Scott entered the Nightbirds Lounge while the rest waited in a condemned hotel across the street. Tracker stood behind the door, its glass painted over, holding it open a crack to watch. After a few minutes, a man in a business suit opened a panel behind the old storefront window and climbed in, followed by Scott. Tracker focused his senses on the two men, the glass giving their voices a faintly tinny resonance.
The man reached out to a display of several photographs and took down a picture. The caption at the bottom read ‘Mademoiselle Antoinette.’ He handed the picture to Scott. “Keep it as long as you need it.”
”Thanks. Did she say anything at all about why she left, or where she went? Any family?”
The man shook his head. “No, no family. Or, at least, none here. She was French, spoke with a real sexy French accent. She was one of those wandering types, you know, here one day, gone the next. It seems odd she’d leave without collecting her paycheck. I spoke to her the last day she was here and she said nothing about leaving. She did seem kinda drawn-looking though, you know what I mean? I asked about it and she said she hadn’t been sleeping very well, something about nightmares.”
Scott nodded and handed him a card. “Call this number, please, if you see or hear from her. I need to find her, for her own protection. And thanks, you’ve been a great help.”
”Hey, no problem. I’m always glad to help a guy like you, Mr. Nolan. My cousin and his wife were on the Sea Star when you stopped those terrorists. I’ve been a fan of yours ever since! Say, could I get you to autograph the back of this card? Matt and Ginny would treasure it.”
Scott took the proffered pen and wrote his name on the back of the card, then shook the man’s hand, turned and climbed back out of the window. A moment later he walked across the street to the warehouse where the others waited.
”Well, we have a face now,” he announced. “This is Anoinette Duval.”
The others gathered around. Tracker studied the woman in the photograph. She stood slender and long-limbed, clothed only in long black hair. Fast and agile, for a human, he analyzed thoughtfully. She stood with her back to the camera, looking at them over her shoulder. Fine-boned, with high cheekbones, her face showed liquid dark eyes and a wide, mobile mouth. He memorized her features for later identification in the hunt.
Red gave a slow whistle of appreciation. “Lord, she is gorgeous!”
”Oh, wow!” Jay exclaimed, “That’s what we’re chasing? Now I know why I joined the Defenders.”
Red grinned. “May I quote you to Mandy? I’m sure she’d be ever so interested.”
”Hey.” Scott withdrew the photo. “I don’t mind you guys drooling, but you’re getting my hand wet. Let’s get back to work finding her, okay?”
”At your service, master boss-man, sir,” Jay said, with a mock salute.
”Here’s what I think we’ll do,” Scott said. “Jay, I want Lady to keep a sky-watch for us. Tracker, keep out of sight for now; you can wait here or in the hovervan. After it gets dark, you can scout around again. Red, I want you to go in as a customer. Take a table, watch the dancers.”
Red grinned. “Boy, why do I get all the tough jobs?”
”Aw, you’re breaking my heart,” Jay complained.
Scott ignored them. “Watch for her. Pour your drinks on the floor if you have to. Don’t get drunk and don’t get so distracted with the ladies that you might miss her. I’ll find a spot and watch the back door.”
”Any idea what the connection is between Miss Duval and the tiger?” Tracker asked. “They’re linked, somehow; any chance it’s not two, but one?”
”I don’t know,” Scott said with a shrug. “We know Cartel is hunting for her, and I’m betting that Blacksnake wants her as well as the tiger. We know that both she and the tiger were around here. Even if they are separate, I’m betting they’re tied as closely as Jay, here, is to his hawk, Lady.
”Anyway, let’s get to work on finding her.”
#
They met back at the hovervan after the club closed for the night.
”So,” Red said, “she didn’t show up at the club. What do we do next?”
Scott rubbed his chin. “Well, Blacksnake has tried running her down and it didn’t work very well. She’s going to regard his group as enemies.”
Jay laughed. “Now why would she come to that conclusion, just because they tried to gas her and blast her?”
Scott gave him a quelling look and continued. “We need to apprehend her, but we don’t need to antagonize her if we can help it. We don’t know much about her, but I would like to get her to come with us willingly, if possible.
”We know where she lived and where she worked. She’s likely still here, even though Blacksnake’s criminals and Cartel harassed her. Therefore, I’m thinking that there’s probably something she wants in one of those two places. It could be her paycheck at the Nightbirds, since it’s been waiting for her two weeks or so.
”Tracker. You said that the scent traces were a couple weeks old?”
”Yes, sir,” Tracker replied, “at least in the apartment. A couple of the tiger traces were more recent but without going into some of the more populated areas I couldn’t track the girl very well.”
”Okay. So, she hasn’t been seen for the last couple of weeks, and according to the police captain, the tiger hadn’t been active for the last couple of weeks as well until yesterday. Now the tiger’s been seen and Cartel is hunting for her again. For some reason, they’ve both been out of action. Even if what she wants is her paycheck, she’ll probably go back to her apartment as well. We’ll stake out both her apartment and the club, since they are close together. I’ll take her room. Red, you take the club. My guess is that she’ll come to the rooming house, and since you can fly, you can get there quickly. Jay, cruise around overhead. I know your night vision isn’t anything exceptional, but you’ll be able to give us somewhat of an overview and might spot something we can’t see from the ground. Tracker, it’s your nose and ears that are going to mean the most for us now. Scout on the ground and try to pick up her trail again.”
”We don’t want to come on with the rough stuff, so, Jay, when we find her, float her off her feet so we can catch her. That should be the least likely to injure her.”
