Starlight Lounge!
Beautiful Sexy Girls!
O'Ryan parked his 1938 Ford, walked down the alley and climbed the steps to the side entrance. In her dressing room, Rita was stripping off her glitter and make-up, getting ready to go home.
"Hi Rita. Do you want to go dancing?"
"Dancing? I've been dancing. Where have you been Leonard? I haven't seen you in months!"
"Here and there. You know," O'Ryan said.
On her dressing table lay a belt she sometimes wore around her small waist. It was made of a metallic fabric he liked the feeling of. As he ran his fingers around the length of the ribbony loop, it returned to where he started, but facing the opposite side.
"Nuts to here and there! What about you and Susan?" Rita asked.
"What do you know about Susan?" he asked, setting it down..
"Girl talk."
O'Ryan frowned. "I know she's with Blue."
"You're still in love with her."
O'Ryan changed topic. "I need to ask you about Conte," he said.
"He vanished," Rita said.
"What else do you know?"
"Drunken bum. Wilde sent him on an errand to the bank to sober him up. He left mumbling some drunken nonsense. Next I heard he skipped out with all our paychecks. Probably took off with Blue."
"What do you mean by `drunken nonsense'?" O'Ryan asked.
"He kept saying `please' - or something like that," Rita said, looking past O'Ryan and someone lurking in the hallway not far away.
O'Ryan's eyes narrowed. "Do you want to go to a party with me Rita?"
"Party?" Her eyes lit up hopefully. "Who will be there?"
"Just you and me."
O'Ryan parked his Ford on the street. The lights from the Knoxville Police Department windows lit the dark street outside. Through one particular window, O'Ryan could see Capt. Yordan in his service blues pacing around his office with paperwork in his hand. He pulled what little hair he had on his head, then sat back again and sifted through a few more papers.
O'Ryan tip-toed down the hallway past the Captain's door.
Yordan burst out of his office and said "It's you!"
"Captain!" O'Ryan said.
"What is the story with this Susan Merepy you keep submitting expense reports to me for? You've racked up several grand so far!" the Captain said.
"A white male, mid-30's, matching Mr Blue's description, was reported snooping around the Manhattan Engineering District area. Miss Merepy is our best lead."
They walked down the hall to O'Ruyan's office.
"Is that where the Army is doing some top secret work?"
"Yes, sir. The suspect was driving Merepy's car and tried to enter one of the main gates, but was turned away by a guard. I think we should investigate."
"I say let the Army handle Blue, but, if you must, do it on your own dime. We've had cut-backs. There is another case I want you to look at - a disappearance at the Starlight."
"You mean Conte, the bouncer?" O'Ryan asked.
"You know about that?" Yordan asked.
"He left the bank with some paychecks but never made it back to the nightclub."
"Solve it," the Captain said.
"Yes, sir."
O'Ryan went to his office and was joined by several other investigators. On one wall of the office there are pictures of the Susan Merepy case, the Starlight Lounge disappearance, and the Manhattan Engineering District area pinned up on a large cork board.
"Smitty, you know that bouncer who disappeared from the Starlight?"
"Yes, sir. He was heard to yell `Pleiades'." Seeing O'Ryan's surprised look, Smith explained, "I've already thoughly questioned the dancers."
"I'll bet. Does anyone know what Pleiades means?" O'Ryan asked.
Alton raised his hand. He was at attention in his service blues and thick horn-rimmed glasses.
"Relax Alton, you aren't in the Police Academy anymore. Just speak up," O'Ryan said.
"Sir, I think the name Pleiades arises from Greek mythology. They were seven daughters of Atlas, who were pursued romantically by several gods, including Orion the Hunter. Zeus first turned them into doves and then later he turned them into stars," Alton said. He smiled, adjusted his thick glasses, and straightened his collar and tie.
Everyone stared at him for a moment. Alton was fresh out of the Academy and their newest officer on the force.
"Doves then stars, huh? How do you happen to know all that?" O'Ryan asked.
"History major at Vanderbilt. Couldn't find a job in my field, but I with a wife and two little kids to feed ... ."
"Got it," O'Ryan interrupted. "Alton, what the hell does this case have to do with seven sisters from Greece?"
"Nothing, sir."
Smith cleared his throat and said, "Lt., it is also a star cluster in the Taurus constellation. One of the closest star clusters ... ."
"Smitty!" O'Ryan interrupted, tapping his foot.
"Astronomy major," Smith said.
O'Ryan put his head in his hands. "Are we going from Greece to outer space now? Aliens from outer space, is that your angle, Smitty? Everyone, just get out of here and find Blue!"
They all scattered, leaving O'Ryan alone.
A few hours later, O'Ryan was talking to Smith on the police radio.
"Lt. O'Ryan, do you really mean everyone?" Smith asked.
"Yes, everyone. Arrest everyone associated with Blue, on aiding-and-abetting. Question them for twenty-four hours. See which ones spill the beans. Release them. Simple as A-B-C. Find out where Blue is hiding!"
"Capt. Yordan is not going to like it," Smith said.
"I'll worry about the Capt. You get with the arresting."
"Yes, sir."
An hour later, Smith called O'Ryan back.
"Talk to me Smitty."
"There is a problem, Lt.," Smith said.
"Spill it."
"Lewis, one of Blue's tough guys, is hiding out with his boot-legging gang in the Hole In The Wall."
O'Ryan recognized the dive. "So what, Smitty?"
"There are about fifteen of them."
"Who is with you?"
"Just Alton."
"Oh."
"Yes, sir."
"Wait there," O'Ryan said, slamming the receiver down. He opened his drawer, pulled out two brass knuckles, putting one in each of his pants pockets, grabbed his jacket and fedora, and went out.
O'Ryan spotted Smith and Alton in their squad car about a block from the Hole In The Wall and parked next to them.
"I'm just going to go check it out," O'Ryan told them.
"We can wait here," Alton volunteered.
O'Ryan walked over to the bar, a one-room building on the side of the road which had seen better days. He went into the dark room, smelling of smoke and beer. A poker game was being played on one side of the room and a pool game at the other. The drinking and the noise stopped as people recognized him.
"Well, looky here boys, it's the Copper from Knoxville," one of the largest of the men said.
"You must be Lewis," O'Ryan said, his eyes adjusting to the light.
"What does a 90-dollar-a-week Copper think when he sees his ex-girl in that new fur coat Blue bought for her?" Lewis asked, smirking.
That caught O'Ryan's attention.
"Jealous? Want a beer to cry in, O'Ryan?" Lewis said, slinging the rest of his beer at O'Ryan.
The others laughed. O'Ryan wiped beer from his face as Lewis's gang encircled him. A faint smile creeping across O'Ryan's face. Noticing this, the bartender started taking glasses and bottles from the top of the bar, putting them in a safer place. O'Ryan cracked his knuckles, put his hands in his pockets and pulled out the brass ones.
The bartender dove for cover.
Alton and Smith helped about a dozen limping, groaning men out of the Hole In The Wall into a line of waiting paddy wagons. All but one were released within hours. Lewis had an outstanding warrant, so they kept him.
"Smitty, let's go have a chat with Lewis."
The went down to the cell blocks in the basement of the police station. Lewis, sporting a black eye, limped over to the cell door. They cuff him and drag him over to a chair in an empty room.
Lewis looked up at O'Ryan and said, "Sorry about throwing that beer in your face."
Slap!
"Ow! What was that for? I was apologizing!"
"That was only a pre-emptive slap," O'Ryan said.
"What is a pre-emptive slap, Lt.?" Smith asked.
"I'll explain. A pre-emptive slap is when I slap him, like this ... " slap! "... and then he earns a lower level slap next time he talks out of turn. Got it?"
"Like this?" Smith asks, slapping Lewis.
Lewis was seeing stars.
"No, that is a little too hard. You see Smitty, the point is that you're giving him a half-slap next time, so the two slaps work out the same as one normal slap. Less wrist action, like this," O'Ryan says, slapping Lewis.
"Okay. I think I understand now. Like this?" Smith asks, slapping Lewis.
"Exactly!"
Smith nodded. Lewis was confused and dizzy and his lip was bleeding.
"Tell me about Blue," O'Ryan said to Lewis. "What does he want?"
"He wants some kind of special fuel that the military scientists make. Thorium, I think he said."
"There are no thorium reactors," Smith said to Lewis, slapping him again. Seeing O'Ryan's look, he added "Sorry, Lt. My undergraduate thesis was on thorium and I got carried away."
"Lewis, where is he now?"
"If you let me go, I'll arrange a meeting!"
O'Ryan thought for a moment.
"This is crazy, Lt." Smith said.
O'Ryan ignored him and said "Okay, Lewis, on the condition you get me a meeting. Tonight."
Smith was shocked. Lewis eyes widened, he gulped, and his head bobbed up and down.
They drag Lewis over to a phone. Lewis says a few words and hangs up. He turns to O'Ryan, "He's planning on using a plane to scout out the Manhattan Engineering District. He'll the airport outside Beaver Ridge, around midnight. Oh, I almost forgot. He plans to kill you."
"Smitty, lock him up."
"Hey! What?" Lewis was interrupted by a slap from O'Ryan.
"That was a half-slap," Smith said as he tossed him back in the cell. O'Ryan was aleady out the front door.
O'Ryan was cold in the airport hanger. Everyone had left for the day. The full moon cast an unworldly glow on the machinery.
There was a faint blue flash behind him. He started to look behind him.
"Don't turn around," someone said.
O'Ryan recognized the voice. "Rita? Is that you?" O'Ryan asked.
"You wanted to talk. Talk," she said.
"I came here hoping to learn what Blue wants with the Manhattan Engineering District and with Susan. Why are you here?"
"Blue is dead. I'm here instead."
"What the hell?"
"I come from another planet."
"You're pulling my leg!"
"I am an authorized data-collecting agent. We collect data on your race. My company sells databases of alien races to our clients."
"Are you drunk, Rita?" O'Ryan asked.
"I am not joking. They bring a high price on my planet. Crazy market."
Smiling, O'Ryan made a motion with his hand holding an imaginary bottle up to his mouth and drinking while uttering loud glugging noises.
"I just learned that several of my planet's energy reactors failed recently. Consequently, millions on my planet died and our energy resources are now critically low."
"My condolances."
"Seriously?"
"No." O'Ryan belched. He had a few beers on the drive out.
"Have you been drinking?"
"No! Yes."
"Our scientists detected enriched thorium fuel nearby at the Manhattan Engineering District. I need that fuel," she said, like she was stating the result of a trigonometry computation.
"There are no thorium reactors around here."
"None?"
"Trust me."
"Those damn stupid shits, mixed up nuclear power and thorium power again!"
"Honestly, Rita, you seem pretty human for an alien from another planet," he said.
"Thank you. Did my explicative seem authentic?"
"Uhmm, hell yes."
"In fact, I was sent here, as was Blue and Conte, as human avatars. In other words, human except for a small brain implant, which is a controller-interface to our real Pleiadian bodies. I helped with the technical design myself," Rita said.
"What happened to the real Rita Stanton?"
"Brain dead without the avatar implant. But her body will be re-cycled. We are have strict environmental protocols."
"Are Susan and Blue dead too?"
"Do you really want to hear about Blue?"
"Please."
"First, Blue tried unsuccessfully to talk to your government officials about our need for enriched uranium," she said. "Blue had to vaporize one of them, which is definitely frowned upon, and ... "
"Wait! Blue iced a Fed?" O'Ryan asked.
"Well, they tried to confiscate his decoder!" she said.
"Do you mean a Captain Midnight code-o-graph?"
"A who?"
"Never mind. Tell me more about Susan and Blue."
"Recalled."
"Susan? Recalled?"
"Not Susan. Blue," she corrected him. "I think it was the correct decision."
"I don't understand," O'Ryan said. "You killed Blue?"
"Actually, on my planet the MCC - Mission Control Committee - makes those recall decisions."
"A committee of killers?" O'Ryan asked, tapping his foot again.
"Bureaucracy. What can you do?" she shrugged.
O'Ryan shook his head. "You sure fooled me, Rita. You're a black widow!"
"I am not! I am merely completing my mission priority to acquire reactor fuel."
"Right," O'Ryan said. "What are you going to do with Susan?"
There was a blue flash behind O'Ryan.
"I'm here," she said, walking into O'Ryan's view.
"Susan!" O'Ryan caught the moonlight glint in her eyes. "How did you get here?"
She nodded at Rita, as though she pulled a rabbit out of a hat. O'Ryan wondered if maybe Rita was telling the truth.
"I bought you some stockings, Susan," O'Ryan said. "Oh, and Blue is dead."
"What are they made of?" she asked.
"Silk."
"How nice!"
"I bought them from ... "
"Quiet!" Rita said.
"Let Miss Merepy go," O'Ryan pleaded.
"Seems we have an uninvited visitor," Rita said, staring off into the distance.
O'Ryan looked outside the huge hanger doors, but couldn't see or hear anything unusual. Merepy simply looked scared and crept into the shadows.
"Time's up. Conversation's over. Now, Susan dies and you will be my avatar, O'Ryan," Rita said.
"Me an avatar for you? That is really disgusting!" O'Ryan said, bile churning up in his throat.
"It's not disgusting. We swap avatars all the time. It's really nothing. In fact, it is actually quite logical. I will use your identity to get access to the Engineering District and tell them I am investigating Blue. I'll use that pre-text to determine the location of the fuel - as useless as it is, not being thorium."
O'Ryan vomited.
"Stop that! No, it's not disgusting! It is settled. Susan has no further function for me and you ... " Rita said.
Susan hit Rita on the side of her head behind her ear with a rusted metal bar. Rita collapsed.
"Further function, my ass," Susan said, glaring down at Rita.
O'Ryan was surprised. "Why didn't you do that before?"
She shrugged.
Now O'Ryan could hear the familiar roar of Captain Yordan's Plymouth radio police car engine. The car came racing down the runway and through the hanger doors, screeching to a halt near them.
Yordan jumped out of his car with two officers and yelled "Find Blue and arrest him!"
Rita groaned, shook her head and pulled out a ray gun and vaporized Captain Yordan. Susan quickly kicked the ray gun out of Rita's hands and held her while the other officers put hand-cuffs on. O'Ryan was spitting bile and vomit chunks out of his mouth.
As the cops hauled Rita off, O'Ryan looked at Merepy, who walked over toward him.
"Silk, really?"
O'Ryan nodded. "From New York City!"
She smiles. "Thank you, Leonard," she said snuggling up to his chest.
For several moments, they listened to the crickets and the fading sirens in the distance. O'Ryan was feeling all was right with the world. He started to kiss her.
She shied away. "You have vomit on your chin."
He tried to wipe it off. "Is it gone?" O'Ryan asked.
"On the cheek."
He wiped his cheek.
"I meant you can kiss me, Leonard, on the cheek."
He softly gave her a peck on the cheek. They walked out of the hanger into the foggy night.
O'Ryan entered a dressing room where Susan was stripping off her glitter and
make-up, getting ready to go home.
"Hi Susan. Do you want to go dancing?"
"Dancing? I've been dancing. Where have you been Leonard? I haven't seen you in months," she said.
"There and here. You know," O'Ryan said. On her dressing table lay a belt she sometimes wore around her small waist. It was made of a metallic fabric he liked the feeling of. As he ran his fingers around the length of the ribbony loop, it returned to where he started, but facing the opposite side.
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