June 13th, 12:43 PM
The girls were still covered in sweat when they got back from their run and found another manila envelope sticking out of the mailbox.
"Shit," Erin said, taking the package inside. This one was addressed like the other, the words BLUE LYNX several times larger than the rest.
Erin had known the Spaniel would be reaching out to her again; it was one of the reasons why she and Margot had been training so hard the past couple of days. But she didn't expect the next letter to come so soon.
"Just open it," Margot said, taking a seat on the couch. "Get it over with."
Erin nodded and ripped the envelope in half, revealing two more pages of typewritten text. She read it slowly and carefully.
Miss Steele,
Salutations. It's the Spaniel again. Remember me? I'm the man who BEAT you, who ROBBED you of your costume, who knows your GREATEST SECRET. I'm not sure if you've been watching TV. I was on again last night, though. Another heist foiled. I'm an unstoppable machine right now, Miss Steele. I do hope you are tuning in like the rest of the city.
I was impressed by the speed with which you "responded" to my last letter. Two thousand dollars really doesn't mean much to you, does it, rich girl? Well, rest assured that I will use it wisely. I don't plan to blow it all on alcohol, anyway, as you have been doing so regularly as of late.
You have been such a good little girl, Miss Steele. Whatever I've asked you to do, you've done. Which is why I'm writing today to ask you, no, TELL you to continue obeying me. There's something I want, something I need your help to get. I've been shutting down drug houses, gathering clues, observing things, and it's my theory that the man behind much of our city's problem is none other than your DADDY's political rival: Brent Hammerson, the Speaker of the House. Though he is currently in a coma, he's still got influence all over town. I'd like nothing more than to get inside Hammerson's house and get some evidence to prove my theory. Unfortunately, his mansion is currently crawling with more guards than the Spaniel wants to deal with.
What I need from you, Miss Steele, is for you to get inside Hammerson's house and find me something. Luckily for us, Hammerson's cronies are hosting a party for him this Saturday-- a sort of fundraiser for their PATHETIC efforts at rehabilitation. I need you to go to this party. The guards will let you in: surely there's SOME reason for the mayor's daughter to be on Hammerson's property. Get into his office and get a document or something proving that it is HE who is responsible for the city's drug trade, and I PROMISE I'll keep your identity a secret for... the near future...
The party is this Saturday at 7. Be there, Miss Steele. May I suggest wearing a nice cocktail dress? It might help you charm your way past Hammerson's men, hahaha.
Get a document. Bring it to me by the end of this Sunday. Or else.
Sincerely,
The Spaniel
P.S.: I brought out your Blue Lynx costume today, could still smell you on it. So nice. How much do you think I could get selling it on Ebay? Five hundred? A thousand? I'll bet there's some pervert out there who'd just loooove to have this piece of superheroine HISTORY. (By which I mean, THE PAST, hahaha.)
Erin smashed the letter into a ball and chucked it against the floor.
"Not good?" Margot asked.
"That bastard," Erin seethed. "That lousy little bastard."
"What?" Margot said. "What's going on?"
"He's blackmailing me, again," Erin said. "But this time, he doesn't want money. He wants me to infiltrate one of Hammerson's parties and bring back some evidence proving that he's responsible for the city's drug problem."
Margot shrugged. "Umm... Don't we have plenty of evidence to do that, already?"
Erin shook her head and sat down next to her friend. "We have photos. But we don't have documents. That's what the Spaniel wants. Some sort of hard evidence linking Hammerson to his criminal empire."
"Doesn't he know that Hammerson's in a coma?"
Erin clicked her tongue. "See, that's what I don't understand. Why does the Spaniel even care? Hammerson is barely a threat anymore."
"He probably doesn't care," Margot sighed. "He probably just wants to push you around."
"I know," Erin said. "But, again, I don't really have a choice, do I? I'm not ready to fight yet. I'm still out of shape. I don't even have a costume."
"Let me help," Margot said, resting her hand on Erin's leg. "I'll go get the Spaniel. I'll force him to give up this game."
Erin laughed. "He won't stop, Margot. If you went to see him, he'd probably know immediately that you're on my side, and then, BOOM... The world would know all about the Blue Lynx."
Margot shut her eyes. "There just has to be a way. A way that doesn't involve him torturing you... Humiliating you..."
"There is a way," Erin said. "We'll find it. And we'll make the Spaniel pay."
"For now," she continued, stepping up off the couch. "I need to find a dress for this party."
On to Chapter Four
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