The Primal Connection (14 page)

Smyth didn’t want to speculate. The mayor had access to plenty of money, he was sure, but what he was willing to part with was another matter. He debated on lying but thought better of it. Bridger’s kind wasn’t likely to forgive one, and since there was no leverage against him, only his good graces made him available when they needed him. Best keep things on the up and up.

“I wouldn’t dare make a guess what the mayor’s finances are. But in the case here, I have no doubt it will be worth your time at least to investigate. I made some inquiries through his aides, and they were positive, but the mayor strikes me as being a bit of an ass. But if it’s any help, I think you can be a great help here. You can save some lives, Terry. That’s gotta count for something.”

Terry looked over and realized that dinner was on the way. And Traci was looking a bit impatient. And Charlie was, for some reason, abnormally quiet. In any case, the final call was his. And like he had already said, his last act of philanthropy had left his coffers a little bare.

“Tell you what, Talbot, you tell the mayor’s people that I’ll be there Monday. Between now and then, you set up the best deal you can get for me—”

Smyth cut him off. “Whoa, whoa, whoa, cowboy! I’m still in the bureau. I can’t be your agent!”

“Didn’t ask you to be! But you can spread the word on what I can do and how I operate. That’s all. You don’t have to sell them anything. Just tell them the facts and let them choose. Meanwhile, send me whatever you have on this fucker, and I’ll take a look at it. Hell, I’ll even give you another day. Look for me Monday. That’ll gimme time enough to wrap up here.”

Smyth was confused. “Wrap up what? Are you working on a case out there?”

Terry grinned as he answered laconically. “Haven’t you heard? All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.”

Catching the drift, Smyth smiled back at the phone. Terry was, if nothing else, consistent.

Traci had listened to the one side of the conversation without any knowledge of what it meant, but even so, she could feel its importance from just the little she had heard. She knew there was something different about this guy just from what she had seen before she got laid by him. Now, she realized there was more to him than even she had thought.

She didn’t know if there was anything more she could do, but she did know what she wanted to do. So, as Terry killed the phone, she slid across the bed to rest her head on his chest, in what was becoming her favorite position.

She was still trembling from her earlier orgasms. She was amazed by the intensity of them. And that despite the fact it had been the first she had had in months that wasn’t self-induced, she was so ready for another one really soon.

As she thought about it, she began licking at Terry’s chest again, finding a nipple and sucking it hard enough to draw a gasp from him. And an unexpected reaction.

“Whoa, baby, don’t we have some food coming?”

She popped her head up, looking almost angry. “Look, I was just…I mean, if you don’t feel like it…”

“Never said that. What I said was we got food coming. And I need to keep up my strength to keep up with you, you oversexed little harlot! That pussy of yours feels like it has a fifth-degree black belt. The least you can do is gimme a fighting chance!”

Traci smiled again, flattered by the off-handed compliment.

Terry smiled back, genuinely pleased by the fact that he made her smile. Thanks to Charlie, Terry was more than capable at the moment, but he did want to eat and to let Charlie find out what he could from her Chrliti, despite the fact that he hadn’t heard from him for a while. He wasn’t even sure he knew about the newest job.

It wasn’t like Charlie to disappear like this. Usually, he was always butting in, goodheartedly but still…

At that moment, he was saved from further contemplation by a knock at the door. Apparently, the restaurant owner was anxious to impress.

Terry grabbed his pants and began pulling them on.

Traci, meanwhile, simply grabbed a hundred off the table and wrapped herself in a towel with a deft motion that showed it was definitely not her first time. A second later, she opened the door to find a twenty-year-old carrying a pair of portable ovens and some Styrofoam carrier plates.

He looked up to see the woman standing in front of him in nothing but a towel, and his mouth dropped open.

Traci was a beautiful woman and she knew it, but the look in his eyes was gratifying in itself.

“Hi, Cliff.”

“Hello, Traci. I didn’t know it was you. You look… good!”

“Thanks, Cliff. You guys are getting faster!”

The kid smiled broadly. “We aim to please.”

Traci smiled back. “Well, here’s for a job well done.” With that, she motioned him to put the carriers on the desk and pull out the others in the ovens and do the same with them. Once he had, she handed him the hundred with a smile, saying, “Keep the change. And say hi to Paulie when you get back.”

The kid nodded, still smiling.

Then, he finally noticed Terry, standing off to the side and smiling himself.

It was easy to see the kid had a crush on Traci. Probably saving up for a shot at her, both money and nerve.

His eyes widened slightly as he noted Terry’s physique and the scars from wounds that he couldn’t imagine. He felt his stomach tighten. To him, this guy looked like he could be a cop. Or a killer. And he scared him.

He wet his suddenly dry lips, stuttering a goodbye as he slipped the money in his pocket and headed out the door.

Terry wondered what the conversation would be like when he got back to the shop.

As soon as he left, Traci smiled at Terry, saying, “I think you scared him a little.”

“Me? What did I do?”

Traci huffed at him. “Don’t be dense. You look like an X-box character come to life. Complete with battle scars. Most of the guys around here that look like that are old, tired or drunks. And I don’t usually hang around with them. He knows that.” She added in a lower voice, “He knows all about my habits.”

“So he knows you. It’s a relatively small town. And you are a very pretty girl, hooker or not. He’s a young guy with a perpetual hard-on. I really doubt he’s the only one in this town that uses you to push him over the edge when he jacks off.”

Traci looked almost embarrassed.

Terry hoped Charlie would be able to shed some light on her and those habits she spoke of.

Neither of them knew that as the boy left, he was wishing all sorts of bad things on Terry.

“Well, in any case,” he took a long sniff, “this shit smells great. What say we pig out for a few? Who knows? I’ve been known to improve after a good meal.”

Traci laughed in an almost-tinkling voice. “I hope not. You get any better, I may owe
you
!”

Terry found himself flattered by that one. Enough that he decided to try something.

“Okay, we’re sitting down to dinner, after which, we are going to go back to bed and do some more dirty. The least I think I earned is a name.”

Traci looked at him and said, smiling, “My name is Traci Powers. And if you need more, I was born in Whitney Point, New York. I’m twenty-seven, no kids, one ex-husband who has a passion for old cars, comic books and other men that do as well. I’ve been hooking for three years. I lived in Chicago until about seven months ago.”

For a second, something flashed across her eyes that Terry couldn’t read. It smacked of pain from a loss as well as anger that Terry couldn’t grasp and was afraid to ask. There would be time enough for that.

When? He was acting like he was planning some kind of a future. Of a relationship. Something he hadn’t had in years. Something he had avoided for years from fear of what it meant while he had Charlie locked inside of him. At first, the thought was more than he could stand, trying to be intimate with Charlie watching his every move, but he had adapted enough that he was at least able to be here now. He had learned to trust Charlie and that had brought him here.
Had he grown used to him enough to make his presence a non-issue?
He suddenly found he hoped so.

But then what? She was a hooker. Even if he did want something to develop, did he really think she did as well?

Terry decided that the best he could do was roll with it. The night was still relatively young. Who knew if thirty minutes from now she wouldn’t just pick up the money and run?

So, he just decided to let things go the way they would on their own. Either way, he had a great memory so far and the night was far from over.

“All right, Traci Powers. Like I said, my name is Terry. Terry Bridger. I was born in San Francisco. I’m thirty years old, no wife, no kids, damn few friends and fewer enemies. I was a ranger in the army…and a cop for about a year. I technically am still a private investigator, but these days, I do mostly consulting work, usually for the FBI. I make fairly good money at it, but I have very simple needs so I don’t use much.”

Traci looked at him and shook her head. “Whew. That was a mouthful.”

“Just thought it needed to be said. Now, how about this meal you said was so good?”

“Coming right up.”

With that, she grabbed the plastic forks and one of the carriers, shoving it to him playfully as she took hers to sit on the bed, giggling like a schoolgirl.

He slipped up beside her and tore into his.

He had no idea he was so hungry, but then, neither had she. Charlie’s manipulations notwithstanding, both of them were really starving and the food was excellent. Terry went out and found the soda machine and brought back two apiece. Other than that, they ate in silence.

That is until Terry’s phone chirped, alerting him of an incoming file. He looked at the face to see it was from Smyth. A few quick flicks and he was reading it. It wasn’t a fun read.

According to what they had gathered on this guy for the last eight months, he had terrorized the local cabs in Chicago. How they had managed to keep it off the news was beyond Terry, but after all, it was Chi-town. Control of the media was almost a given there.

Still, this stretched the boundaries of even that place. Six drivers dead in eight months was the official count, the last being less than forty-eight hours old. According to Smyth, that number could be conservative. He had come on at what was listed as the second murder, but his gut told him there were more out there they had no idea about.

That was the last real piece of evidence they had, because the rest was nothing but guesswork. In short, they had nothing. Terry was almost surprised it had taken them so long to call him in. He was no braggart, but he knew his worth and so did Smyth. He could only guess that politics were in the way. Which always led to trouble.

It was then he noted the city again. Chicago. Where Traci was from.

For a second, he wondered how that worked. The first woman he had in months and she happens to be from the town he gets an assignment to while he’s with her. The universe either had a weird sense of humor or the oddest timing imaginable.

Still, if she worked the streets in Chicago, it was likely she could know something without knowing that she knew.

Or more likely, her Chrliti would.

Thinking about the Chrliti reminded him that he still hadn’t heard from Charlie for a while. While he ate, he decided to try and fix at least that.

“Charlie? Charlie! Are you there?”

For a minute, Terry felt flushed by all manner of emotions, from elation to despair. He could adapt to losing Charlie. The hard part for him was that for the first time, he realized he would miss him if he were gone.

There was no need for sentimentality though, as Charlie suddenly opened up with a barrage of his own.

“I’m right here, dammit, stop yelling.”

“Sorry, I just—”

“Hold on! You aren’t touching her!”

Terry felt his confusion adding to Charlie’s. “No, we haven’t been touching since I got the call from Smyth. You remember him, don’t you?”

“Of course. British, if I recall. But that’s not the point. Terry, I’ve been talking to Mir, her Chrliti, ever since right after I made her realize she was hungry!”

Now, Terry could see why Charlie was excited. This was a monumental discovery. Made even bigger by his next words.

“I’m still in contact with him now!”

Terry looked at the woman across the bed from him. All at once, a voice cut through his mind. One that he didn’t recognize.

“Who are you talking to?”

Terry responded.
“Who the fuck is that?”

For the second time in a day, Charlie found himself stuttering.
“I…he must…I mean…hold on.”

With that, he shattered the connection to Mir and then returned his attention to Terry again.
“I don’t understand how that happened!”

Terry was apoplectic.
“How what happened? How the fuck did this guy manage to hear me?”

Charlie thought for a moment. Then, as if he had been struck by the thought, he almost shouted,
“It has to be the closeness of her bio-fields to being a match to yours! When the two of you had sex, hers must’ve synchronized with yours! I guess, that given the two of you,you've formed a new aura that both Mir and I can exploit.”

Terry didn’t need to guess how happy that made Charlie. But he still had one question.

“If he heard you talking to me, is that gonna be a problem?”

“Not on my end, but who knows how it might affect him.”

Terry made sure that Traci was still concentrating on her food. It wouldn’t do for her to begin to think of him as crazier than she already thought he was. Satisfied that she was oblivious, he went on.

“Affect him how?”

“Unknown. The trouble is there are any number of deleterious effects to him or to me. The history of interaction between our people has no precedent for this.”

“
Okay, new plan. Go in and find out what’s going on. And keep him off the grid as far as senses go.
”

Charlie let a hint of disappointment creep into his voice.
“Really, Terry. Is a little restraint too much to ask now?”