The War on Drugs: Business Before Pleasure: Chapter Three

Chapter Three

October 25th, 6:15 PM

"Good evening, Erin Steele."

Erin's eyes widened.  Oh shit.  Had he figured it out, somehow?  Did he know that she was the Blue Lynx?  Her instincts told her to shut the door, to lock it, to just fill the bath back up and sit there all night.  But the look Hammerson gave her was not one of premeditation or hate or even much arrogance.  It was more a look of... Expectation.

"Um," Erin said, deciding to play dumb.  "Do I know you?"

"You ought to," said Hammerson, a smile spreading across his face.  "I'm the guy who's always fucking with your dad's agenda."

The "fucking" was kind of weird.  What the hell was this?

"Oh yeah," Erin said.  "Brent Hammersmith."

"Hammerson," he said.

"Sorry," Erin said.  "Don't really follow politics much."

"No?" Hammerson said.  "You really should.  That's the problem with young people these days.  No sense of attachment to their community."

Listen to him.  The problem with young people?  "What is he, like, ten years older than me?" thought Erin.  And attachment to community?  That was pretty rich coming from the guy who was more responsible than anyone for the destruction of the community in the past few months.

"Alright, thanks for the lecture, Mr. Hammerson," Erin said.  "Now can I ask what you're doing here?"

She watched as Hammerson's eyes momentarily moved from her face and down her still wet, towel-clad body.

"Miss Steele," he cooed.  "I need to have a talk with you."

"Well, your timing is atrocious," Erin said.  "I'm naked under here."

Hammerson grinned.  "You can get dressed if you like."

Erin drummed her fingers on the door frame.  "How about you tell me what you want, first, and I'll decide if it's worth my time."

"Young lady," he began-- Erin hated being called "young lady"--, "As I mentioned before, me and your dad have had our share of disagreements.  I come here tonight seeking a sort of... Reconciliation."

"Doesn't sound like my problem," Erin said.  "Why don't you talk to my dad about it?"

"I've tried, Miss Steele, I've tried," Hammerson said.  "But he just doesn't listen.  I need some sort of mediator.  I need you, Miss Steele."

Erin sighed.  This whole thing felt like a trap.  At this point, she was pretty sure that Hammerson didn't know about Blue Lynx's secret identity.  But there was no question that he definitely wanted to get into her apartment.  Was he planning to blackmail her?  To get her to say something horrible about her father?  At the same time, Erin sensed in this bizarre encounter a golden opportunity.  If, in fact, Hammerson did not know about the Blue Lynx, then Erin held all the cards.  She knew that he was a drug lord.  And if she could press him in the right places, maybe he'd reveal more about his operation.

"Huh," Erin said.  "Well I guess I'm not doing anything tonight."

Hammerson smiled.  "Consider it a date."

"I won't," Erin said.  "Wait outside."  She shut the door and locked it and went to her bedroom to get dressed.

On to Chapter Four