Episode 8: Another One Bites The Dust

Episode 8: 

ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST

On the way to the warf, Caine Forsythe was all machosim and bravado. "When we get there, you stay with Lila at the club. I don't want to have to worry about you AND dad."

"What is it with you men? First, Lucky slinks off without telling me goodbye and now you want to stash me at the club with Lila. Lila who could double for a bodyguard in a pinch. Lila who looks like an Amazon and a body builder all rolled up into one." Michela sighed. "There is definitely something wrong with this picture.

"I don't see the problem here." Caine maneuvered the truck through the darks streets and headed toward the docks.

"Of course, you don't!" Michela flailed her arms over her head. "I'm a girl. I couldn't possibly be any help in a dangerous situation." Her words were mocking but her meaning was clear. It was not lost on her brother.

"You were just lucky this morning. What were you thinking anyway? A letter opener does not make a lethal weapon!"

"It did this morning!"

Caine pumped his foot on the brake so forcefully, Michela was projected forward. Without a seatbelt, her head made impact with the dashboard.

"Hey, lead foot! Watch it! You could have given me a concussion."

"Maybe if I was lucky, it stimulated the reasoning and logic portion of your brain." Without concern for her bruised head, Caine walked around to the passenger side and puller her out of the truck and off the seat.

"Get inside," he said gruffly.

"Yes, sir, Mr. Macho, sir." Michela saluted him and winced when her hand made contact with her forehead. "Ow! This is your fault," she whined. "You've injured me for life."

Caine shook his head. "If I injured anything, it was your ego."

Lila appeared outside the bar looking more and more like a black Xena Warrior Princess. Michela sent Lila a pained smile and refused to let Caine know exactly how much her head really hurt. When he left the club, she barely noticed.

"What happened to your head?" Lila asked, glancing at the growing purple welt on Michela's forehead.

"I had a nasty run in with a dash board." She attempted to laugh, but the sudden throbbing pain prevented her. She reached for the door handle and missed it on her first try. "I think I might need to sit down."

Lila led her to Caine's office where they kept a couch. Michela plopped down on it. "You rest and I'll let you know if Caine finds anything out about your father."

Michela could only nod as she laid back on the lumpy couch that suddenly felt like heaven.

***

She had killed yet another unassuming plant. Diana Forsythe sighed. Why wouldn’t the infernal things stay alive for her? She pulled the plant out of its watery grave and tossed it into the trash can.

“Another one bites the dust, eh?” Sophia Ferguson, the Forsythe family cook for as long as she could remember was at her usual command center, the kitchen. She looked to be making some of her famous vegetable soup. Her kitchen was flawless, and Diana marveled at the overflowing baskets of ferns and flowers that dotted the room.

“I’m afraid I have an incurable disease,” Diana said sharply, with an undertone of humor. “Black Thumb.”

“Ah, I see.” Sophia nodded. She obviously wasn’t afflicted with the same disease since her kitchen seemed to be in full bloom at all times of the year.

Diana plopped down into one of the tall stools opposite the bar and held her in her hands. “I can save lives but I kill plants. What kind of karma is that?”

Sophia laughed. “Methinks dead plants aren’t what is really bothering you. What’s wrong, cherie?”

“Nothing,” she sighed. “Absolutely nothing.”

“Well, then, methinks that is exactly your problem.”

***

Michela Forsythe’s brain felt like it was exploding. Lights danced before her eyes in a kaladscope of colors and she wasn’t sure which way was up or down. Lila led her to her brother’s office couch, and she leaned back against the cushions.

“Hey, honey. Are you all right?” Lila asked bringing her a glass of water.

Michela nodded. “Just give me a few minutes and I’m sure I’ll be okay.”

“Maybe I should call Caine, make him come back and look at you...” Lila reached for her cell phone, but Michela stopped her.

“NO! Please don’t tell me about this. He’ll just worry. And you know how he is, he’ll just get Diana involved. And she might check me into a hospital...” Michela’s voice trailed off then returned as a whisper. “I can’t go through that again.”

Lila glanced at Michela curiously. What in the world was she talking about, Lila wondered. When in the last six months had she been in a hospital? Lila was sure Caine would have told her of such an incident seeing how close the two of them were. She racked her brain yet she still couldn’t recall a time Michela had been sick enough for a hospital... Unless... Lila could feel her excitement bubbling. Unless Michela was getting her memory back!

***

Lucky Faraday scanned the docks using a specialized infrared scope. Guards dotted the perimeter of the building where intel said Carlos was hiding Quentin Forsythe. So far there was no sign of the elder gentleman, but Lucky wasn’t giving up hope quite yet. If his boss, Harry was correct, this whole nightmare could be over in record time.

A noise from behind had him spinning around. The lone figure was dressed all in black and since Harry was the only one who knew his exact location, he assumed this stranger was a foe and not a friend.

The streetlight left the man’s face in obscurity, but Lucky didn’t need to identify his opponent to fight him. He reached for his holstered weapon and waited for the figure to more into position.

***

Caine Forsythe was not used to all this cloak and dagger crap. He just wanted to play his tunes and run his club and make sure his family was safe. It wasn’t a lot to ask, was it?

The alley where he had spotted Lucky’s Jeep was dark and dank and as eerie as eerie could be. This was exactly the type of place his mother had warned him about. And the notion wasn’t lost on him.

He felt a sudden tingling awareness of danger which put him on guard. Something wasn’t right. It was too quiet. Maybe it hadn’t been such a good plan to come down here without backup.

His awareness proved him right when a man seemingly walked out of the shadows holding a weapon at waist-level. Caine had no time to react. Before he knew what was happening, the man had him in his sights.

The weapon looked to be a semi-automatic that could probably pump about twenty bullets into him before he could turn around and flee. If he wasn’t careful, that might be exactly what the man behind him, pushing him into the warehouse had planned. The man motioned with his gun the direction to follow. Caine complied. It was either that or get shot, and the second option wasn’t looking so peachy.

***

Lucky cursed to himself as he helplessly watched one of Carlos’s goons direct Caine into the stronghold he so longed to conquer. What in the hell was Forsythe doing down here in the first place?

He checked his weapon and began to search for a better vantage point. Lucky managed to evade two guards and peered into the warehouse from the skylight far above the action. He could see Caine, but he didn’t see Quentin. Could their intel be wrong?

Lucky placed a call to Harry and confirmed his suspicions. Quentin wasn’t being held there. But he couldn’t leave Caine inside the fray. He didn’t know anything about what was going on here. He didn’t know how dangerous Carlos’s men could be. Lucky had learned not to underestimate the man.

***

Lila excused herself and went back to closing down the club for the night. The last patron had gone hours ago, but Lila had been so worried about Michela that she hadn’t taken to her usual chores as quickly as possible.

Michela inspected her reflection carefully. She had found a closet full of wigs that Lila used for special events at the club and had donned a long curly blond one just to see what it looked like on her. As the last wisp of black hair found its way under the cap of curls, a pain seized Michela’s head and she fell to the floor.