[Previously in Traverse, Inc. – In her new place, Peggy Lipton is visited by Scooter and Queen and then meets her new hunky neighbors. Annette then drops in (through a window) and Peggy nearly kills her before agreeing to let her stay in her place. Annette has figured out that Peggy works for a unique outfit.]
“Hi, Myron,” I say softly, trying not to waken a snoozing Annette, who by all rights should have awakened herself by her snoring. Man, I’ve heard quieter dental drills.
“Good morning, Julie.”
“That’s ‘Peggy’ now.”
“Oh, yeah, I forgot.”
What? “Myron, you’re the one who came up with the name.”
“Sorry,” he said. “There has been a lot going on since then, you know.”
“Yeah, I know, but I have something to give you to remind you,” I said as I balled up my hand into a fist in the same way I had slugged Scooter in the gut the night before. “It’s just a little something for when I see you next.”
“You shouldn’t have,” he said, “but thanks.”
“No problem. It will be my pleasure. So, what’s going on?”
“Well, we have a little situation we need you to take care of for us. Are you up for it?”
“It depends.”
“It pays well,” he said.
“I’m listening. What’s the danger-factor on a scale of one to ten?”
“Um, I’d say…maybe…a three.”
“With ten being the worst, Myron?” I said.
“Oh, well then…maybe…a seven or even an eight.”
Great.
“So, am I alone in this or is there going to be a team effort? I really don’t like the way you hang me out by myself to dry while the other team members come in at the end to clean everything up.”
“I know and I take full responsibility for those past oversights. I can assure you that….”
“Oversights?” I scream and look back toward Annette, who is already up from the couch and sitting five feet behind me on the floor smiling. She excitedly mouthed the words, “I knew there was a team!” I got up and went into the bathroom and locked the door.
“They weren’t oversights, Peepers!” I whispered with vehemence. “You deliberately lied to me and drugged me and let me get kidnapped…”
“You jumped from the car…” he started to say, and then stopped. “Why are you whispering?”
“None of your business,” I said, as Annette knocked on the door.
“Tell him I want to join the team,” she said through the door.
“No,” I said to Annette.
“No, what?” Myron asked. “I haven’t even told you the job yet.”
“Tell him how I snuck into your place,” she insisted.
“No, no, Annette!”
“Annette?” Myron says. “Annette is home with you?”
“Please,” she pleads.
“Yes,” I say to Myron, but Annette overheard.
“Great! Thank you!” she screamed.
“Why is she thanking you?”
“She wants to be on the team.”
“No way,” said Myron.
“Tell him I already know all about you guys and…”
“Hold on Myron,” I said, and open the bathroom door. Annette was leaning her back against it and almost fell inside on top of me. I whispered to Annette.
“Do you want to sleep on the street tonight?”
“No.”
“Then shut up and let me talk on the phone.”
“Fine, I’ll make some coffee,” she huffed, and then paused. “Where’s the coffee?”
I pointed toward the kitchen and then went to my bedroom and shut the door.
“Okay, Myron,” I said. “Go on.” Myron laughed.
“You are something,” he said. “You really have Annette in your place?”
“Yes, and she figured out Scooter and Queen and I and the rest of us put away her ex-boyfriend and that I was conning her in the jail.”
“Oh, crap.”
“Yeah. So, she needs a place to crash for a while and she needs a job. Make room for her or find someone else to do this job.”
“We took you in, remember?” he insisted. “You didn’t start this thing, you know.”
I sensed I needed to tone it down.
“Yes, Peepers dear, I didn’t start it, but I’m going to finish it. So, what is this seven or eight-out-of-ten on the danger-scale assignment?”
As Myron explained the job, I took a few notes and headed for the kitchen to get some coffee. Annette met me half-way with a steamy mug, and then turned and sheepishly scurried back to the kitchen, like a kid who knows she had better behave or won’t get to go on the pony ride.
A little later, I ran some errands to get ready for the job and then came home. Annette was in the kitchen preparing a late lunch.
“Soup and sandwich,” she said.
“Thanks, but no time,” I said.
“Are you going to…” she started to say and then clammed up, knowing she shouldn’t ask.
“There’s a big thermos somewhere in that pantry and plastic baggies. We’ll take lunch with us.”
“Us?”
“Yep, you are coming with me.”
“Great!” she said and ran for the pantry. She stopped and turned. “Will we make it back in time for the party tonight?”
“Probably not,” I said sadly. I had wanted to go and get loose, lascivious and lucky, and by the look on her face she did too. Poor thing. “Maybe we’ll hit a late-night meeting.”
“Boring,” she said.
Little did she know that what we were going to be doing was anything but boring. In fact, we would both welcome a ‘boring’ anything after this night.
The view of DC is beautiful heading over the Arlington Memorial Bridge. The Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument are in the forefront and the dome of the Capitol is visible in the distance. The bridge itself sports low bannisters for a great view and shows the Kennedy Center, the National Cathedral and the memorial to Thomas Jefferson.
The bridge is a grand entrance into the capital of the world’s grandest power. Eight foot high stone eagles are perched on pylons at the west end, and U.S. flags are hung from every lamppost on special occasions. In the spring, red tulips grace both ends of the bridge. How do I know this? I read it in the Washingtonian Magazine. Tonight, though, my mind was in a whirl and I didn’t take in any of it. Annette, on the other hand, didn’t miss a beat and rambled on about everything she spotted.
As we headed over the bridge and into Virginia, the last gleams of sunlight were fading behind us. The grand spectacle must have faded too, for Annette quieted down. I was glad for the chance to think in silence. Soon, she and I would be in the thick of an intrigue that rivaled anything our grand forefathers could have foreseen.