The War on Drugs: Business Before Pleasure: Chapter Five

Chapter Five

October 26th, 10:35 AM

Margot and Erin sat across from each other at a small booth in the corner of Lucky's, the girls' favorite spot in the city for brunch.  Erin was talking rapidly, frequently taking sips from her coffee, while Margot was mostly silent, alternating between nodding and shaking her head.

"So then I got pretty drunk," Erin said.  "Turned on some music, danced around, passed out on the couch."

"Yeah, I saw you," Margot said.  "Not the first thing I want a man to see when I bring him back to the apartment, but, okay."

"And that was it," Erin said, taking a sip of coffee and setting the mug down.  "That was my night with Brent Hammerson."

She laughed.  In retrospect, it really was quite funny.  Though Erin left out a few parts when relating the story to Margot, mainly the part when she got kind of into Hammerson's kisses, and almost seemed to lose herself for a second.  Margot set her elbows on the table and put her hands on the side of her head.

"You should've called me," Margot said.  She didn't seem amused.

"Oh, don't be such a party pooper," said Erin.

"I'm serious," Margot said.  "Hammerson is a dangerous man.  I know you're smart and tough, Erin.  I believe in the Blue Lynx.  But even superheroes need back-up.  And you don't just sit down and have a drink with the enemy without my knowledge."

A waiter arrived at the table and passed out plates to the two girls.  "The spanish omelette for the pretty young lady," he said, setting a bright yellow platter in front of Erin. "And the oatmeal for the, well, equally pretty young lady," he said, putting a bowl of brown mush in front of Margot.

"Thank you," the girls said in unison, waiting for him to leave.  After a long, creepy look, he did, and Margot continued.

"I don't know how you could be so reckless."

"Reckless?"  Erin said, cutting off a piece of her omelette.  "I was doing my job.  If we want to beat Hammerson, we have to know about him, right?  Figure him out."

"Listen," said Margot.  "Research?  Investigating?  That's not your job.  That's my job.  We don't need to have dates with slimy, smug drug pushers to know what to do next."  She scooped a spoonful of oatmeal into her mouth.

Erin frowned.  "Well, you've not exactly been anxious to get out and fight.  Someone's got to do something, here."

Margot shook her head.  "Listen, Erin.  I've been doing work.  I just haven't told you about it.  You needed time to rest.  The Night at Hillbilly Manor.  It was scary.  You don't get over that in a couple hours."

In an instant, visions of the night sprang into Erin's head.  The gas.  The rough hands of Jackson and Clayton.  The searing pain of ropes tied tight around her wrists.  Her mask being peeled away from her face, inch-by-inch, while she just looked on and watched.  Jackson pulling her V-neck down and examining her breasts.  She stuffed a piece of omelette in her mouth and chewed.

"No," Erin said.  "I'm ready to fight.  I need to fight.  If I don't get out there... I mean, this is why I did that stuff with Hammerson last night."  She paused, looked at Margot.  "I'm anxious.  I need to do this."

Margot listened, took a sip of her coffee.  She swallowed and stared at Erin.  "Okay," she said.  "I trust you."

Erin eyed her intently.

"That night in the country?  I put a tracker on Hammerson's car."

"What?" Erin said.  She almost stood out of her seat.  "You did what?"

"While he and the thugs were harassing you, I slipped away and put a tracker on his car.  It barely even took a minute."

"Oh Margot!" Erin said, elated.  "You're incredible!"

"I've been able to make a map of his movements," Margot said.  She pulled her phone from her pocket, showed it to Erin.  "See?  Alright, so I see now how he did spend a bit of time at our place last night."  She frowned at Erin for good measure.  "But this is the place I'm really interested in right now."  She scrolled the map to the city's northeast corner and tapped a glowing dot.

"What is it?" Erin asked.

"It's an abandoned factory," Margot said.  "I'm thinking that Hammerson and his crew have taken it over for their operation."

"Oh wow," Erin said, reclining against her seat.  "That's incredible, Margot."

"So you wanna go get him, tomorrow night?," Margot asked.  She took a long sip from her coffee and smiled at her friend.

"Margot!  I love you!"  Erin said.

On to Chapter Six