Authors: MT Dahl
“I didn’t know you had a sister.” said Kim Li.
“She looks like me, only with a pageboy.”
Winnie stepped inside the door with blue plaid pyjamas and crazy
bed hair. On the carpet over by the wall were dresses, heels and clutches—two
pair.
“I’ll go downstairs and make us coffee,” she said.
Kim Li jumped up from under the sheepskin. She was naked and it
was the first time Melanie had seen her close-up fully nude. She was like an
oriental Barbie Doll—only with way bigger boobs.
Melanie followed Winnie down to the kitchen.
Kim Li yelled, “I made an extra key to give to the decorator.”
“You ok?” said Winnie, handing Melanie a coffee.
Melanie touched her cheeks. “Yeah, I guess. Something weird
happened behind that curtain.”
“I know,” said Winnie.
“You said you’d been there before. To The Ball? Why is it called
that? Those women were so tall and everyone had...they were all like the
Man-Rabbit.”
“I went with Alejandra,” said Winnie. “I told you before. We were
behind the curtain the other time too.”
Melanie cracked a water and drank it down with some ritalins,
There was a note on the counter.
Good morning girls. Got the key, gone
shopping, see you soon. Walter.
“Walter.” It registered like an item on a laundry list of things
to do that Melanie had almost forgotten.
“I need some espresso and cupcakes,” she said.
Melanie dressed and went out into the real world. People milled
about on Commercial Drive. aka ‘The Drive’. The pedestrians seemed as though
they’d stepped back off the main grid of reality. They were extras in a movie
pretending to be doing something authentic. Melanie noticed their overt
gestures clearly stated the context of the scene. They were setting the backdrop
for the main characters.
The girl at Starbucks giggled and carefully folded the top of the
bag, “How was The Ball last night?”
“Good,” said Melanie. She suddenly grew suspicious and looked at
the girl. “Did you go?”
“Anything else I can get you?” said the girl ignoring her with vacant
eyes.
“What did you get me?” said Kim Li.
“I’ve gone mad—just so you guys know.”
“Welcome to the club, I’m the president,” said Kim Li.
“I’m secretary I guess,” said Winnie. “Cheers.”
They ripped into the cupcakes and muffins. Winnie picked blueberry
and began peeling top chunks and sipping coffee.
“Here.” Melanie set more waters out on the counter beside the
rest of the goodies. “Drink water too. It keeps us balanced.”
“So Kim Li. Tell me about the blonde. You saw her too.”
“I saw someone at The Ball that looked sort of like you,” said Kim
Li. “Seemed like it
was
you at first. She was with Jack for that tour
around China. ‘Talia’ I think her name was.”
“What do you mean tour? They were together?” said Melanie.
“Jack showed me some intel on Li ops. All internal CIA stuff.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“It was last night,” said Kim Li, looking irritated.
“Ok. Sorry, I didn’t mean anything.”
“Last night, I was with Jack,” said Kim Li. “It was my first time
I was with Man-Rabbit dude. I touched his face Melanie! It had the finest white
fur. What a gorgeous hunk of a man! Oh my god, I’d—”
“Ok I get it,” interrupted Melanie. “Where did you go with him?”
He toured me through these different places in Dongguan City. I’ve
been to some of them before with the parents and cousins on different holidays
and such. Jack brought me around to Li family business warehouses. You know, the
whole dope scene and the slave trade operations.”
“No I don’t know.” She pulled Kim Li by the hips off the counter.
Kim Li dropped her cupcake and it bounced along the floor while she slid down
getting pressed between Melanie and the counter.
“You guys!” said Winnie.
Melanie turned and looked at her while she was pressed up against
Kim Li at the counter.
“I’m doing some writing.” Winnie ran up the stairs and closed her
door loud.
Melanie followed her up.
“What’s up?” she said, sitting beside her. Winnie was on a
sleeping bag on the floor staring at a monolithic block of text on the screen
of her laptop.
“You two,” she said.
“C’mon Win, we’re just getting to know each other.” She rubbed her
bum and thighs softly. “She could never replace you, you know that.”
Winnie turned around. “You sure?”
“Hun percent.”
“Kiss me then,” said Winnie.
Melanie rolled her over and laid on top of her. She kissed her
mouth and nom nommed on her neck then sat up on her. She noticed Winnie’s dress
from The Ball on the floor and realized she was sitting on her again the same
as...
She’d stabbed her!
Melanie felt Winnie’s chest carefully with her fingers expecting to
find a wound. There was nothing. She forced herself to remain calm.
“How did we get there Win? I only remember being there.”
Winnie hesitated and looked around. She narrowed her eyes a bit. She
was a terrible liar.
“Winnie!”
“Alejandra got to me again!”
Melanie pinned Winnie’s shoulders with her knees.
“You saw Alejandra and didn’t tell me?”
“She gave me those bottles of water, special ones, and asked me to
make sure we all drank one. Then I was to take you guys in a cab out to that
address in Shaughnessy.”
Winnie made her face look terrified. She was still a terrible
actress.
“You lied to me, deliberately?” Melanie smacked Winnie’s face—both
sides.
“It wasn’t a lie Melanie! I’m telling you now!”
Winnie started up with her crocodile tears right away.
“Don’t fuck with me Winnie.”
Winnie poured it on. She rubbed her face and mouth making
everything turn red as though she’d been crying for an hour.
“Okay. Let’s not worry about it right now.” Melanie bent down and
kissed Winnie’s lips again. “I forgive you.”
Melanie loved kissing her when she’d cried. It felt so warm and it
seemed to be he closest they ever got.
Winnie grinned and wiped the tears away. “It was fun though,
wasn’t it?”
“Yeah, it was weird fucked-up fun. I still don’t remember
everything.”
Winnie rolled over and got back to her writing.
On the way back down, Melanie stopped and sat on the stair. She
realized that Winnie didn’t feel any guilt over her allegiance to Alejandra.
She could lie or do anything and then just move on to the next thing without a
thought. It wasn’t despicable though. It was beautiful and innocent. Winnie could
just move on from one thing to the next without hesitation or reservation. Melanie
realized that she’d been like that herself with everyone and had been all of
her life. Then as she stood, it occurred to her that she’d been looking all
over for something that the Man-Rabbit called love and Winnie had been right there
all along. She ran the rest of the way back downstairs. Kim Li had gone out.
The idea that her and Winnie were in love played in her mind. Was that really
possible? It was only a game to them. They’d decided love was out of reach. It
was unreal, something they’d constructed. What was this other love thing? It
plagued her once again.
There were so many questions and loose ends to do with The Ball,
with Alejandra, with everything, that she decided to call Holmes and see if he
could help. Holmes informed her that another video feed to Alejandra’s computer
had come up. He relayed it to Melanie’s laptop.
Melanie recognized immediately that it was Kim Li’s necklace! The
one that she’d been covetous of this morning. By the time Melanie got the feed
set up on her laptop Kim Li was down at The No.5 and she could see her every
move.
“Hey girl, we miss you around here!” shouted Billie.
“Just a bit of a break,” Kim Li shouted back.
Melanie watched the screen. Kim Li’s necklace cam showed her
exiting through the alley and out onto Powell Street. Kim Li made a call and
stood by the corner store.
Pretty grey day. She knew she felt love for Kim Li, this girl
she’d only just met. It was on par with Winnie. That was impossible. Now she
was confused again. About love, about the whole thing. Then a pair of
headlights in the view from Kim Li’s cam broke her spell. A limo pulled up to
the curb and stopped in front of Kim Li.
Here we go, some rich guys were going to ask Kim Li to ‘party’.
Kim Li stepped up to the smoked glass window and as it rolled down
she bent over to talk.
“Sorry baby just waiting for a friend,” said Kim Li.
Melanie’s mouth dropped open. Through the necklace cam she saw
Alejandra in the limo.
“Hello again,” said Alejandra in her cool, sexy voice. “Hop in.
I’ll give you a ride.”
The sight of Alejandra gripped Melanie’s heart. She touched the
screen. Alejandra spoke on the phone while Kim Li slid in beside her onto the
white leather seat. Melanie could even hear Kim Li’s heart from the necklace
cam. A low dark thump. Melanie touched her own heart and remembered what Cara
used to say to her all the time.
Tú mi corazón
.
Melanie could feel the excitement in Kim Li. She could see it in
her face and gestures. Everything was very, very wrong. Melanie’s stomach
hatched a world of butterflies. She felt her face drain and heart rate jump.
She turned away.
“How can this be happening?” She realized she just screamed it to
herself in a growly voice.
Her hands tingled madly and she made fists. Alejandra had stolen Kim
Li—they were her, her loves! Both of them. They had stolen each other.
Melanie crushed and chopped an Abby on the dresser. She grabbed
the cut straw and snorted back two fat lines, then fell on the bed and watched
more on the video feed.
“I hope you will join me for dinner,” said Alejandra. “We should
really get to know one another.”
“I’d like that,” said Kim Li.
Alejandra placed her hand on Kim Li’s thigh and slid it down under
her skirt. Melanie turned away again. She couldn’t stand to watch. Some
Turkish pop music with a seductive female vocalist played in Melanie’s ears as
she struggled to not look. Then she turned back again and saw they were on
Knight Street heading south.
Toward the Fraser River. Sea Island. The airport.
“No!” She’d screamed to herself again. Winnie probably heard.
She’d go tell her. She wanted to find comfort with Winnie. She felt hot as she
walked to Winnie’s room and knew she wanted her, to be touching her skin all
over.
“Hey you! Time for a break, let’s—”
Melanie scanned Winnie’s room. Her laptop and leather jacket were
gone.
31
Melanie lay awake, watching the monitor. She’d slept a few hours,
woke and watched the screen some more. When she saw Winnie had gone out to the
airport to meet them, Melanie snorted some oxys then passed out again. Now she
and Kim Li were both with Alejandra.
How could this be happening? It wasn’t real. The curtain would
part and they’d be back in London playing on the couch. Or she’d be on the
island. Something. Then she looked at the screen and it was blurry. The bottom
of everything fell. Like all her blood was seeping through her pores into the
bed and she was just going to die. She wanted to cut herself. All the way. It
was the first time in a month that had come to her mind.
She got up and paced. She wanted to be there with them. Why hadn’t
she just stayed with Alejandra? She’d be sitting with them right now. All
together.
Alejandra, Kim Li, and Winnie were in a jet all night. The GPS
located them off the coast of Sri Lanka. Tears came to Melanie’s eyes. She
wasn’t sure if she could cry. Maybe she’d picked up Winnie’s crocodile tear
act. Winnie had told her she couldn’t, yet here she was—an ad for the amazing
doll that could cry real tears.
Melanie took the straight razor out of her pocket and folded it
the blade out. She was the doll who could cry real tears and shed real blood.
She wanted them to see. She touched it on her wrist with barely any pressure
and blood came off of the small line she’d made. She set it on the bed and
swigged Jack Daniels. A long, long drink. She picked up the blade again. It had
been Vic’s. He’d killed with it. She’d killed with it. She glanced back at the
three women she loved on the screen and put the blade to her wrist.
“Knock, knock.”
Someone had rapped on the door and spoke at the same time. Melanie
folded the blade and stuck it back in her pocket as though someone had found
her out. At the first sound of it she was broken from her far away place. She
perked her ear toward her bedroom door. The sound. It was the voice she knew
but didn’t. Was this happening? Was she going to the island again? She looked
at the blood on her wrist and licked it off. The taste of blood was always
reality.
“Hello?” said the voice again.
Melanie looked at her bedroom door and froze. It was happening. Inside
she bounced from one end of the universe to the other. It was the Man-Rabbit’s
voice! She was sure of it. She couldn’t move. She glanced around expecting to
be whisked away from her bedroom any second. To appear on the island or to be
walking down a street somewhere. She looked down at the floor thinking it would
be sand. Or maybe blood surrounding a body cut open.
“Don’t be alarmed. I’ve come to help.”
There it was again! How strange.
Then an Aha! spark jolted her brain. The voice was changing
everything inside her. She rabbited to the door.
Melanie swung it open.
It was him!
AND...She was Mel again!
Her full memory of Mel Willow flooded back into her. She stood
there second by second simply looking at him.
Jack held a finger to his lips.
“Shh.”
He aimed a device that looked like a DVD controller at her dresser
mirror and clicked it. It made a vibrating sound. “There,” he said. “I’ve had
to wait before I could come out and play.”
He chuckled then smiled nervously as Mel looked at him. Her expression
was changing from bewilderment to suspicion to anger. Mel felt her face burning.
This wasn’t the Jack from the island. It wasn’t the Jack she’d seen on the
street beside Vic. It was the Jack she’d seen in the restaurant. And at The
Ball. Everything came at her at once. She stepped closer and locked on his eyes.
Mel was so close that she could feel his slight breath on her lips.
Jack didn’t dare move. His lip trembled slightly.
Mel belted him one with a good smack in the face.
“Ow! What the—”
She pounded her fists on his chest and screamed, “You tricked
me!!”
Jack stood there taking it. After he’d gotten a good round of
punches he grabbed at her flurry of arms trying to stop her. “Hold on Mel,
please! Let me explain!”
That made her go harder again. Jack finally wrapped his arms all
the way around her and held on. “Can you please just calm down for a minute!” He
spoke in his deepest fatherly like voice. She scowled and he let her go.
“I had to stay in the background Mel. It was important for the
whole mission.”
Mel sat on the bed. The life drained out of her. The entire
pressure of the world had collapsed. Gravity ended. Nothing mattered now. She
felt the blade in her pocket. But he was here. Nothing fell into nothing. She
dropped back onto the bed and went silent for minutes that might have been
hours. Then she sat up again.
“That was you at the restaurant! Why did you do that to me?”
“Yes. I’m sorry about that love.” He was trying on his British
accent to soften her. And it was working. Sort of.
“You’re not a Brit, so quit it. Fuck! I could just punch you.”
“I know you’re mad. You have every right.”
“I mean, I could really hurt you,” she said.
She stood from the bed. He looked at the determination in her eyes
and perhaps even felt a little fear. Mel pounced. Jack closed his eyes. She
landed on him koala style.
“I need to get Winnie back,” she whispered in his ear.
He took a moment of relief. “I know you’re very close with her
and you’ve been friends for a long time. I just don’t remember her that well.”
Mel got down and flopped over onto the bed. Put her legs straight
up in the air in a yoga pose. Everything had manic flipped.
“Winnie
has nice full lips that come out and pout like they have something to say.
They’re like a Moorish woman’s lips. Recessive gene maybe. She’s is 5'6' with a
popcorn nose, a roundish face, thirteen countable freckles and thick light
chocolate-brown hair that's wavier sometimes when it's damp out. She doesn't
brush it a lot which is why it's always threatening to dread. She has baby hair
at her hairline, pale English girl skin, small corner up curls on her mouth, a little
more on the left, her eyes are hazel but look greenish, thick eyebrows, the
left raised a tad naturally, D cup firm boobs, shelfy trunk, round shoulders,
big calves and spider fingers like her mom.”
Mel
put her legs down and sat up, looked right at Jack.
“And
when she drums them on the table you think her hand will detach and run across
it. She has racoon eyes half the time depending on how much she's using, small
stubby lickable toes and no baby toenail on the left foot.”
Melanie
stopped finally. She could have gone on and on. Jack seemed to be content that
she wasn’t punching him anymore.
“We
have got to find that girl,” said Mel.
“We will,” said Jack.
“I didn’t know you were...” She was at a loss. Too many pieces
from too many dimensions.
“I’ll never forget London,” he said. “Or Greece.”
“No, I mean the Man-Rabbit.”
“Oh, that! I’ve missed our little game too Mel,” said Jack.
He moved in to kiss her and she jumped off the bed away from him. Not
that she didn’t feel like having him on top of her.
“Game?” Mel’s arms dangled helplessly by her sides again.
Everything rose up and then drained out of her again. She was trying to
remember the details. “Greece?” she said.
“That was where we played it. I had the rabbit costume, remember?”
“No! I don’t!”
Mel wanted to tell him that even though it was obvious they had a
history together, it was something she couldn’t remember. From the island. From
the kills. His picture in the margarine container. He was there as the Man-Rabbit
in the murders. From, from... But? She tried to mix and match to find a way to make
her thoughts into words. It revolved in her mind as a question and nothing
would come out.
Mel grumbled and started to turn away. Jack grabbed her.
“Mel, I know everything about you. Every breath. You can help us
against the Russians. They’ve got their hooks in Kim Li now.”
“You’re freaking me out,” she said.
“I’m sorry Mel. You never really knew. When we met four years ago
you were surrounded by the Russian mob in England. The CIA put me in undercover
and that was when we...you know...we met at
Club Lick
.”
Mel was pacing around the room thinking how Jack was like a little
boy. Like all the men she’d had at Club Lick. Jack was different though.
“I was the one who caused all this,” said Mel. “I led Alejandra
over here, and that got her onto Kim Li.”
“We know the whole story Mel. We’ve been watching. There wasn’t
much anyone could do. It wasn’t really your fault. And anyway, by the time The
Agency realized what was happening between Alejandra and Kim Li, it was too
late. There’s one good thing that comes out of it though. With Alejandra
breaking away from Lilly, the two smuggling rings, the Russians, and the Li
Triad will still be separate. If Alejandra takes over the Li operations through
manipulating Kim Li and brings it all back to Kutha...”
“Who’s Kutha?”
“One notch above Alejandra. She’s coming for Alejandra right now in
fact. Handling it personally.”
“What about Winnie and Kim Li? Why is she so obsessed?”
“Alejandra wants them both and she wants to turn you as well Mel.”
Mel could still feel the punctures Alejandra had made in her body.
The love or whatever she’d done to her was hovering below the surface.
“Alejandra only ever wanted you because you were Lilly’s pet. She
sort of coveted you. It was like a competition. I remember how obsessed they
both were was when I was under cover. I was Lilly’s go to guy in the Russian’s London
scene. Lilly even had me sent to the States after you and I had our little affair
and trip to Greece. She was furious and almost put a hit out on me. You didn’t
remember any of it for some reason and whenever we met in the years after that
you didn’t recognize me. Now Alejandra wants to get back at Lilly so she’s double-crossed
her and is trying to take you away from her. Everything’s gone ballistic. Now Georgy
is on the run too.”
“What?”
“Lilly caught wind that he’d been messing with the girls at the
club. And he had some history in cahoots with Alejandra that Lilly found out
about. When he discovered Lilly was on to him he bolted.”
“Georgy bolted?” Mel’s mouth hung open as she continued pacing. She
stopped and looked at Jack. “Why wouldn’t you talk to me at The Ball?”
“How did you even find out about The Ball?” said Jack.
“Winnie took me. She gave us some Alejandra concoction. I was really
messed up.”
“You shouldn’t have been there,” said Jack.
“What was that cult or whatever behind the curtain in the balcony.
Who are they? Who’s Talia?”
“That’s classified,” said Jack.
“Fuck classified!” said Mel. She pointed at the zapper in his
hand. “What about that?”
“A specially designed directional EMP. Agency issue.”
“English please.”
“It disables electronics, computers, you name it. This one has a
hundred foot range. It’s specially designed by contract for the CIA. Nice
little unit,” said Jack.
“Alejandra’s been monitoring all of you simultaneously, even
Walter.”
Jack walked over to the mirror and tapped it. “That’s what this
is for. These models are two way.” The techno geek in him muttered away about
it. “Some of these models even have holographic capabilities.” He tapped the
glass and looked at the back of the mirror. “Yeah, I’ve heard about these. This
unit is worth about fifty G’s.”
He shifted angles and continued examining. “She’s got backing from
her father. He’s Russian military. He skimmed so much money you couldn’t even
fathom the digits. And he loves his pure blood daughters like goddesses. Do
anything for them. And meanwhile, Alejandra is off the rails completely and her
father doesn’t know. Her mother does though. Oh boy. Now that’s a relationship
to behold. Lilly and Alejandra”
Jack was talking to himself.
He looked over at Mel. “Sorry, too much information.”
“I’ve been watching them all night,” said Mel walking over to her
laptop. “Here’s the video feed from Kim Li’s necklace cam.”
“
I’m
impressed. How did you manage—”
“I’ve
got a guy,” said Mel. She smiled feeling a little cocky. Little spy girl. Her
heart ached and she didn’t understand the pain or the feelings she was having.
They were all completely new.
“
GPS puts them off the coast of Sri Lanka,” she said. Mel
turned up the monitor and they watched the cam monitor them in real time. The interior
of the jet was decorated like a Egyptian harem. Kim Li and Alejandra were
stretched out on the giant pillows in the center of it all.
“Finish your
drink,” said Alejandra. “We’ll be arriving soon.”