STPTown gets hard-boiled (a group story)

[AsIs]

From the shadows, Red cautiously gazes around the corner of the building. *What the hell was Bran diFlakes doing here!*

Having faked passing out when she realized she couldn't get AsIs out of the bar under the gaze of LuLu and Miral, Red had played possum until the opportunity rose to escape. The window of opportunity was short however and diFlakes being there just complicated things a hundred fold. The distraction of LuLu and Miral would not keep the madam occupied for long. Things were getting crazy fast, she needed a plan.

She would never be able to get out of this place with AsIs, AsIs was too hot right now. Bran would track her down one way or another. Red...Susan needed to get back to her group. Besides, it was too late for her friends to save AsIs. Planting a kiss on her unconcious form, she whispers, "Til we meet again little KiSA."

Red leaves AsIs in a corner of the alley and slips away...

<font color="#776446" size="1">[ January 30, 2003 11:46 AM: Message edited by: AsIs ]</font>

[Firebird98]

As he walked to the car, two thoughts ran through Firebird's mind.

Damn, Lulu was STILL hot.

And why did he always have to make his entrances so dramatic?

He drove past Bran's car just in time to see her slamming her head on the wheel. Bird laughed to himself as he asked himself what on God's green earth made her get into heels and a barely there dress. No matter, he'd see her again, and maybe he would ask her.

He drove to his bar and grill, parked around back, bent down to pet the stray cat that never ever left, went through the manager's door, and took his place behind the well stocked, oak finished bar. His loyal customer, Jace, had had too much to drink about 8 months ago, but he was still there, slumped over a pint and mumbling about the fabulous hockey loving girl he let get away.

SAP.

He wiped down the tables, looked at the pictures on the wall, and smiled as the memories flooded back to him. The time Wil and Tyle battled each other with a frozen turkey. Luna going apeshit and destroying the bar. Those were the days. In between pics he told Jace about seeing Lu again. Jace just nodded and tried to get most of the beer in his mug in his mouth. He failed.

Closing time came, and as usual, he had his night shift "escort" Jace to his loft upstairs. The phone rang.

Unlisted. He picked it up.

"Hello?"

"MISTA BIRD."

"Yeah. are you selling something?"

"watch your back. Lulu's got something planned."

"what do you mean?

"She's plottin' against you, man. I just know it."
A loud belch from the other end. Bird and heard enough.

"JACE, GET OFF THE DAMN PHONE!!!"

He should have never let him get that private line.

Just then, the front door opened, and in walked a figure, oblivious to the CLOSED sign on the door.

[Miral]

Larim, Miral's twin sister walked in. She'd been here and there in her life, lived with Lulu for a while when she still lived in STPtown. Her contact with people was next to nil, but noone ever forgot La. She made impressions on people whether good or bad. "Hey, 'Bird. I heard my sis was back in town." 'Bird looked across the bar at her without an expression. She tapped a firengine red nail on the bar. "And Lulu, too." He squinted slightly, knowing that she was testing him a bit. But she was a great regular customer and he didn't want to just throw her out.
"Are you going to order your usual, La, or do I have to tell you I'm closed?" He said it with slight bitterness.
"Give me the usual, 'Bird." She climbed onto the barstool, expertly keeping her miniskirt from riding up too far. She handed 'Bird a hundred as usual and told him to keep the change as usual. He went to the kitchen and fiddled around for about thirty minutes and came back out with a basket of hotwings and then filled her a mug of beer. "Your wings are the best in town, babe."
He smiled coolly. "I know my wings are not what brought you in here." She glanced at him and smiled, then waved her hand indicating she needed a napkin. She swallowed and took a gulp of her beer.
"You're right on that one, dollface." He grimaced at the nickname. He hated it when La acted affectionate. "My sis apparently has amnesia. Just a little clue in on your part, she's a great actress. I can't believe everyone forgot what classes she excelled in, in High School." She tore at another wing. 'Bird narrowed his eyes.
"I can't believe she was faking it." La finished her wings in record time and pushed the basket to him. He looked down at the basket then back at La, "I always wonder where you put it all. You pack those wings away like an expert." She leaned forward and patted his hand and slid off the barstool revealing a lot of her silky thigh and a glimpse of black lace.
"Come to my place and I'll show you one time, babe." She headed toward the door knowing full well 'Bird was watching her leave. She turned standing with her legs apart slightly emphasizing the shortness of her skirt. "Don't forget what I told you, my sis can be devious. She's always been a great little actress." She pushed the door open and a breeze picked up outside bringing the smell of the street into 'Bird's bar. An envelope was pushed into the mail slot in 'Bird's door. He hesitated to pick it up, but when he finally did what he found inside shocked the hell out of him. He knew it was too late, but he had to look to see if La was still outside, she wasn't. He looked at the pictures again... it was a whole roll... and they were disturbing. He let them slip from his fingers and he hurried to call somebody.

[AsIs]

Crazy sighs as he gets up from Usmu's table. Nothing was really going right today...

"Better get out back and see what is going on. Miss DiFlakes will have my head if AsIs disappears again..."

<font color="#776446" size="1">[ February 09, 2003 08:45 PM: Message edited by: AsIs ]</font>

[Lulu]

With a huff, Lulu turned to face Miss Di'Flakes. There was no way some small town Madam was going to initimidate her! Especially in THIS small town!

Miral, still seated on the ground, watched the proceedings with a dazed expression.

"Now listen up Missy," Lulu began heatedly, "I don't know who you are and I don't know what's going on in this town- but I want some explanations! My friend here" (And she gestured to Miral who smiled up and waved) "was kidnapped! She spent the afternoon with some crazy person- and ended up in a fire! She was afflicted with amnesia- and the cops here seem totally useless! My band is bloody missing and I can't get a cab out of here! My manager is MIA- I can't get any calls through to LA. From what I've heard asking around- YOU are the person running this town. YOU have your finger firmly stationed on its weak and sporadic pulse. Now maybe you don't know who I am- but you should! I am the biggest thing to hit this rat trap- oh yeah, and Miral here too- and YOU should be looking after us- not trying to drive us away! YOU ALL should be bending over backwards to accomodate us- not leaving us stranded with amnesia on a city bus bench!"

Lulu's tirade trailed off. Bran Di'Flakes simply lifted an elegantly arched brow and regarded her with a cool, calculating expression.

Lulu began to fidget. She shuffled her feet. She looked up at Miss DiFlakes and squinted. "Um.." she began hesitantly and in a much quieter tone, "have we met before?"

[Branflakes]

Bran rolled her eyes. Lulu hadn't changed a bit.

"Lulu, it's me. You know, the woman who took you in when you were willing to do anything to meet an agent."

Lulu?s eyes widened and she looked down at the ground for a moment. Miral?s dazed look increased. She looked at Lulu.

?What kind of anything?? she asked Lulu.

?Oh, um, you know, I, uh, practiced a lot with my singing?

?And she was pretty good at that practice,? Bran said. She smiled. ?I still have the pictures to prove it.?

?Heh, really? Um, so, it?s good to see you again, Bran,? Lulu said, smiling sheepishly. ?Those were, uh, great memories.?

?Speaking of memories.? Bran looked down at Miral. ?So, how are the acting classes I paid for going, Miral.?

Miral?s face collapsed. ?I, uh, took acting classes? Oh yeah, I remember now! I love acting, besides being in Lulu?s band!?

Lulu glared at Miral. ?You don?t have amnesia?! You?ve been fooling me the whole time??!!? She yanked Miral up from the ground.

?Now, now, girls, you can catch up later. Right now, I need your help getting Asis back into the bar. And get her awake. I think Red told her something and I need to know what it is.?

The three women were just pulling Asis into the bar when Crazy walked out. He looked down at her unconscious body. He stared shocked at Miral.

?What the hell are you doing here? And why is Asis unconscious?? he said.

Miral smiled sheepishly. ?I got my memories back. And, I?ll pay you back for the fire at the apartment. Er, sorry about that.?

?Crazy,? Bran interrupted. ?Help me get Asis inside. Someone knocked her out.? She paused. ?Is usmu still inside??

?Should be. I just left him,? Crazy said. He eyed Bran. ?You know more than you?re telling. What?s really going on??

Bran sighed. She didn?t want him to know everything, yet. ?Let?s get Asis inside and let me talk to usmu. I?ll explain everything then. The four of them dragged the still unconscious Asis inside the bar. It was empty.

?Where the hell is usmu?? Bran yelled.

?I swear he was just here,? Crazy said.

?Damnit. I need him.? Bran pulled out her cell. ?Rachael? You still outside??

?I?m following usmu. He left the bar a minute ago. You won?t believe where he?s headed now,? Rachael said.

?WHERE?!? Bran yelled. What was it with her employees? teasing her with information lately?

?To Firebird?s Bar and Grill.?

?Stay on him.? Bran hung up.

?Firebird?s Bar?? Lulu said. ?You think Firebird went there??

?You found Firebird, too?? Crazy asked.

?Yeah,? Miral said. ?And boy did he look better than I remembered.? She grinned.

?He showed up out of nowhere. Literally,? Bran said. ?Why don?t you two go with Lulu and check it out. Usmu has information he doesn?t know is important. I?m afraid the same people that made all my friends disappear are looking for usmu. He?s probably in serious danger.?

Crazy eyed Bran for a minute. What she said made some sense. It might explain why usmu had given him so much money. ?Allright,? he said. ?Come on, girls, let?s get over there.?

Crazy, Lulu, and Miral left the bar. Bran bent over Asis, pulled out smelling salts, and waved them under Asis? nose. Asis sputtered and fluttered her eyes open.

?What?s going on?? she asked.

?That?s what I want to know,? Bran smiled at her.

[AsIs]

Man, my head hurts...I look up at the woman standing over me. Hmmm, I usually remember more about my dates than this...uh, don't I?

I look around the bar, I hope I don't hang out in dives like this often. But why are my thoughts all so fuzzy? What am I doing here? What the hell is going on!? *deep breathe* Must calm down. Maybe this woman can help...

"Do I know you?" She does look vaguely familar to me. "And did you get the number of that truck that must have hit me? Damn, my head hurts."

The woman looks a bit puzzeled and I have a brief flash of memory from before. "Red! I have to go find Red!"

I start to get up...

<font color="#776446" size="1">[ February 18, 2003 04:42 PM: Message edited by: AsIs ]</font>

[Miral]

Crazy, Lulu and Miral piled into Crazy's car. Miral took the backseat just to be sure that she wouldn't get smacked or something. Lulu and Crazy were talking softly to each other when Miral looked up and saw her sister talking to guy by a busstop. "STOP!!" She grabbed Crazy's arm and the car skidded to a stop with a squeal. Before the car made a complete stop Miral jumped out and ran toward her sister. Crazy's jaw dropped as he stared at the twins, Lulu covered her face and moaned and Miral began strangling the other woman as the man ran away. "Crazy, we might want to break them up before Miral kills her. She's tried before and came very close to succeeding."

[Lulu]

"Let me at her!" Miral shouted as she vaulted over Lulu and Crazy- kicking Lulu in the head in her haste to escape the cramped back seat of the car.

"Yowtch!" Lulu shouted and dropped her head into her hand. She lifted her head and shook it with a groan. Squinting her eyes, she saw two blurry figures fighting eachother. For an instant, she was watching an old rerun of Star Trek, the original series. The episode was entitled "Let that be your last battlefield," and a white and black being was locked in mortal combat with a black and white being. Although they were essentially twins, they were sworn enemies, destined to battle till one or the other was dead, or till the end of the universe (something like that)... No. Wait. That was Miral...

And Miral! Locked in Mortal combat- destined to fight until one killed the other or...

Dammnit- no! That was Miral and her evil twin. Just prone to trying to kill eachother.

"C'mon-" Lulu grabbed Crazy and dragged him out of the car. "We gotta stop them before they inflict fatal injury on eachother."

She dragged him toward the battling twins.

"Wait!" Crazy called, "My keys!"

[AsIs]

Bran grabs AsIs and lifts her to her feet. "AsIs, what's going on here?"

"As huh? You know, you look awefully familar to me. Did we date once or something?"

The Madam rolls her eyes. "Why is it you are always getting yourself into trouble. What can you tell me about Red?"

My pulse quickens and I look around. "Red! Where'd she go? I have to find her!" I reach for my jacket.

Bran grabs my hand, "AsIs, what the hell is going on? You are in no shape to be going anywhere. You're coming with me." She leads me towards the back door. I hear her mutter under her breath, "Bad girls, why do you always seem to be falling for bad girls AsIs..."

After she deposits me in her car, I look over at her. She is kind of cute, I wonder what our story is. Is she a ex of mine? Or are we still together. Damn my head hurts. "Hey uh, miss. Where are we going?"

Her manner a bit gruff, Bran looks over at her friend, "I'm taking you to your place. You're going to need to get some stuff, you're going to stay with me for awhile. It's not safe for you right now. I'll have someone check in on your cats."

"I have cats? Why do you keep calling me this AsIs person?"

"It's your name and yes you have cats. Don't you remember anything? What do you remmeber?"

I watch the scenary as we go by. What *do* I remember? Nothing looks familar to me. It all sort of looks on the edge of familar, but just doesn't feel right. "I remember not feeling good and...and this women. She had red hair and..." Sensing this might be dangerous territory, not knowing what my relationship with this woman who seems to know is, I decide to leave out the kiss and the way red's hair smelled. But why can't I remember anything else? And what was it that Red had whispered to me? Damn, thinking is just making my head hurt more. "I'm sorry, I don't remember anything else."

She pulls the car up to a apartment complex. So I ask, "Is this where you live?"

Bran smiles a bit, "Uh, no...This is where you live AsIs. Does any of it look familar to you?"

I look around. "No, not really. Hey, what should I call you? I mean, what is your name..."

"Call me Bran. My name is Bran diFlakes. Let's get your stuff." Bran walks up to a apartment and pulls out a set of keys and opens the door.

Hmmm, she has a key to my place...what is her relationship to me. She opens the door and turns to see me just standing here, probably looking dumb founded.

"AsIs, we are just friends. You gave me a key to your place in case of emergency. I think this probably qualifies. Let's feed your cats and get your stuff."

I nod and follow her in. "So this is where I live?" I look in the fridge. Not much in there. "I guess I lead a very spartan existance. Aside from some cat food, doesn't seem like there is much here."

Bran walks over to the computer, which is still on. Seeing the card on the keyboard she silently curses and takes it. "You left your computer on."

I walk over, "What was I looking at?"

"Looks like you were looking at a bullitan board...where you used to post..." her voice trails off. "You must have been checking in or lurking or something..."

"Why would I be checking in? Did I post there?" Being here seemed to create more questions than it was answering for me.

Bran chose her words carefully, "You've been out of town for awhile. You must have just gotten back." There was a touch of sadness in her voice.

"Where did I go?" I ask tentatively.

She hesitates. "I'm not sure. You left town with Mary Beth and I haven't really heard from you in awhile."

Rhut Rho, who the hell is Mary Beth? Since Bran and I are friends, did I steal her girl and skip town?

"Do you remember Mary Beth?" She asks softly.

"No, no I don't. Who is she?" I pause. "Is she, was she your girl?"

Bran laughs at the seriousness in my voice. "Yes and no." At my perplexed look she continues on. "Mary Beth works for me. Well, she did work for me. Until you two skipped town after she and I had a fight."

"What did you two have a fight about?"

Bran ignores the question and looks at her watch, "We should get your things."

As I turn from the computer I see the answering machine. Maybe this will give me a clue... I push rewind and then play.

"You have ten messages..." A automated voice droans. Well whoever I am, I must be popular, or I haven't checked it in a long time...

"AsIs? Hey, give me a call when you get this..." I look over at Bran. "That's Eris." She tells me.

"AsIs, it's Jace. I know I said I'd help you out at the shop, but I've got a few questions, give me a call."

"AsIs, it's Eris again. Have you seen Dan? I can't find the goober. I even checked that annoying restaurant you two like. Where the heck are you? Call me back." Bran stops packing up my things and pays closer attention to the messages.

"Hey AsIs, it's Wil. Have you fallen off the face of the earth? Call me when you get this."

"Where the heck are you!? I'm getting a bad feeling about this. I can't find Dan anywhere. You aren't answering my calls. It isn't paranoid when everyone really IS out to get you! Call me back! If I don't hear from you in a few hours, I am going to go off and try to find Dan myself. I've been to that stupid restaurant you two like more times in the last two days, that gargoyle and I are getting chummy. Call me back and I'll even go there WITH the two of you. And I won't argue much with the animations. And I'll enjoy it. Just call me back, ok?"

"It's Jacesan. Call me back, I didn't sign on to watch the shop permanently."

"You so owe me. Squire or not! These comic fans are geeks. AND I read comics!"

"Hey, a few of the regulars have stopped picking up their books. What do you want me to do with thier accounts?" Jace lists off some names including Eris, Dan, Wiloeleigh, Firebird...

I look around the apartment and realize that I must be a comic book geek myself, judging by the posters and statues and whatnot. "I own a comic shop?"