"You got balls, sweetheart, I'll say that." Donald smoothed the hair over his ear with a slow sweep of his hand and let his eyes travel up and down the length of her. "Ralphy surprises me, I had no idea." He strutted ahead of her into the living room of his apartment, straightening his collar and giving the hair another stroke.

"I wanted you to know that it wasn't my idea to break in here. Orly Ruez is the one you want. He forced me into taking part in his little scam and to cover myself, I used . . . Mike." The sudden decision not to give Jeff up was a bit of a surprise and it must have shown on her face because Donald raised an eyebrow and nodded knowingly.

"Mike . . . right." He did another pan across her body and stuffed his hands in his pockets. "Isn't Orly, Ralph's gopher?" Jessica nodded. "So Ralph's gopher suddenly decides he's going to rip off his boss using his boss's girl as the goat." He laughed shortly. "Getting' quite a little collection of animals here."

"Mister Carver, you−"

"Please, make it Donald. We're going to become close friends, might as well start with first names."

"You met Mike when he came here thinking that this was my place and he had the package with him." Donald blinked a slow agreement, smirking.

"Mike never knew where I really lived. He was just doing exactly what he told you- trying to deliver a package. When I finally called him I had to tell him about Orly, how he kept me from meeting with him and made me say how to get to him or he was going to hurt me.

When I called Mike later he told me that Orly had come for the package, they'd had a terrible fight, he'd given Orly quite a beating but lost in the end and Orly and the package were gone. I made some excuse for him not worrying and hung up; he has no way to contact me so he's out of the picture and I don't know where Orly is now."

Donald sauntered across the room and looked out the window. He could see her reflection in the glass watching him. "So why come to me?" He kept his eyes on her reflection.

"Because I knew you'd find out somehow who I was and I didn't want to wind up in the middle of a war with you, Ralph or Orly."

"How did he force you to get the package from the hotel?"

"I told you. He threatened me."

"Why not just tell Ralph?"

"It was something I didn't want Ralph to know." She looked at her hands and sat twisting her fingers. He watched her in the glass for a moment and then turned around. She seemed genuinely upset about her secret and he considered her story with an open mind.

Ralph Morrison probably would have beaten the crap out of her and Orly Ruez was no stranger to deceit or violence. He walked over to her chair and rested a hand on her shoulder, feeling the sudden tensing of her body.

"Relax, Jessica, I said we were going to be friends, remember?"

She felt the not so reassuring squeeze and sat very still.

"Let's just say I believe your story up to the part where Orly gets the package. Why should I believe that say, Mike didn't keep it and the both of you are scamming me and Ralph? I mean is Mike the little secret Orly held over you?"

"No! No, it has nothing to do with Mike. I told you, I just recruited him to get the package from the hotel."

"Well then, Jessica darlin', for me to accept your tale of mystery and intrigue I need two things. One," his fingers squeezed her shoulder slightly again. "I need to know your secret and two, I want your true last name." He squatted down to eye level, his fingers roughly kneading her shoulder. "This is not a negotiation, sweetheart."

She winced at the pain in her shoulder and tried to shrug away. "My name is Stroud. Jessica Stroud."

"Number one thing, Jess, remember, that was number two?"

"Orly has a photograph of me with Ralph's brother." She pushed his hand away and stood up. Donald raised himself slowly in front of her, his leer shouting his thoughts from the rooftops.

"Jessica, that was a nice try but if that's the case why hasn't Orly used it for himself?"

She made a face of defiance and snapped off the fact that Orly was gay.

"Orly? Really?" Donald stepped back and smiled. "I never knew. Just goes to show ya, eh?"

"Can I go now feeling safe about being out of this thing with you and Ralph?"

Donald shrugged. "I thought we might have a little fun but if you're in a hurry, we can do it some other time." The grin was wolfish but the eyes were dead.

She stood her ground and repeated her question. Donald advised her that until he had his money, nobody was safe.

******

Ralph threw the phone across the store office shattering it against the wall and swore noisily until the pain in his face forced him to stop. The hospital had called him as the person to contact in case of emergency, to inform him of one Orly Ruez's injuries and current condition, also to pass on the information that his car was parked in the suburbs and was unlocked, keys missing.

He had to find Jessica before Carver paid him another visit. What he needed, if he couldn't find Jessica, was a way to find the guy who impersonated Carver at the hotel. First he had to get his car back. How Orly got smashed up would definitely be a priority on his question list.

********

Jessica was anxious to get back to Jeff's place now that she had some idea of the playing field. Carver would investigate Orly and probably inflict a little more damage, which would take a little time- or not. Ralph would still be on the hook for the original plan's failure- or not. She wasn't naïve enough to think that she was off the radar yet. She wheeled the car through traffic and raced back to Jeff's.

She gave the buzzer a violent shove and shaded her eyes as she peered through the door window. No answer. Where the hell was he? She calmed herself, realizing that he wasn't just sitting around for her demands and went back to her car. He's got the money. He promised to hold it for her.

Jessica chewed her lip and stared out the windshield. Was Jeff as nice and honest as she thought? Eight hundred thousand dollars could definitely alter a personality. She took out her cell and dialed his number, surprised when it was answered by Humphrey Bogart saying 'Here's listening to you, kid'. He'd never had his machine on before and she grinned at learning that he had a sense of humour . . . he might need it. She left her message and her cell number and headed back to her house.

It was getting darker and Ralph's car was gone and she wasn't sure if going inside was a good idea so she drove around the block and rang the house. After a few rings it was answered by a bored voice that sounded completely whipped.

"Wendy?"

"Yeah, who's thi- oh, Jessie, that you?"

"Yeah, how come you're home so early, I thought you didn't get home until nine?"

"Tail wind." She laughed rudely and said something away from the phone.

"Is someone with you?" Jessica tensed.

"On all four engines, honey."

"Is this your pilot friend?"

"Indeed, indeed and he's comin' in for a landing as we speak."

Jessica pulled the phone from her ear as Wendy suddenly shrieked with delight. "You wanna book a seat on this flight, babe?"

Jessica laughed. "No thanks, you two enjoy the flight, I'll check in later."

"Okay." As Jessica ended the call she heard Wendy shouting, Geronimo!"

Obviously, there was no ugly surprise awaiting her in the house, unless she counted Wendy's behaviour, so she decided that she would whip back to Jeff's, wait until he showed up, get the money and go while the goin' was good.

********

Ralph paid for the taxi that delivered a pathetic looking Orly from the hospital and set about screaming and yelling at him in spite of the pain in his face. Orly stare mournfully between the huge bandage spanning his smashed nose and the head wrap covering the split in his forehead, which rested atop his eyebrows.

When he ran out of steam, Ralph sat behind his desk and picked up the phone, adjusting his breathing and working himself into a state of relative calm.

"Mister Steinman please," he said when it was answered.

"Steinman."

"Mister Steinman, Ralph Morrison." Silence. "Mister Steinman I'm calling about our little deal, there's been a delay, nothing serious, nothing to worry about but delivery will be a couple of days late."

"Have you been drinking, Ralph?"

"No sir, I had a small accident, broke some teeth."

"I see. Are you positive this is nothing I need to be concerned about, Ralph, because if it is it's best I know now."

"Absolutely, sir. What happened was some flaky woman barged into the VIP lounge interrupted our transfer at the airport and we had to abandon the switch. We're setting up a new time and place so that's why."

"I appreciate the call, Ralph."

The line was silent and Ralph thought the connection was broken and then suddenly the voice continued. "This woman . . . you're certain about her being there accidentally?"

"Definitely, but if you could do me a favour I'll follow up and make sure everyone is satisfied."

"What favour, Ralph?"

"I would like to get the woman's cell phone records just to make sure about the calls she made."

"Calls? This woman made some calls? How would I know whose records to secure, Ralph?"

"Ahh, my uh- my man managed to follow and get her name and address off her luggage tag. I can give it to you?"

Steinman took the information and promised to call back in an hour. Ralph kissed his absentee bottom and groveled disgustingly as he said goodbye.

"Whose number did I get?" Orly mumbled through his gauze disguise.

"Nobody's, stupid. Just shut up and let me think."

In an hour, as promised, Ralph had a list of numbers placed from Jessica's cell phone over the past week. He scratched out her home phone and circled the one remaining number. He tapped the list and squinted into the back of his store. He needed to find a phone now, cursing his earlier action, and reach out to a friend who could put a name to the number.