The Platter was a huge, dimly lit room of all dark stained wood and paisley upholstered booths. White linen, candle lamps and pewter dinnerware decorated each alcove table, and as the jaunty waiter led the group to their table, strains of new age music wafted from the hidden speakers. He recited the chef's specials, took drink orders and melted away into the gloom.

"This place is always so dark.' Catlin complained. "We came here on an anniversary and didn't even know what we ate."

"Come now, hon. I think that's a stretch." Dylan smiled and leaned against his wife.

"Well you weren't sure if it was fish or chicken as I recall."

"It was chicken of the sea." She punched his arm. "I was joking."

"So what's your really good stuff?" Mary changed the topic, drawing everyone's attention to Peter.

He took a breath and straitened up in the booth. "Well, I tracked down the guy who was interested in the film and called him."

"You said you were going to do that."

"Yeah, well I did. And guess what he said."

"Hello?" Catlin.

"Funny. Very funny, Catlin. When I told him the film wasn't for sale he offered me ten thousand dollars."

"What!" Mary jerked in her seat.

"And then he raised to fifteen." Peter bobbed his head in affirmation at the stunned looks on his friend's faces.

"You said no to ten?"

"And to fifteen." Peter nodded again.

"How could you turn down that kind of money?" Catlin gaped at him and then at Mary.

"Because he raised it again to twenty-five." Peter laughed and slapped the table just as the waiter returned with their drinks.

"Are you joking?" Mary's voice rasped, and she gulped a mouthful of wine.

"Nope. And I said no that too."

"Are you nuts? Twenty-five thousand dollars?" Catlin stared incredulously.

"Hey, listen. If it's worth it to this guy to just keep upping the offer, imagine what it must really be worth."

"To whom?" Dylan.

"Well to- to someone. I mean there must be a market for this thing somewhere that this guy is connected to."

"Yes, but you aren't, Peter." Mary swallowed the rest of her wine and looked around for the waiter. "My god, with that kind of money you could do all kinds of things."

Peter sighed and sipped from his own drink. "You guys just don't understand. This film is unique, a one of a kind. I own a one of a kind unique piece of cinematic history. Shit, museums would die for this."

"So where is this masterpiece?" Dylan asked.

"At the film restorers. This guy is a genius, he burned it onto disc for safekeeping."

"Can you be sure he won't make extra copies?" Mary.

"I trust him." Peter closed the subject and was relieved when the waiter came by for their orders.

******

Austin assumed as calm an exterior as possible as he listened to Vera's conflicted and confused description of the evening's events. He followed her every move carefully as she paced around the penthouse living room, touching lamps and picking up ornaments with a strange regard, her eyes shining with a feral gleam.

"May I ask why you exposed yourself to such aggravation in the first place, dear?" She stopped and stared at him without speaking, head canted curiously. "I mean, what did you expect to achieve baiting Harry like that?"

Vera bared her teeth in a smile and sank slowly to the arm of the sofa across from him. "Why, your goal, darling, your goal."

"Aah yes, but didn't we discuss a measured approach to start? Something not quite so . . . spontaneous?"

"Those two idiots didn't find anything in the apartment did they? Why not his office at the theatre?"

"A commendable idea but we can't go breaking into places all over town without some well considered consequences and a thorough plan."

"Waste of time, Austin. Just a bloody waste of time."

"Actually no, my dear. I've learned that the film is at the restoration studio."

"Can you believe this information?"

"Trust me, it's true."

"The why not go and get it? Why did I bother getting the employee's name?"

"I learned this later, my dear." He watched her make a face and he sighed. "I think we'd better pull back and consider or next approach more carefully. We don't want any more people involved than necessary."

"I'd be happy to get rid of two for you." One long leg arced up and down at the knee with a casual impudence.

"No thank you, dear, we may yet need the services of our two friends." Austin studied the woman for a moment then stood facing her and spread his arms. "Can I rely on you to not antagonize them at least until our job is done?"

"I will do my best." The feral grin widened and she rose with a feline grace, stepping into his embrace.

"I know you will, dear. And I trust you to continue with the medication as we discussed."

"I shall." She touched her lips to his cheek, not really a kiss, more like a test for texture, or taste.

******

"I told you not to mess with her, Dickhead." Harry pushed the TV remote several times and cursed the results. "Christ, what a lotta crap."

"She's a whacko! Look at my pants, the goddamn knee's right outta them!" Doug stood in front of the screen displaying his complaint. "I'm gonna see the old man and raise shit about this."

"I already called him, remember, and do you mind moving over, I can't see."

"What did he say? Did you tell him what she did to me?" He stepped a little to the side.

"No, asshole, you weren't here yet. You heard me tell him in the car about her wantin' to bust into the theatre. I told him she was a real liability and that she was going to expose us to everybody and his brother with her stupid actions."

Doug sat on the end of the second bed. "So what did he say?"

"Same as he always says. Just do your job and he'll take care of Vera."

"Bullshit!"

"Yeah, well, better him than me, kid."

Doug pouted angrily and picked at the tear in his pants. "When this is over, she's gonna get a lesson in manners."

"From you?"

"Yeah from me, why? You got somethin' to say Fatso?"

"Nice manners, kid. Be careful how you treat your elders." Doug pushed a hand through the air and slumped off to the bathroom, muttering obscenities as he went.

Two floors above, in her own suite, Vera stood in front of the full length mirror and executed a quick series of callisthenics, her supple body moving easily through the regimen.

******

Cheryl waited until Harv was ready to lock up for the night and then told him she wanted to stay behind and catch up on a few things. She felt she owed it to him considering her behaviour and the trouble she'd caused.

"Up to you, Cheryl but it doesn't count as overtime."

"I know, Harv, I know."

"Just make sure everything's locked up tight and the lights are all out."

"Promise."

Cheryl went to the window overlooking the parking lot at the rear of the building and watched until she saw Harv's super-sized old Malibu swing onto the street like some huge naval craft. She went to his desk and opened the not so secret panel in the bottom drawer and took out the slip of paper with the safe combination.

If Freddy was right about the film even a disc copy could be worth plenty and in the end didn't she deserve something better than assistant in a film lab for the rest of her life? The copy of the disk only took twenty minutes from beginning to end and Cheryl slipped it into her purse, hit the lights and locked everything up tight as promised.