Monday, February 19, 2007

Double Trouble! 9.

I left The Outsider at the corner of the street where 'Muggins' Malone lived. Her black smoky form ran down the street until it vanished from sight. I settled back in my driving seat to wait for her, bringing up my own internet connection on one of the screens in the dashboard.
I typed my search parameters into my custom search engine. Scruff manufactured it for me, it's a tad more intelligent than Google, and it looks for the things I particularly want. There are chatrooms criminals use to talk to one another and to plan. They do it in code, of course, but I know the code.
Then I had another idea. I went to the Black Kitten's blog.

There was that familiar black-masked face, and 'The Black Kitten Strikes'.
Dear World. Mr. Moriarty wants to do me some harm. Well, I'm going to do him a lot more harm, because I'm going to wreck his organization for good. He doesn't know how much I know about him and his operation - isn't that fun? So he won't know where I'm going to strike next.

I had a bad feeling about this. The Black Kitten sounded way too cocky for her own good. She might well just go barging in there and get herself captured. A girl doesn't want to get captured by Moriarty, because he's a sadistic so-and-so. I left a comment on her blog:
Kitten, don't let him capture you. He's VERY nasty.

Like she was going to listen to me, but I felt I'd done my duty. She's just about Scruff's age, and somehow I felt responsible for this girl who'd pinched my gimmick. Even though the cat costume's hardly original.
I waited, my system automatically refreshing the page every minute. At last another comment came up, from the Black Kitten herself.
I can take care of myself, Grey Girlie. I know Moriarty.

She probably did at that, I reflected. If she was a mobster's daughter she'd be very close to him and to sources of information I don't have access to. That could work in my favour, but on the other hand it might not.
"How's the search going, Grey?" Scruff's voice came over the secure link.
"Fine, Scruff. Emily's just checking on Pat Malone. If she's asleep in bed that rules her out, since the Black Kitten's online."
"Great, and that leaves Belle Olivers. Is she the daughter of Guiseppe Olivera?"

"Or Joe Olivers as he calls himself these days? Yes. Her parents are both Cockneys..."
"I know Joe. Head of the London branch of the Mafia. Charming if you don't get on his bad side. If you do, you take a nap with the fishes."
"From which you don't wake up?"
"Exactly. You know your gangsters. So you see why I'd rather not break into his daughter's bedroom. He might get the wrong idea."
"He might. I'll see if I can hack into his security system."
"He's got one?"
"Yes. And it's linked to the web. My way in."
I love my team.

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