mobster mash

Athena's couch was more comfortable than the motel rooms Max was used to. If not a motel bed, it was usually the back seat of his car. At least he didn't feel like he was going to catch a disease from the pillows there.

When he woke up, he was too groggy to do much. He went to get his clothes out of the laundry before he stretched out Dr. Winters' clothes beyond recovery. It wasn't really his color, anyways. Max tended to stick to black and grey, or whatever helped him blend into the background and avoid attention. Partially because of petty gang rivalry, but a small part was that he was actually a pretty shy person. He could play tough and thuglike like he did for Herman, but he was a lot quieter in reality.

When Athena came back from her office visits downstairs, she looked nearly dead. Her skin was grey and her eyes dull. She was a little startled at first when she saw Max, then seemed to remember that she was the one who put him there. He frowned and looked her over.

"Hey, you really need some sleep," he said slowly.

"No, I'm fine," she assured him. "My appointments ran a little late today, thats all."

"Are you using a chip clip to hold your hair back?"

"No, it's my hair clip."

Max reached behind her and took the clip out of her hair to show her that it was indeed a clip intended to keep chip bags closed. She grimaced and took the clip back, shoving it into her pocket.

"Easy mistake," she grumbled.

"Seriously, you need to sleep," Max repeated. "You're no use to anyone like this. Especially your dad."

"I told you, I'm fine."

Max sighed. Words weren't going to cut it. Instead, he lightly shoved her back. While he made sure to stay gentle, even the light push had her stumble and nearly fall over. She glared at him as she caught herself.

"What the hell was that for?"

"Get back up if you feel fine," he shrugged.

She stood up straight, only for Max to push her back again. She scowled and caught herself on the table.

"If your dad is being held by the Red Queen, there are ten guys like me standing guard around him," Max told her. "If I can push you over like this and frustrate you so easily, they'll take you out in seconds."

This finally seemed to get through to her, even if she didn't like it. She was quiet for a few moments, then nodded.

"Okay," she said reluctantly. "I'll take a power nap. Quick."

"If it makes you feel better, I can wake you up in a couple hours," Max said.

"Yes. Thank you."

Max didn't actually intend on waking her up until she had at least four hours of sleep, but he probably wouldn't need to do so. She was out cold the second her head hit the pillow. Max stood there and looked around her frilly, girly bedroom. He had every opportunity to just ditch her. She wouldn't be able to find him or fight him on it. Still, he felt guilty doing so. Clearly, she loved her father deeply and he loved her a lot in return to give her such a nice life in such a bleak place.

Instead, Max shuffled into the kitchen to see if he could come up with something for Athena to eat. He didn't really know how to cook since he lived pretty much entirely on fast food and diners, but he was willing to try. He found a cookbook in one of the drawers and flipped through it until he found a relatively easy pasta recipe, but he still managed to struggle.

After a little while, Athena sleepily came out of her room and saw Max trying to maneuver around the kitchen. She furrowed her brow as she sniffed the air.

"Is something burning?" she asked.

"Yeah, I somehow managed to burn butter," Max said. "Sorry. To be fair, I didn't know you could burn butter. I thought it just... like... melted. And that was it. But I cleaned it up and started over, so this one should be good. Um, do you have bowls?"

"Yeah, in the cupboard."

Athena got the bowls and curiously eyed the pasta as she helped herself to a serving. Max chewed on his lip as she took a bite. Thankfully, she didn't start gagging and choking.

"Is it okay?" he asked. "Sorry, I can't cook."

"It's not bad," she said. "Did you use salt?"

"Salt wasn't in the recipe."

"Salt is always in the recipe, Max."

He looked at the book again, then sighed when he saw she was right. For the first time, she laughed lightly.

"It's good," she told him, though he felt like she was just trying to make him feel better. "I was watching my sodium intake, anyways. I appreciate the gesture. I know I've been a little overwhelmed. And I'm sorry I dragged you into it. You can leave if you want."

"Nah," Max said, leaning against the counter. "I actually can't leave."

"Why's that?"

"You helped me out in a bad spot," he said. "Now you're in a bad spot. If I don't give that back, I'd be kind of a dick. Besides, I'm involved now. Whatever this memory card thing is, I'm associated with it just for being around you when you got that call."

"Oh," Athena said softly. "Well, thank you."

They both looked up in alarm when there was a knock at the door. They were quiet at first, but there was a second urgent knock. Max remembered Athena telling him that most people didn't know she and her father lived there.

"Stay back here, I'll answer it," he told her.

She watched cautiously as Max went to answer the door. He only opened it enough to see who was there, using his body to block view of the apartment. A young man was standing there, anxiously looking over his shoulder like he was worried he was being watched.

"Yes?" Max asked dully.

"Oh," the man said, startled. "Um, I'm looking for Miss Winters. Is she home?"

"No," Max said. "Can I take a message?"

"Who are you, exactly?"

"The buxom maid. Who are you?"

"Leonard," the man said. "You can call me Leonard. I have information about Michael Winters."

"What kind of information?"

"I can't say a lot about my involvement, but let's just say I'm close enough to the situation to know some things that can help you."

Max heard a small whimper behind him and glanced back to see Athena covering her mouth with her hands, though her eyes were practically popping out of her skull. Max gave her a questioning look to see what she wanted to do, and she just nodded quickly.

"Fine," Max told Leonard. "Come in. You have a minute to sell your point before we send you down the trash chute."

Leonard seemed grateful to be let inside. The man was probably barely in his twenties, and the grey suit he wore suggested he probably wasn't a street thug. He looked at Athena, then at Max, then back at Athena.

"Is he actually going to hurt me?" he squeaked.

"Only if you're here with bad intent," Athena told him, keeping her tone firm. "Why are you here?"

"I heard you went after Herman Luther," Leonard said. "He's not involved, but he's been complaining about getting roughed up by you. My boss heard about it."

"Who's your boss?" Athena asked.

"Mr. Charles Stratford," Leonard say. "I can't tell you too much about what he does, but he works in the medical industry. What I can tell you is that memory card contains information the Red Queen wants, which is why she took your father."

"Thank you, genius," Max grunted. "We already knew that."

"My father isn't involved in any shady stuff," Athena argued.

"Actually, he is," Leonard told her. "He's been working with my employer on the project stored in that card for a few years now. It's a formula that helps cope with cryopane addiction. Mr. Stratford runs several rehab facilities around the city, and having this formula for the medication will boost his business. The Red Queen controls the cryopane industry, and naturally doesn't want the addicts having a way to quit."

"So if this card is missing, what's her issue?" Athena asked.

"It's not in a gutter somewhere," Leonard explained. "Someone has it. That's why she's scared. She wants to have the formula for herself, so she can control the manufacturing of the medication and sell it herself. In other words, she's charging people for cryopane and wants to charge them even more to get off of it. That's why she has your father. She has him working in a lab to recreate it. He's working slow, so she has you looking for the missing card. Regardless, she gets the medicine in the end."

"You know where he is," Athena realized. "You're working for her, then."

"Well, um-"

"He's a double agent," Max said. "The absolute worst. Have some fucking loyalty."

"I want this memory card as bad as you do," Leonard said. "I have three brothers on cryopane. Trust me, I'm on your side here. But I can only help you to a certain extent. All I can do is tell you that your father is alright, but you still need to find this card."

"How do we know he's safe?" Athena asked.

"Uh, it's kind of gross, but..."

Leonard reached into his pocket and took out a single crew sock, which was orange with purple polka dots on it. Athena snatched it out of his hand with wide eyes. She felt something in the sock and took out a small note. Max glanced over her shoulder to read it.

I'm safe. Be smart, stay vigilant. -Dad

"It's his handwriting," Athena confirmed.

"They can't hurt him," Leonard told her. "They want you to believe they are, and they're not exactly being friendly to him, but he really is safe. He has to be if they expect him to work in the lab."

"Good," Athena said with a relieved sigh. "At least we're not on a lethal time crunch yet."

"No, but I need to make sure this card ends up back in Mr. Stratford's hands," he said. "I'll give you my card, and when you find it, give me a call. We'll help you stage giving it over to the Red Queen, and then we'll help you get out."

"And how do we know you'll actually help us get out of there?" Max asked.

"You don't," Leonard admitted. "But from what I can tell, you don't have a lot of other options right now."

"Fine," Athena said. "We'll call you. But we're not taking any sides here. This is purely so I can find my dad."

"Deal," Leonard said. "Well, I should give you some direction. Rumor has it that the person currently in possession of the card is Darwin Fletcher. He owns a lot of the nightclubs around here, but he's a pretty small fish compared to the Red Queen or Mr. Stratford. That's why he's hiding. It's going to take a little networking to find out where he is and get an audience with him, but at least you're not wandering aimlessly."

"I guess that's where we're going, then," Athen said. "Thank you, Leonard. We'll call you."

He gave her a polite nod and cast one more wary look at Max before he left. Athena looked down at the sock in her hands, a little less frantic now that she knew her father wasn't being hung upside down by his toes.

"I have no idea how to get to this 'Darwin Fletcher'," she said after a little bit.

"Me neither," Max admitted, "But I have friends everywhere. Someone might be able to help us out."

"Okay."

"We have to head back to my place," he told her. "I should get a change of clothes. And we should get my car. I'm going into Hound territory, so you can stay here if you're not comfortable."

"I don't really want to be alone," she said softly.

"Okay," Max said. "That's fine. Just stay close. I've got your back, remember?"

She was worried, but nodded with a smile. As they headed downstairs, Max paused and thought for a second.

"Do you know how to use a gun?" he asked. "I have a small one at home I can give you. I hope you won't have to use it, but it's not a bad idea to have it on you."

"I know how to use it in theory," she said. "I guess I've never needed to have one."

"Ah, no worries. The Hounds can show you the ropes," Max said.

"They will?"

"Sure," he shrugged. "They showed me when I was just a kid. If I can do it, you can do it easy."

She was still full of nerves, but she almost seemed excited at the idea of being taught to shoot by a biker gang. Max only hoped it actually helped her, and he wasn't taking this girl on a hopeless mission.