheriff. I have a warrant to search the premises."

The man on his left was Hispanic, middle aged and mean looking; about six feet tall, slicked back hair and his nose looked as if it had been broken several times. The woman was younger, black, a little shorter but looked just as mean, her hair was tightly bound in corn rows and she held her right hand behind her back.

The man in front with the badge and the warrant was short, about the same height as Lilly, maybe a little taller. His hair was a fine sandy brown, his nose unbroken, pale skin with a splash of freckles across a high forehead. He didn't look very mean at all.

But he sure was pushy. He kept coming forward, supposing I'd move out of the way and let them in. He was aggressive, in the way that only really short people who consider themselves superior can be, self-important, determined, and ... annoyed. He was annoyed?

I didn't move and he ran right into me. He bounced back, a look of mild surprise on his farm boy face.

His emotions were so clear and apparent to me. I didn't usually get such clean readings without linking. There was no fuzziness, no distortion and no reduction. Clear as crystal.

It was the same with the other two, and I hadn't even paid them much attention. The woman was slightly distracted by my nudity, giving off just a hint of sexual interest; for the most part though she was worried and confused. The mean looking man with the slicked back hair, on the other hand, he was aroused, which I have to admit kind of creeped me out; aroused and eager, although I'd have never guessed from his stoic appearance.

"IDs first." I said. "All of you. Then I want to see the warrant."

"What are you, some kind of lawyer?" the mean looking woman wanted to know.

"Actually, I'm a psychologist. You gonna show me your ID or do I slam the door in your faces and call the police?"

"Show him your IDs." the small man instructed, glaring at me.

They did and I took my time examining them, comparing the photos to the faces. I nodded. "Okay, now the warrant." I said, holding my left hand out.

Shorty thrust the paper at me. I unfolded it, quickly scanning the contents.

"So you're Chambers." I said, not bothering to look up from the page. "I wondered when you were going to show up."

Nodding to myself, I re-folded the paper and looked him in the eye. "I'll hold on to this. My lawyers might find it useful."

The blood drained from his face and then he looked almost as mean as the other two.

"Lilly! Put some clothes on sweetie, we have visitors." I shouted over my shoulder as I backed up.

"You might want to put some on as well." the woman said with a smirk.

I shrugged. "If you insist." I said, shutting the door and following the three into the living room. Lilly was nowhere in sight.

"So, what do you expect to find?" I asked as they fanned out around the room.

"We'll know it when we see it." Chambers replied absently.

"Right." I said sarcastically.

Chambers turned around sharply. "What are you doing here in LA, mister Blacktower?"

I smiled just a tiny bit. "My business is none of your business. And it's Doctor Blacktower."

"Find the woman." Chambers snapped.

"You mean me." Lilly said stepping out of the bedroom wearing one of my shirts, with one of my pistols held out in front of her and pointed right at Chambers' head.

I linked with the black woman and the Hispanic man and burnt rings into both. I was amazed by how quick and easy it was. Every other time I'd had to concentrate, evaluate and regulate how much of each emotion to use when creating the rings. Not this time. It was almost an afterthought.

"Lt. Chambers, my wife Lilly. Honey, this is Lt. Chambers of the LA Sheriff's department. Our old buddy Captain Haggarty's handoff man." I said, by way of introduction.

I moved up next to Chambers, who was intently watching Lilly and the gun in her hand.

"Don't move." I warned him. Then I frisked the guy thoroughly, relieving him of the pistol under his jacket, the little revolver on his ankle, the folding knife in his front pocket and the little bag of white power in his jacket pocket.

"Is this what I think it is, Lieutenant?" I asked, holding the bag in front of his face. Chambers' lips thinned.

I turned to face the other two. "Why don't you deputies sit down and get comfortable. Lt. Chambers and I need to have a little chat."

"Thank you sir." the woman said politely and took a seat on the nearest chair. The silent man nodded and sat down at the far end of the couch.

I walked past Chambers and held the confiscated weapons out to Lilly. "Put these in the bedroom, would you lover?"

"What about them?" she asked, jerking her tousled head in the direction of the seated deputies.

I smiled. "Don't worry, they're on our side."

Lilly beamed at me. "Okay." she said. I dumped the weapons into her arms and she headed back into the bedroom.

"And bring me my pants on your way back?"

"Oh, done of showing off your ass?" she shot back.

"Yes dear." I chuckled. "All done."

I turned slowly, crossing my arms over my chest. "Sit down Lt. Chambers, and explain to me why you were going to plant drugs in our room."

Chambers looked over his shoulder at his two deputies. They stared back at him curiously. Apparently they hadn't been in on the gag.

I took a couple of silent steps forward. Chambers looked back and I was within arms reach. He looked very small and helpless. He felt that way too. I bared my teeth.

"I'm waiting." I said.

He noticeably deflated. "I was told to scare you off. Get you to leave the state."

Lilly returned, holding the pants I'd been wearing the day before bundled up under her arm. She shoved them into my gut, slapped me on the ass and plopped herself down on the arm of the couch nearest me.

"Thanks sweetie." I said, shaking out the pants and stepping into them. "Who told you?" I asked Chambers as I zipped up the fly.

"I don't know who." He was telling truth. He really didn't know.

"How did you get your instructions?"

"Electronic mail."

"Do you usually get your orders that way?"

"Of course not."

"There had to be an address of some kind."

"It was a string of meaningless numbers and letters."

"So why follow the instructions?"

He hesitated. I hit him with a motivational blast of the pain I'd had that morning. Chambers shrieked like a hawk and dropped to his knees.

"There was a file in the message." he whimpered. "Things no one could know. Names, dates ... the message said that if I didn't do what they wanted they'd send that information to my superiors and the newspapers. I didn't have any choice."

I nodded. It made sense.

"Why not just kill me? Why go to all the trouble of setting up a frame?"

"The message was very specific. Get you out of the state, but no violence."

Interesting.

"You tried to trace the message?"

"Yes. The address was a fake and the provider didn't exist."

"Who handles your department's computer security?"

"Computek."

I nodded and looked over to Lilly.

"Lucifer?" she asked.

"Yeah, pretty sure."

"Have you figured out who he is?"

"No. But I've got a really good idea where he is."

"Tell me. I'll kill the motherfucker!" Chambers raged, climbing to his feet.

"Watch your language in front of my wife." I suggested and burst-jabbed him again. He dropped like a rock, landing flat on his back.

"No, Lucifer is mine, and I want him alive. But what am I going to do with you?" I wondered aloud.

I stepped around the fallen man and sat down next to Lilly. She leaned over and put her head against mine.

"Maybe you should make him inhale whatever it is that's in that little bag. Then you could have the other two arrest him." she suggested.

"Not bad. Not bad at all. And once he sobers up, he can confess to whatever it was in that message."

Lilly kissed the top of my head. "Sounds like justice to me."

I reached over, took hold of one leg and pulled her into my lap. She squealed happily, settled down and snuggled her shoulder under my arm.

"I like the way you think." I told her.

"Is that the only thing you like?" she asked coyly.

I slid my hand up under the shirt and tweaked her nipple. "Nope. Love the whole package." Lilly moaned quietly. "Now, be a dear and go get the baggie. The sooner we say goodbye to these nice folks..." I left the rest unspoken.

Lilly didn't need any additional prompting. She was up off my lap and dashing into the bedroom before I had a chance to finish the sentence.

Tweedle Mean and Tweedle Meaner carried Lt. Chambers out into the hall, his nose and upper lip heavily dusted with what could have passed for powdered sugar, but wasn't.

"Don't forget to send me a copy of his arrest photos." I said, half in jest, before I swung the door shut and flicked over the deadbolt.

Returning to the living room I saw Lilly standing next to the couch, staring out the sliding glass doors. I moved up behind her and put my hands on her shoulders.

"That Mexican guy was staring at your ass every chance he got." she informed me out of the blue.

"Thank you so much for reminding me." I shuddered. Lilly laughed and leaned back.

"Don't you like being an object of desire?"

"Not his."

She tilted her head back far enough that her eyes were perpendicular with the ceiling.

"How 'bout mine?"

I smiled down at her and chuckled. "Well ... if I have to somebody's, I'd rather it be you." I replied grudgingly.

"Smart choice, lover boy." she smirked up at me.

I bent down and planted a quick kiss on her lips. Her arms came up around the back of my head and I pulled away.

"I'm sorry sweetie, I know I hinted that once they were gone we'd have a little fun, but we need to get out of town fast."

Lilly pouted and gave me a sad little look of disappointment. "Spoilsport."

"Tell you what ... once we get up there; anything you want is yours for the asking."

"Anything?" she leered.

"Anything."

"No cheating?"

"Not if you don't want me to."

"Deal."

I kissed her again, swatted her on the bottom and we hurried into the bedroom to get dressed and pack.

My original plan called for a visit to the USC and UC-Irvine campuses but, after my chat with Lt. Chambers and the revelation Lilly got from the puke at UCLA, it seemed a good time to scrap that plan.

We packed up, retrieved the briefcase filled with cash from the hotel's safe, checked out, loaded up and headed out. Elapsed time, seventy minutes.

I asked Lilly to drive; there were calls and arrangements only I could make.

I worked the combination locks on the briefcase then took a tiny key from the slot in my watch band, inserted it in the opening between the locks and twisted. The case would open without the key, but no one within a fifty foot radius would have cared much for the results.

Lilly glanced over for an instant when I lifted the lid and her eyes got a big as saucers.

"Holy shit!" she gasped. "How much money have you got in there?"

"Half a million dollars." I replied absently, digging into the pockets built into the lid. I pulled out a gadget about the size and thickness of a deck of playing cards, put it on the dash, closed the briefcase, locked it back up and slid it under my seat.

"What's the money for?"

"Lucifer, I hope."

Lilly maneuvered out onto the freeway and we headed north out of LA.

"You never intended to kill him, did you?"

"Nope."

"What if you can't buy him? What then?"

"Money can't buy loyalty; rent it maybe, but that's about the best anyone should expect, because there's always someone around with more. The money is my way of easing his transition."

"Transition?"

"Yeah, from independence to interdependence. Lucifer doesn't know it yet but, unless he's already started running, he and everything he has and knows are going to belong to me by this time tomorrow."

"Do you think he'll run?"

"I doubt it. He's eluded the NSA, the FBI, and every other agency that's been after him for so long he probably thinks he's untouchable. Why else would Alex have gone to all the trouble of putting me on his trail?"

Lilly nodded. "And what about Alex? Won't he find out?"

"Eventually, but by then it'll be too late."

"I don't..." she hesitated and then understanding filled her. "You sneaky devil." she laughed. "You're going to use Lucifer against him the way he's been using the police against us."

"Not quite, but close. Lucifer's only been trying to scare us off. I won't be that discrete or humane."

I retrieved the gadget and began pressing the keypad on its face, pulling the long alpha-numerical sequence from memory.

"Internal security, how may I help you?" a scratchy voice answered.

"Eric, this is Doctor Blacktower."

"Verification."

"Ghost-ninety one."

"Good evening Doctor. What can I do for you?"

"I need everything we've got on a San Francisco computer security company. Cross reference using the name White Dragon. Two hours."

"White Dragon. I'll get right on it sir."

"Thank you Eric." I disconnected and began entering a new sequence of letters and numbers.

"Records, Posey here." came the tinny reply.

"Megan, this is Doctor Blacktower." Lilly's head snapped around suddenly. I waved my free hand in the direction of the windshield. My wife stuck her tongue out at me before returning her eyes to the road.

"Hey handsome, what's up?"

"Megan, I need a favor. A big one."

"The boss said we were to give you anything you asked for, so ask away."

"I want everything you've got on a computer security company in San Francisco called White Dragon. The sooner the better."

There was several seconds of static filled silence then, "Would this be related in any way to your previous inquiry?"

"Possibly. I'm still looking for some missing pieces to the puzzle."

"Ike, the boss really wants this guy."

"Megan, I want this guy." I stated flatly.

More scratchy silence. "Alright, I'll call you back as soon as I have anything."

"Thank you." I disconnected and started to enter a new sequence when Lilly broke my train of thought.

"Was that her?"

"Her who?" I asked, distractedly.

"Peggy's younger woman?"

The image of Peggy slapping me appeared before my eyes. "Yeah, that was her."

"Is she pretty?"

"I think most people would say she's beautiful."

"She's one of the ones you were talking about; the ones you thought about."

I exhaled softly and dropped my hands into my lap. "Lilly, I'm not going to lie to you; the woman is physically attractive, yes, she offered and yes, I gave it some thought ... for all of five seconds. The truth is she doesn't interest me; I don't feel anything for her, I don't want her, I don't need her and I sure as hell don't love her. I've known Megan for a while now, and I like her, but other than that there's nothing between us. And there never will be. Okay?"

Lilly was quietly contrite. "Okay."

"Besides," I said, reaching across and cupping her right breast, rubbing her nipple thru layers of shirt and bra with my thumb, "her boobs aren't nearly as nice as yours."

"Oh, so you noticed her tits?"

I shrugged and lightly pinched her nipple. "I noticed she had a pair. They didn't make me want to spend an afternoon licking them the way yours do."

"You're such a pig." she laughed breathlessly just before the car's speed increased by several miles an hour.

After a few seconds I removed my hand and Lilly moaned unhappily.

"Later, sweetie. Remember, anything you want."

"Oh ... alright." she agreed grumpily.

I returned to pressing buttons. "What is that thing?" Lilly asked.

"It's a cellular phone with built in scrambler and encoder. The signal goes thru a special government satellite, nearly impossible to trace and unless your receiving system has the right kind of decoder, all anyone will hear is noise."