Swing Time

~ Swing Time ~
by Larisa

Part 2

A few days later, Mac sat reading over the transcript from when Truman had gone to the Ballroom; she felt her jaw drop when everything concerning two of her cases came together in a shocking way. "Truman what did this other woman look like?" She got up from her chair and cussed when her chair followed her into Truman's office. "Was she a blonde with huge tits," She turned and tried to untangle her zoot chain from her chair arm. "I can't remember anything else about her because I was…"

"Having fantasies about her tits," She leaned back in her chair and watched Mac give up and just drop down into her chair. "She dressed like a whore; in fact I don't think there were any buttons on her shirt at all."

Mac felt her jaw go slack and fall open, she was pissed that she missed all of this. Pulling the ice mask off, she tossed it on Truman's desk and got up to pace with her chair following. "OK, now that's the same bimbo that I was supposed to spy on her partner." She turned to look at Truman and noticed that her hair was not only shorter than before but a different color. "You do look different than before…anyway, I think that they're the ones who set it up to have me beat up. But which one and how do I find out if that's the case?"

"I think the guy did it; the wife said that he beat up a certain person and I think that's you. Plus when he was leaving he mumbled something about an asshole dyke and that could be you to." She gave her a huge smile with the last sentence.

"Yeah you could be right about that, the only problem now is I just lost out on a huge amount of money. I'll get the info and hand it over to Terry, the best we can hope for is to get evidence on them and press charges for attempted murder, assault and battery and anything else I can come up with. They should all fry for ruining my favorite suit and taking me off the sexual circuit for months."

"Hell I think all your female victims chipped in and paid those guys to put you out of commission." She looked at Mac and noticed that more of the swelling had gone down around her eyes and that the sutures that were in her face were gone. "Tell me you didn't take out your sutures."

"Nope, I made Terry take 'em out. I'm all healed and the damn things were itching and stabbing me, am I really ugly now because of scars?"

"They're not too bad, a little vitamin E and they'll fade. Now how are we going to get this info you need?" She felt the hair on the back of her neck rise when Mac gave her a chilling grin.

"That's where you come in, since you can blend in so well, you can eaves drop on their conversations." She rolled her chair closer and leaned forward. "We'll start at the creeps bar in Maryland; we get more shit on him and then go after the other ones. I already have him on tape asking me to knock off his wife and her lover, just a little more and he's history."

Truman shook her head and pointed a finger at Mac. "Ohh the Hell I will, I'm not going into some bar and have men grab my ass or worse. I already had that happen the other night at the Ballroom and Sally had the scumbag tossed out. Why can't you just put your little ice mask on and go in as the masked idiot?"

"Haa! I tried that once at a Halloweenie party and everyone knew who I was." She looked to the door and felt a deep blush coming to her face. "Hi Doris and please don't embellish on my horrid little story…" She got to her knees and begged. "Pleeeease!"

"Go to Hell sea monkey," She hobbled over to her old desk, gave Truman a hug and snickered at Mac fighting with her zoot chain. "The little pervert there went to the Halloween party in black spandex, a hood and a giant black strap-on dildo." She grinned evilly at Mac's blush and continued. "She would stand in dark corners and when anyone got close; she would try and hump them. She got caught when one of her one night stands grabbed it and knew who it was."

"They beat the Hell outta me that night, I still don't know who stole my dildo or who put my picture on the front page of the newspaper?"

"Ohhh I forgot all about that," Doris turned to Truman. "I framed it, remind me to give it to you, it might come in handy for keeping her on a leash."

Mac threw her hands in the air and dragged her chair back to her office by its leash. "Ohhh great, my life is ruined and why's everybody calling me a sea monkey?"

"Because regular size shrimp are bigger than you that's why." Truman yelled back to her and then got up from her chair to offer it to her grandma. "You look good, sorry I haven't been over lately, Mac keeps me busy."

"Don't worry about it, I've heard all about your escapades from Sophia and Sally." She looked at the layered baggy clothes she wore and how she had her hair pulled back in a ponytail. "When are you going to toss the frump look and go with the new and improved you?"

"I wore my new clothes the other night, why should I dress up in here?" She sat down in a chair near her desk and looked down at her cross trainers. "Besides, Mac wouldn't get anything done if she saw me in a suit. The little dog was drooling the other night because she thought Sophia made me silk underwear."

Doris raised a dark gray eyebrow at her, now she knew why Truman was sticking with her frumpy librarian look. "You're afraid of her aren't you?"

Truman tried to chuckle but it cam out as a choke. "I don't know how to handle people paying that kind of attention to me, I'm used to them ignoring me or saying nasty stuff about my looks but not sexual things…"

"For Christ sakes but you're a backward kid, didn't your mother teach you anything before she ran off with that Cajun shrimper?"

"Ohh yeah, she said I was too tall to be a southern belle and that I'd better learn something in college that would support me for the rest of my life because I would never get a rich husband and you know all about dad."

"Yeah that he can't be my kid because I didn't raise no chauvinistic prick, I think he learned all that shit from his snotty in-laws. Wonder how your mother likes that fish smell that comes in with her shrimper husband?"

"She doesn't worry about it; she divorced him and married her lawyer. After all, she got the shrimp boat, business and everything that poor chump had because of her sleazy lawyer. Now they have all kinds of money coming in, both legal and bloody."

"Just ignore the nasty stuff and use Mac for practice, she can come up with some really raunchy things to say to a woman. I blame her dad for that; he was a real Dipshit at times."

***********

"Ohh come over here and sit on my lap," Mac said in a deep throaty voice and wiggled her fingers at the redhead. "I can show you exactly how talented my fingers are." When the woman ignored her but looked directly over her shoulder, Mac should have known she was in trouble. "Ohh Hell forget I said anything, I forgot my pills today and I..." She jumped and let out a yelp from the cold drink and ice falling down the front of her shirt. "This really sucks," She stood up, pulled her shirt from her trousers and let the ice cubes fall from inside. "Knew I should have stayed home with Truman, her abuse is at least tolerable." She went over to the other side of the bar and took up a masculine pose against the wall. "Hey baby, I can get you so hot that a soft breath will send you over the edge." The woman that she said this to slapped her so hard that she felt her teeth rattle. "Shit have I gotten out of practice, these lines used to work."

"On teenagers that didn't know any better," A deep voice said next to her ear. "And the zoot suit screams pimp, Mac you need some leather."

Mac turned her head and grinned so wide that she felt her jaws crack. "Sydney, I thought you were in London," She pulled her short stocky friend into a tight hug and then released her. "Sally didn't say you were coming back home."

"Well I hadn't planed on it but after the Bobbies tossed me into jail a few times I figured it was cheaper to come on home and work the Ballroom floor. Grandma gave me back my old job and my room in the back but she didn't tell me that you had gotten so ugly."

"Hey it took a couple guys to do this to me, does Terry know you're back?" She wiggled her brows at her and nudged her ribs. "I know she'd fall over if you dropped into the cop shop."

"Is that before or after she handcuffed me and locked my ass up behind bars, I know she's still pissed because I never told her I was leaving."

"Syd, that was three years ago, Terry can't hold a grudge for three minutes late alone that long. Go see her, patch things up between you two."

Sydney leaned back against the wall and looked to her smaller friend. "Why are you trying to get me and Terry back together?"

"Ohh I just know that you two belong together and none of us are getting any younger; just wish I had some damn luck." She watched a young blonde come her way and pulled one of her many lines from her memory and tried again. "Hey doll, have you seen God yet tonight?" She grunted and dropped to her knees in a split second, she gasped for air and whimpered when Syd helped her to her feet and then from the bar.

"Well I guess this is a short night for you," She flipped Mac over her shoulder and carried her to her car. "Three strikes and the PI is down for the night." She placed her in the back seat, crawled behind the wheel of the Plymouth and headed back to her building. "Just remember, if you toss your cookies, it's your backseat."

****************

Truman heard the down stairs door open and then heard a strange voice arguing with Mac, she stepped to the top of the stairs and couldn't help but grin. Mac was trying to walk with her hands between her legs and leaning against the wall for support. "I can make it…in ten years…" She whimpered and slid down to the floor. "This hurts like…"

"Well you're lucky it was just her knee and not her foot that had steel toed boots on, I've never known you to go after a butch before." She looked up to the top landing and felt her mouth go dry. "Mac you didn't tell me that someone lives with you."

"Ohh that's Truman…she works with me…" She grunted when Sydney flipped her over her shoulder and started carrying her up the stairs. "Hey Truman…this is Sydney." She waved to her as she went by and groaned when Sydney used her ass to push her door open. "Oww…Syd!"

"Shut up you retard, if you weren't such a crude asshole you wouldn't get the shit kicked out of you all the time." She put Mac on her couch and turned to see Truman coming into the apartment; she looked up and felt the floor move beneath her feet. "Lord almighty but you're gorgeous…and tall."

"OK now this is just too much for me," Mac struggled to sit up. "Syd I need you to crack my nose and reset my septum."

"What! Mac you're face is just now healing you can't…" Truman looked to Syd and just then recognized her. "You're the bouncer from the Ballroom…" She felt her face flush when it hit her as to what Sydney had said to her. "I'm not gorgeous and you're not touching Mac's nose…she looks terrible as it is." She stepped in front of her smaller friend and jumped when her ass was pinched. "Keep it up and I'll break your nose."

"Just let Syd fix my nose, the swelling will go down and my sinuses will finally drain." She tried to take a deep breath and all she made was a funny noise. "Jimmy didn't set it because there was too much swelling and I'm too chicken shit to do it myself…soooo." She closed her eyes when Sydney leaned down to her, grabbed her nose between her two hands and snapped her nose back in place. "Fuck…shit…DAMN THAT HURT!" She grabbed her nose and fell over on the couch whimpering.

"You hurt her!" Truman leaned down and helped Mac sit up at the end of the couch. "Let me get you some ice and you," she jabbed Syd in her chest. "Don't touch her or I'll rip your head off and throw it down the stairs."

Sydney watched Truman's long legs as she walked to the kitchen, the muscles were long and lean from running. She then looked to Mac and saw tears rolling down her cheeks and a wicked grin on her lips. "She likes me doesn't she otherwise she wouldn't have threatened to rip your head off."

"I think you two are made for each other, you like pain and she looks the type to enjoy inflicting it." She moved away from Mac with her hands in the air. "I won't touch her no more; you're too much woman for me." She sat down in a chair and watched how attentive Truman was to her friend. "So you run around Mac half dressed and she doesn't try to hump your leg or anything?" She looked at the muscles flexing in Truman's back and shoulders when she brushed Mac's hair from her forehead.

"No she hasn't tried to hump my leg or anything, why would she I'm not her type?" She took Mac's hand and placed it on the ice bag. "Keep that there and why in the Hell did you have to be carried up the stairs?"

"Because the smooth one there got her nuts sent home, she's lucky though because before that she got the shit slapped outta her. If I Hadn't stepped in, who knows what those women would have done to her?"

Mac grinned up at Truman and shrugged her shoulders. "Guess I already dated those three women, my lines didn't quite get the responses that they usually do."

"Mac I heard all about your lines and they never work unless the woman is drunk or plain stupid." Truman said. "I'm going to bed and you stay out of my bedroom, it's just plain freaky having you staring at me."

"I don't stare; I was trying to see in the dark, I didn't wanna fall on top of you like the last time." She snickered when Truman raised a fist and shook it at her. "Ohh how I wish you would do something with that hand."

Syd shook her head and got up from her chair. "You two do what ever, I have a lot of ass kissing and begging to do."

"Flowers Syd, get Terry some pretty flowers and not from Wal-Mart." Mac said and then winked at Truman when she saw that she was still standing in the doorway. "Doris taught me that and it works; at least it did on Truman."

************

A week later Truman was in Mr. Simson's bar in Maryland, she was glad that she had gone for the redneck look of a flannel shirt and faded Levis. Anything else and she would have stood out like a flamingo dancer at a Bar Mitzvah. After getting a bottle of beer at the bar, she made her way over to where Mr. Simson was sitting at one of the back tables and sat down at the table next to him. Pulling her hair back from her face, she pulled her wire rimmed pop bottle lens glasses off and placed them on the table. It was when she went to take a drink of her beer that she almost choked to death, it was Mac's idea to wear Billy Bob buckteeth to fit more into the bar patrons and she would pay dearly when she got home.

"Truman can you hear me with all that shit kicker music?"

"Yeah and you just wait until we get home." She said into the small microphone at her shirt collar. "Now what am I doing here?"

"Just put that little bug thing near his table and then leave, the thing will continue to work until the little battery dies."

"And how am I supposed to do that with all the rednecks at his table along with his nasty ass self?"

"You could go set the men's bathroom on fire, that's what I'd do."

"You have got to be kidding…I can't do that…Mac…besides I don't have a lighter."

"Truman, you're in a bar, they have matches all over the place."

"Ohh sure and I'm supposed to waltz in the men's bathroom and just torch it without being noticed?"

"They won't even notice, there's only one bathroom in the place and they're too damn drunk to notice you flipping a cigarette into the trash can."

"I don't smoke; it's a gross and disgusting habit." She looked at the table full of loud men and wished she had told Mac to go to Hell and let her come in and do this stuff. After making sure that no one was paying attention to her, she went up to the bar, bought a pack of Marlboros, and then went back to where the bathroom was. Lighting a cigarette, she tried not to choke and backed through the door. Looking around, she saw the over flowing trash can and flipped the cigarette just as a man came out of one of the stalls. Jumping from the closing door, she went back to her table and waited. Not three minutes later, dark smoke came from the small hallway and into the rest of the bar. The table next to her emptied and gave her the perfect opportunity to place the bug on the wood trim behind the table. Once done, she left the bar and jogged around to the back to Mac's car. "Never again Mac, next time you go in and go in the men's bathroom."

Mac looked to her and shivered. "Please take off those glasses and toss those teeth out the window!"

"Nope, I'm saving these for a day when you least expect a payback." She put the teeth in her shirt pocket and then removed the hearing aid and microphone. "Do you always use stuff like this on your little spy missions?"

"Nope, I got those from when I was a cop doing undercover work and that little bug is almost ten years old. From what Terry tells me, the stuff they use now is so tiny ya can't even see it." She pulled out onto the main highway and then in the opposite direction they needed to go. "I'm hungry and I want a giant steak and a baked potato with everything on it."

"So where are we going, I'm not really dressed to go anywhere fancy?" She looked down at her clothes and felt uncomfortable.

"You look fine and where were going I'm over dressed." She pulled into a parking lot filled with semi trucks and other pick-ups, after parking; she ran around and opened the door for Truman. "Let me get out of my jacket and then we can go in, at least then I won't get steak sauce all over my jacket." Truman could see Mac eating in a truck stop and enjoying the camaraderie of the men in the place; she felt out of place and walked closely behind her. What she found funny was that Mac knew everyone in the place and grabbed two menus as she went past the register. "I have a reserved table for us; in fact no one else will sit back here because it's near the kitchen." She slid into a booth and placed one of the menus on the table for Truman. "They make a two pound steak that is the best in the state, thick and juicy, and ya need a doggy bag to take what you can't eat home."

*****************

Truman wandered from her bedroom and into Mac's office; she pulled drawers open until she found a huge bottle of Rolaids. Dropping into her chair, she pulled the cap off and tossed six tablets in her mouth. She didn't know if it was the fried onions or the real bacon bits that she had on her baked potato, what ever it was, it was back with a vengeance. She groaned and grabbed at her chest, the pain felt like a heart attack. Chewing the pills as fast as she could with out choking, she took deep breathes to try to ease the pain. "Never again…damn food can kill." She leaned back in Mac's chair and closed her eyes. "I hope Mac's suffering worse than I am." She closed her eyes and moaned with her pain until she felt her stomach turning, lurching from the chair; she took off towards the client bathroom. She had just dropped to her knees in front of the toilet when her stomach heaved, for what seemed hours, she clung to the toilet. As soon as her stomach quieted down, her insides started to gurgle. At that very moment she knew there was Hell on earth.

***************

Mac came out of her apartment with a fresh cup of coffee and a cheese Danish left over from the day before. Walking into her office, she found her Rolaids on her desk and the lid on the floor. Looking around she became worried when she didn't hear Truman's radio on in her apartment. Putting everything down, she ran from their offices and into Truman's apartment. She came to a sliding halt when she saw her huddled against the wall in her bathroom. "Truman what's wrong?" She stepped in and saw that she was soaked with sweat and shivering at the same time. "Ohh Hell why didn't you wake me up," She went into her bedroom and grabbed the thin blanket from the foot of her bed. "How long have you been sick?"

"Hours…I'm dying…" She groaned and crawled towards the toilet and dry heaved.

"I'll be right back, I have some stuff…" Mac ran to her own apartment, grabbed the phone and called Jimmy. On her way to her bathroom, Jimmy answered. "Thank God you're there, Truman's sick…she's throwing up and…"

"Hold on Mac my eyes aren't even open yet and you want me to think?"

"It's nine o'clock in the morning, I'm up so everyone else in the world should be up, now what's wrong with Truman?" She grabbed a bottle of Pepto Bismal and walked briskly back to Truman's apartment.

"I worked the late shift at the hospital; I only got home a few hours ago." He cleared his throat and sounded more awake. "Any idea what she had to eat or when this started?"

"We ate at the truck stop last night and I guess sometime this morning it started…Jimmy…it's worse," She stopped in the middle of the living room and turned around to go to the kitchen. "It's coming out both ends…what can I do?"

"Keep her hydrated, just water or something like Gatorade and I'll be there as soon as I find my pants." Mac hung up the phone, placed the Pepto on the counter and looked over her shoulder to Truman. She was still sitting on the toilet with the trash can dangling from one hand. Taking a deep breath, she walked towards the bathroom calling her name quietly. "Jimmy's on his way over…let me help you."

Truman looked up at her with fevered eyes and shook her head. "Go away…I don't need help, it's embarrassing." She groaned and leaned over the trash can to dry heave.

"Yeah well you've seen me at my worst and I can't let you stay here all by yourself when you're sick." She turned the shower on and adjusted it so it was warm, going back to Truman; she leaned over her, flushed the toilet and then pulled her to her feet. "I'll help you get in the shower and then I'm gonna make you some tea." At first Truman fought her when she started undressing her and then gave up when chills hit her. She was still shivering when Mac helped her into the shower and adjusted the water so that it was hotter. "I'll be right back, yell if you need help."

"I need a noose or gun to put myself out of my misery and then I'll kill you." She leaned her forehead against the shower wall and shivered with fever. "Damn food was bad…" She wrapped her arms around her body and tried not to shiver. "My luck to get food poisoning and you get nada." She couldn't even turn her head when Mac pulled the curtain back.

"It might be the flu, lots of people got it." She turned the water off and put one foot into the bathtub so that she could help her out. "I think Jimmy's here; I heard a key in the front door." She wrapped Truman's heavy robe around her and led her to her bed. "I put your tea on the nightstand, I'll be right back." She covered Truman up and ran from the apartment to meet Jimmy at the top of the stairs. "She's really sick, could it be the flu?"

Jimmy grabbed her hand and pulled her behind him to Truman's apartment. "Or food poisoning, that place you eat is worse than a greasy spoon." He handed Mac his bag and went into Truman's bedroom. "One look at you and I don't wanna go into work tonight." He gave her a soft smile and sat down on the edge of her bed. "When did it start?"

"About six hours ago," She looked to him and whimpered. "Just put me down, I think my ass fell off and some vital organs got flushed."

"Ohh now what kind of doc would I be if I killed all my patients, I've even had people offer me money to kill Mac and I haven't done it yet," He looked to her and winked. "I'm waiting for the price to go up; two bucks won't even get me a decent cup of coffee."

"I'll give ya five if you make her leave, she's seen me naked."

"And that's something that's bad, I would have thought that you see each other naked all the time…Ohhh what did I just do?" He looked from a beat red sweating Truman to a red faced looking at the ceiling Mac.

"We're even cuz you saw me half naked…Jimmy just shut up or I'll tell your sister you sold her underwear on e-bay."

"Hey I never sold her underwear…"

Mac gave him an evil grin. "I know that but who would she believe, me her old partner or you her rotten immature younger brother?" She handed him his bag and left the bedroom. "I'll make some…soup broth!"

"Well do you think you can survive food poisoning on top of the stomach flu?" Jimmy asked after taking Truman's vitals. "She can't cook worth a damn and you're run down and that's why you have the flu." He pulled a hypodermic from his bag, rolled her to her side and gave her the shot. "That will help with the nausea and diarrhea, drink plenty of clear fluids, no dairy or juice products." He wrote out a script and placed it on her nightstand. "I'll tell the useless one Mac to go get your prescription, and for the next couple days just relax and make her take care of you for once."

"I'll be alright once I don't have to run to the bathroom every three minutes," She rubbed her stomach and closed her eyes when she began to feel nauseas.

"Deep breathes and don't think about it, any problems call me." He squeezed her hand and went in search of Mac; he found her pacing the hallway and twisting the hair on top of her head with both hands. "That's very attractive; I wondered how you always had horns."

"Is she going to be OK, I'm not good with sick people…" She paced faster and came to hanging halt when Jimmy picked her up and held her up to his eyes.

"Calm down and just make sure that she keeps drinking stuff, I gave her a shot and it should be kicking in right now."

"OK, should I call Doris, maybe she'll come over…no she just got out of the hospital. Maybe I'll call Sally…no she's still sleeping."

"Mac calm down, you act like she just gave birth and you have to baby sit. She's sick that's all there is to it, make her stay in bed and watch TV."

"She doesn't have one…I can buy her one…or she can watch mine."

Jimmy put her down with a chuckle; he had never seen her so flustered when it came to a woman. "You'll drop over from rambling before you get anywhere, when she wakes up let her watch your TV. I'm going home to get some sleep, call 911 if she gets worse and her prescription is on her nightstand."

Mac stood twisting her hair into horns and trying to figure out what she was supposed to do for Truman, she turned and looked at her apartment and then looked to her own. "You can do this, you claim to be big and bad, you can take care of her, she took care of you." She dropped her hands and shoved them into her pockets before going into Truman's apartment. Stopping outside her bedroom door, she saw that she had kicked the blankets off and was shivering. She picked the blankets up from the floor and covered her up before turning the bathroom light off and going back out and into her office. "You saw her completely naked and you don't even remember seeing anything, how weird is that?" She went into Truman's office, dropped down into her chair and tried to figure out how to turn her PC on. "You can do this, if five year olds play on these things then you should be able to figure something out." She played for a few minutes before she remembered Truman's prescription, getting up from the desk, she went back in to her apartment and then got the prescription without waking her. "I can do this, what's so hard about going down to the pharmacy and getting this filled? Ohh that's easy, you never get prescriptions filled, Doris does that for you." She jogged down the stairs and went out the door towards the pharmacy down the street.

***********

Truman rolled over and felt Mac staring at her; she raised her head and dropped it back down into her pillows. "Why do you do that?"

"I wasn't staring honest; I just came in to put your prescription on the nightstand." She placed the bottle down along with a bottle of grape Gatorade. "I went and got it all by myself and I didn't screw up, I even stopped by 7-11 for Gatorade. I got you one of each flavor because I didn't know what kind you liked…are you OK, do you need anything?"

"For you to stop babbling like an idiot why are you so nervous?"

Mac twisted her watch chain in her fingers and looked to her shoes. "I've never taken care of anyone before so I'm afraid I'll screw up and you'll end up dead."

Truman sat up in bed and grabbed the pill bottle. "I'm not gonna die from this, I may look it and feel it but I'm not dead so just calm down." She swung her feet over the edge of the bed and tried to stand up.

"You can't get up…Jimmy said you have to stay in bed."

"I can't stay in bed, there's work to do and…" She groaned when the room started to spin and she dropped back down onto the bed. "It's too quiet in here."

"Stay right there and don't move I'll be right back." Mac ran from her apartment and came back pushing her desk chair. "Get in your chair; you can watch TV in my apartment."

"Mac I can just sit at my desk and do some work."

"Bullshit, no work today, all you're gonna do today is rest." She pushed her into her apartment and took her to her bedroom. "My sheets are clean and I have dish access on this TV." She helped Truman into her bed, handed her the remote for the small TV sitting on her dresser and then gave her the bottle of Gatorade. "If you need anything call me," She handed her the phone and then covered her up with the blankets. "I'll be here in a split second or less." She left her bedroom and stopped when Truman called out her name.

"Where are you gonna be that I need the phone?"

Mac gave her a quick grin. "At my desk, it'll make me look professional and like I'm actually working if I answer the phone."

Truman flipped the TV on, snuggled down in Mac's bed and tried to pay attention to what she was watching. With having been sick for hours, the exhaustion won over and took her to the land of dreams.

************

Mac didn't know what to do, the phone kept ringing, she couldn't get the PC to work and a headache was pounding behind her tired and bloodshot eyes. When Terry and Sydney walked into Truman's office, they were surprised to see Mac fighting with the keyboard. "What are you doing and where's Truman?"

"Hey guys," She put the keyboard back on the desk and dropped her feet to the floor. "She's got the flu, didn't Jimmy tell you?" She checked her watch and then raised a finger at her friends. "I gotta check on her it's been a few hours and I haven't heard anything."

Terry looked to Sydney and then thumped her hand over her heart. "Ohh and why is she in your apartment if she's sick?" They followed her in and stood in shock when she covered her up with the blankets and turned off the TV. "Mac she's in your bed?"

"Yeah, she doesn't have a TV so she was watching mine, I need coffee and food." She went into her kitchen and pulled out the left overs from the day before. "I never knew what Truman and Doris put up with until this morning, that damn phone never stops ringing."

"You mean people actually call you for work, I thought you sat around all day and smoked cigars?" Terry said and dropped down at her table.

"I work, I just never knew that the phone rang so much…at least it never did before. It's all the places that I do the background checks for; they have more of them for me. I think it's because Truman got them done so quick that they're impressed…"

Sydney grabbed a cup of coffee and took a seat next to Terry. "Sounds like you should give Truman a raise for getting you more work and for putting up with your stupid ass. And if I was you, I'd be getting her flowers everyday to put on her desk."

Mac gave her a raised eyebrow look and pushed her fedora back on her head. "Why would I do that," She looked out into her living room and saw Truman going into the bathroom, she put her coffee down and walked to the door. "You OK, you're not sick are you?" She stepped back when the door opened and a pale Truman shook her sleep tousled hair.

"I'm OK, just really tired; I'll go back over to my own bed now."

"Nope can't let you do that, I can't watch you way over there." She turned Truman around and ushered her back to bed, she knew damn well that she could watch her if she were in her own apartment but she wanted her right where she was. After covering her up, she gave her two pills and the Gatorade. "I'll bring you some peppermint tea; it'll help with your stomach."

"How about some hemorrhoid cream?" She grinned at the dark blush that came over Mac's face. "Just kidding, I'll survive but some clothes would be good." Mac nodded her head and went out of her bedroom at a run; she ran past Terry and Sydney and missed their snickers.

"Ever see her act like this?" Sydney asked Terry and took her hand in hers.

"Nope, never knew her to know anything about flowers either but she sure taught you."

"I think those two are sweet on each other, the other night Truman got all bent outta shape when I reset Mac's nose. Brought her an ice bag and everything," They watched her run past with clothes clutched in her arms. "There she goes, damn speedy Gonzales." When Mac came back into the kitchen, they looked at her with wide grins. "Is your woman all taking care of and tucked in?"

"She's just my friend and she took care of me when I got beat up, even called to get me medical attention. Plus without her, I'd go nuts trying to run the office by myself."

*************

Mac looked at all the new releases of DVD's on the Video Den shelves, it had been months since she rented anything and didn't know if Truman had seen any of the movies they had. She looked to Terry and wiggled her fingers at her. "Help, I'm not real sure of what Truman would like, I don't wanna torture her with old movies or anything."

"Get the new releases, the woman lives like a monk so that means she probably hasn't seen any of them." She grabbed a copy of The Two Towers and Tomb Raider Cradle of Life. "Do I have to do everything for you or what?" She handed a total of six DVD's to Mac and handed the ones she had to Sydney. "You're paying for everything for the next two years." She walked over to another set of shelves and grinned to herself.

"Ohh is that a painful payback idea," Mac whispered. "What if she wants a new car or house?"

"Then I'm screwed for life, it's been a few days and she's already laid down the law with me. I may have to buy a flower shop just to save money on all the roses I gotta buy."

"When you do this do I get a discount, I'm gonna be buying lots of flowers to."

Sydney raised a dark eyebrow at her and leaned in closer. "And who are these flowers for?"

"Doris, Sally, Sophia and Truman, I owe them all a lot. I was thinking a lot the last couple of days and I never knew how much each one of them did or have done for me."

Sydney pinched her on her upper arm and jumped when Mac yelled and slapped at her hand. "I was just seeing if it was really you or you got replaced by a pod person, you never cared before what anyone did or didn't do."

"Yeah well that was before I was left to fend for myself at Truman's desk, in one day, I learned a Hell of a lot about my business, the fact that I don't know shit." She walked up to the register, paid for the rentals and then waited for her friends to join her outside. "All I need now is to pick up supper; you guys wanna stay for supper and some movies?"

"Maybe some other time," Terry said. "Sydney has duties to perform tonight." She grabbed Sydney's ass, got into Mac's Plymouth and slid to the middle of the front seat.

"Duties to perform," Mac snickered. "Is that like a new name for sex slave?"

"I wish, I think she wants her living room painted. I learned a lot in the last couple of days to, don't go nowhere without telling everyone." She climbed into the car and yelped when Terry pinched her thigh for being a smartass.

******************

"They stole me precioussssss!" Mac whined and then fell on the floor when Truman kicked her off the couch. "Kills them!"

"OK now I've lived through the Lara Croft using the back of the couch as a horse routine, complete with spinning of a rifle. But I don't think I can handle the Sméagol/Gollum voice or you creeping all over the place."

"Wanna play with me precioussssss…all sparkly and oww…guess not?" She rubbed her smashed toes and then watched Truman get up to go to the bathroom. "There's plenty of women that would love to get their hands on my precious." She spun the thick solid gold band on her ring finger and looked closer at the oak leaves engraved on it. "It's the family heirloom and everyone wants it, hundreds of years old and..."

Truman dropped back down on the couch and looked down at Mac. "Must be pretty warn out by now, might as well give up for the life of a spinster."

"What are you talking about," She sat up and leaned closer to her. "You have a dirty mind, there's nothing wrong with big Mac." She wiggled her finger at her. "I was talking about my ring you sick demented gutter snipe."

"Big Mac is it, well that name alone says a lot about that body part, sometimes big isn't better." She grinned and stretched out across the couch leaving no room for Mac.

"I'm not saying anything else except they stoles me precioussssss!" She fell on the floor and kept on doing Sméagol's voice even though Truman kept trying to step on her. Hours later with the TV's screen blue, Truman was asleep on the couch with Mac sleeping on the back of it with her hand hanging down to rest on Truman's chest. She mumbled, "The Black Pearls mine!" and rolled off to land on top of Truman to sleep peacefully.

*******************

Truman walked from her office into Mac's apartment and stood beside the couch looking down at the snorting drooling little PI; she had been awake for hours and had given up on waking the Mac. With still feeling weak from the flu, she didn't feel up to sitting at her desk but she did check their e-mail and sent out a few replies. She also sat down and read the file Mac had on the case they were now working, she wrote out an outline and tried to figure out where each of the people fit in to the story. She was confused about one area and wanted Mac's input, she couldn't figure out why Mr. Simson wanted his wife and his hired hit man all killed; there had to be something else going on that she wasn't seeing. "Come on sea monkey its already past noon, I have a headache and you're not sleeping through my pain." She reached down, pulled the hair on her toes, and was disappointed when she slept right through it. "You have hairy feet like a hobbit; you're just weird all the way around." Taking her notepad to her own apartment, she looked around and sighed. "It would be nice if I had someplace to sit besides my bed." Dropping the pad on the bar, she went back out and down the steps to the room where she knew there to be some bar stools. When she opened the door, she flipped the light on and stood with her mouth hanging open. It was a medium sized room but it was large enough to have all the needed exercise equipment to keep in top form.

She went over to an Image 10.0 treadmill and ran a hand across the handrail, although not an expensive piece of equipment, it was nice. She then went over to a Crossbow exercise machine and noticed that the seat was well worn as well as the handgrips, after looking at all the equipment; she found the stools and carried two of them from the room. "I know where I'll be when the weather gets nasty, no more freezing my ass off running in the snow and icy rain." When she got up stairs, she stood in the doorway leaning on one of the stools catching her breath.

"What are you doing, you should be in bed or sitting down somewhere, not running up and down the stairs."

"That's why I went and got these stools so I had someplace to sit, I really need some furniture."

Mac moved her over to her apartment and then put the stools by the bar; she noticed the pad of paper and grabbed that before going back across the hall. "What's wrong with my furniture, it's comfy and all broken in?"

"It's yours and I don't have anyplace to sit in my apartment unless I sit on my bed that's what's wrong with it."

"But how often are you over there, you sleep there but we eat and watch TV over here?"

"Why don't we just block off the hallway, knock the apartment walls down and make one great big loft type living area?" She knew she had made a mistake when Mac pointed a finger at her and grinned like an idiot.

"I can have that done, we'd save on heat and we could make one of the bathrooms into a Jacuzzi type spa room!" She grabbed the phone and spun around in a circle to keep Truman from taking it from her. "Stop and let me make this call, I can have it done in a weeks time!"

"Are you insane…what about your dating habits? There's no way I'm gonna watch a parade of women run in and out through one door."

"Dating habits," Mac ran a hand across her head and felt her horns. "I haven't had a date in…weeks…why is that?" She dropped down on the couch and looked to Truman. "I think I lost my mojo…charm…devilish ways…Ohh my looks!" She ran a finger across her still swollen nose and blinked her eyes a few times. "Although I can see better and not just my nose, I still can't attract a date." She looked at Truman from head to toe and wiggled an eyebrow at her. "Unless you wanna go out with me, I don't put out on the first date but I'm a sure thing on the second."

"Sorry I don't date women with horns and you don't date frumpy archeologists, now put the phone down or I'll kick your ass."

"Ohh I think I'm seeing the errors of my evil ways," She placed a hand over her thumping heart and sunk into the couch. "You're sexy ass Hell when your eyes turn that silver color and you bare your teeth." She lifted her chin and pointed to a spot on her neck. "I'm really sensitive right here."

"Yeah well it won't matter when I wrap both of my hands around your neck and squeeze, now where's my notepad?"

"I like it a little rough and I'm sitting on it, ya want it come get it?"

"Go to Hell, I don't need it to ask you questions, I have a photographic memory."

"Good then you'll remember all my sensitive spots." She grinned and then let it slide from her face when Truman raised a large hand and balled it into a fist.

******************

Mac was standing in the alleyway to Simson's bar; she had the recording device they had left attached to the back window from when they put the microphone in the bar. She was as confused as Truman over what Simson was pulling and couldn't wait to see what was on the tape. Hopefully, one of them confessed to beating her up or at least mentioned who was involved in it. She could careless about Simson and whom he killed off, what she wanted were the assholes that beat her up. Her face still hurt and she was putting off going to the dentist about a loose tooth. Tucking the tape in her pocket, she walked around the other side and then down the block to where she had parked her Subaru. After checking her watch, she got in her car and drove over to the Ballroom. She hadn't checked in with Sally in a few days and wanted to make sure that Sydney was still alive as well. A few minutes later, she pulled into the lot and then went into the place. Going right to the corner area of the bar, she took a seat and waited for Sally to come over.

"Hey doll got any news for me, like does any women in this state wanna date me?"

Sally brushed her hair back from her forehead and gave Mac a look from over her glasses. "What's the matter sea monkey can't get a date to save your life?" She slid a can of ginger ale to her and then climbed up onto her own stool on her side of the bar. "My Sydney's had a date every single night since she made up with Terry, what's your problem?"

"I think I've warn out my welcome with all the women around here, I got the shit slapped out of me the other night and drop kicked in the jewel. Syd carried me all over the place and all the way up my stairs with Truman watching." She took a drink of her pop and looked to Sally with raised eyebrows. "So got any info for me, or any work that I can do without getting the shit kicked outta me?"

"There is a place I need you to check out; I think a lot of my business is being stolen away by this other joint." She handed her a piece of paper with an address on it. "I've heard that the place is packed on Wednesdays, would ya check it out and let me know what they do there?"

"Sure, I can do that, maybe I'll get Truman to go with me." She tucked the paper in her pocket and looked into the mirror in front of her. "Do you know if she has a passion for anything, you know like mine for the 40's?"

"You live with her why are you asking me?"

"We don't live together…OK so we kinda share the two apartments but I don't know her, she doesn't have any personal items that tell anything about her. She has developed a smartass sense of humor where I'm concerned, it could have been me driving her nuts to." She snapped her fingers. "She does have a thing for the time period of the knights and wenches…I could take her to that restaurant where they have jousting and stuff."

"And Doris said you sucked at the PI thing, she said you should be a meter maid."

"She would say that, it's a good way to meet women though."

**************

Truman looked over Mac's shoulder and raised an eyebrow in question to what she was doing. "You're the weirdest damn person I know, I've never seen anyone comb their eyebrows before but not touch their head with a brush."

"I wear a hat and there's not a brush or comb on this planet that can tame my horns," She slicked a thick eyebrow back with a fingertip. "Now the eyebrows are important, they gotta look good." She pulled her hat on and turned to look at Truman. "What happened to your eyebrows, they were all thick and almost one?"

"One word, Serge. Where ya going tonight, hot date or work?"

"Work, I have this place to check out, it's causing some problems for a friend of mine." She looked at Truman again and grinned. "You look different with two eyebrows, not like that actor Richard Greco, now his eyebrows give me the creeps." She shivered and gave Truman a quick hug before heading out of her apartment. "I gotta hug her more…she's…no words for it." She wiped the sweat from her face and jogged down the stairs.

****************

The music blasted and thumped in the floor, Mac blinked her eyes and wiped the tears from her cheeks. The fog machine was playing Hell with her eyes and sinuses and making them run like faucets. Wiping her face with her linen handkerchief, she went over to the bar area and ordered a Coke. She looked around and knew that the place was the same size as the Ballroom but the sound system was hundred times better and the lighting made the place vibrate with color. What brought her attention to the dance floor were the yells and the way the patrons moved, the first thing that went through her mind was that there was a huge fight. Then her mind changed when everyone went back to dancing. She leaned towards the bartender and pointed to the dance floor. "What went on out there?"

"Ohh that's just everyone saying hello to a friend."

"Everyone knows this one person, that's kinda weird?"

"Ohh there are some people that just stand out in a crowd, you're one of them."

Mac gave him a crooked grin, grabbed her drink and moved closer to the dance floor. It took her a while and from being stepped on, she lost some feeling in her toes but she finally made it where she could see the entire dance floor. What caught her attention was one dancer in the midst of the others, she moved like nothing Mac had ever seen. Fluid and very sensual and no where like any of the others, she seemed to dance alone but with everyone at the same time, Mac stood spellbound and then found herself getting closer to the throng of dancers. Her heart pounded with the drumbeat, her blood raced and a primal song sang in her soul as she watched the tall woman dance. Nothing could have prepared her for this; she stepped through the people and stood on the edge of the dance floor. She waited for eye contact to be made and felt her heart stop when it did. Dark blue rimmed in silver drove right to her soul and pierced it; in a heartbeat, she was slain and saved all at once. Her lips parted and words tangled before producing one, "Truman." She stood with her feet stuck to the floor and felt her world spin when Truman stepped up to her. If not for the long fingered hand that grabbed the front of her jacket, she would have fallen to the floor. She was nothing like the frumpy person she saw everyday, her low cut black leather pants and black tank top left nothing for her imagination. "You're…you can't be…Truman."

"And why can't I be, not everything is as you see it MacKenna." She pressed into Mac and then pulled her onto the dance floor. "Some things are better kept a secret to protect the innocent or to protect the guilty." The way she moved against Mac had the other dancers wishing it were them that she had picked. In all the years she had been coming to the bar, she never danced with anyone until now. A few of the disappointed dancers went up to the bar to complain to each other and or the bartender.

"Figures the hottest woman in the place goes for a dorky looking woman in clothes from the Salvation Army store." One man said and took the bottle of water from the bartender. "I didn't know she preferred women, I always thought she was just..."

"What not into you, no ones into you." He said and looked into the small TV that showed the dance floor. "And from what I'm seeing in front of me, Truman and the dork as you called her know each other."

"How would you know that?"

"They're over at the other end of the dance floor talking, Truman never talks to anyone so this is a first and that means she knows her."

*******************

"This is weird Truman; I'm usually the one who leads in everything."

"Did you follow me here," She pressed her up against the wall and leaned in close to her ear. "Is this the kind of game you play with women, you follow them and make it seem like a chance meeting?"

"What…no I came here to check the place out for Sally, I'm not a stalker. I see you everyday all day. We live together, why would I follow you…I didn't know you even left the building." She groaned and felt the wall biting into her back with the pressure Truman was putting on her. "That kinda hurts and why are you all bent outta shape over this?"

"Because this is the only place I can come and not be me."

"You can do that around me, you know not be you…" Mac was beyond confused over what she had just said and rolled it over in her head again. "If you're not you right now then who are you and do I know you? My head hurts from trying to figure this all out, can I go home now?"

"You really are here just to check the place out aren't you?" She leaned in closer and pulled Mac against her body. "What just stabbed me in my stomach?"

"I'd say I was happy to see you but that wouldn't work and my nipples have never gotten that hard before that they've stabbed anyone." She watched Truman's eyes go to silver and gulped. "It's my guns; I didn't know what kinda place this was. I have to say this and then you can kick my ass or break my nose…you are a hotty." She slumped against the wall when Truman released her and stood up to her full six-foot height.

"And your shallowness is showing through, I was nothing at home but here, dressed like this, I'm hot to you."

Mac shook her head; she knew she was in deep shit. "No, I mean yes I am and you are but there's more to you then most and I should just shoot myself and get it over with." She stepped up to Truman and tilted her head back to look into her eyes. "I guess you would kill me if I asked if I could kiss you…just once…"

Truman busted out laughing, took Truman's hand and pulled her through the crowd to the front door. "Sometimes you say things that just floor me, this is totally different." She wrapped an arm around her as they went out the door. "One minute I could strangle you and the next I could kiss you."

"I'll take the later if ya don't mind, the strangling doesn't sound fun at all." She stopped them in the middle of the sidewalk and then turned them around. "I'm parked down that way, how did you get here?"

"I took a cab and I should have grabbed my coat before I left its cold as Hell out here."

"I'd offer you mine but it wouldn't fit, the only other thing is to run to my car." She hadn't finished her sentence before Truman took off at a sprint, she went after her but there was no way she could catch up unless her legs grew a few feet in length. "That's cheating!" She finally caught up and saw that Truman wasn't even breathing heavy. "You suck," she panted and tried to get her keys from her pocket. "You're legs…are longer and you're in better…shape." She fell against the fender and tried to catch her breath. "Keys…pocket…"

"Give up the cigars and the women and exercise." She pulled the keys from Mac's pocket, opened the door and pushed her in. "I'll drive or you'll pass out and wrap us around a telephone pole."

"Women are my exercise…wanna date me, get me in shape?"

"Now why would I wanna date a sea monkey, I run for exercise and besides, you wouldn't survive a date with me." She ran her tongue across her top lip and watched Mac sink further into the seat and gulp deeply. "A few minutes on the dance floor and you were dying."

"That's from shock; it's been years since a woman rubbed against me like that in public."

"Then maybe you should listen to different music and learn how to dance something other than the jitter bug?"

"You gonna teach me, rub up against me, make me all hot and bothered again?"

Truman rolled her eyes and turned down the street to their building. "Dream on sea monkey, that was a one time thing."

******************

Mac turned off the tape recorder and growled with disappointment, the only thing she had learned from hours of tape was that Simson was a crude asshole who could compete in the Guinness Book for the longest belch. For that alone she would gladly shoot the bastard and hang his corpse from a flagpole, she couldn't understand men and their fascination with bodily functions. Tossing the tape in the trash, she got up and stood in the doorway where she could watch Truman. "So do ya love me yet?"

"No, stop starring at me and go comb your eyebrows or something." She looked out of the corner of her eye. "How in the Hell do you get those horns on top of your head?"

"Don't know, I wash my hair, it dries and they're there." She shrugged her shoulders and ran a hand through her hair. "Kinda sexy don't cha think?"

"Ohh yeah just like all the hair on top of your feet," She turned to face her and leaned back in her chair. "So what did you learn from the tape?"

"Not a damn thing, so ya think it was the wife's lover that smacked me around with the help of maybe a friend or Simson himself?"

"You did piss him off and then the same woman that was with the other two that night being the one who lured you to that house, what else could it be? Then again I can see all your old girlfriends getting together and hiring a thug or two."

"I didn't think I was that bad when it came to dates, I always paid and I opened their doors, where did I go wrong?"

"Ohh I don't know, could be treating them like they're bimbos?" She threw a wadded up piece of paper at her. "Read it, it was a message from one of your previous dates and let me tell ya she is not a happy camper."

Mac straightened out the note, read a few lines and cleared her throat. "Uuhhmm…this sounds painful, a hot poker shoved up my ass?" She wiggled her brows at Truman. "Guess she didn't like my idea of a romantic night, I thought most women liked to be wined, dined and relax by a fire afterward."

"Sounds fine to me, maybe she's a freak?"

Mac blushed and shrugged her shoulders. "Well it wasn't a fire in a fire place, it was her apartment building."

"You didn't set her apartment on fire did you?"

"Ohh no, it was a three alarm by the time we got there, so we sat and watched it burn to the ground. It was relaxing for me; I didn't have to think of an excuse to not stay the night, she's a dead fish in the sac."

Truman threw a pen at her. "You are so much like a man, the only thing that matters is what a women looks like and how good in the sac she is."

"Well that's not all there is, there's the…is there anything else…," She ticked off things mentally on her fingers and then looked to Truman with a wide grin. "Cooking, can she cook?"

"Or beat you senseless in two seconds or less and still be able to get a decent date at the last moment. Now get out of here and do some damn work or we'll be sitting in the dark!"

Mac grasped her chest and stumbled back into her office. "You sound like Doris!"

*****************

Truman and Mac sat in her Subaru outside of where Simson's thug lived, if they had the ingredients for a Molotov cocktail, they would have bombed the place already. Piled up around the front door was trash, old furniture littered the yard and the windows were so dirty that they looked as if they were painted brown. The place should be condemned and bulldozed into oblivion but that would take a miracle for the city government to do anything about it. "So what are we doing here and why did I have to come along?"

"I want this creep taken down and I want answers," She looked to Truman and winked. "You're bigger than me so you knock him down, I'll kick him a few times and then we'll ask him some questions."

"Are you going to like twist his nuts until he talks or what, I know if you kicked me I wouldn't say anything? Then again with those tiny little feet what harm could you do?"

"Ohh so you're gonna smack me around with the little person stuff, at least I don't have to duck when I go through doors, Gandalf the giant."

"That's about it Sméagol," She pointed to the dump. "There he is what do you want me to do, a flying tackle or just sucker punch him?"

"Or you could use your female wiles on me and we could forget all about him?" She moved closer to her and licked her upper lip with the tip of her tongue. "You know I like tall women, especially ones who can move like you do."

"Yeah well tough, I'm using all my moves on short and dumpy there." She got out of the car, walked up to the guy, hit him once in the face and watched him hit the ground. "All yours sea monkey," She crossed her arms over her chest and waited for Mac. "Well come on what are ya waiting for?"

"My adoration to calm down, damn your sexy and so Amazonian!" She got out of her car and walked right up to stand in front of her. "Can I feel your muscles?" She wiggled her fingers at her and jumped when Truman raised her knee to groin her. "Hey that's not nice!"

"I never said I was nice," She reached down, grabbed the guy by the front of his jacket and picked him up. "Where do you want him?"

"Under the front wheels of my car," She shrugged her shoulders when Truman didn't move. "Ohh OK I'll settle for a less than public place, like over in that ally." She walked towards it and looked over her shoulder at Truman. "Damn but you're strong, the Hell with bimbos, I'm gonna chase you." She said to herself and waited for Truman to catch up. "So when we're done here would you be willing to spank me?"

Truman slammed the guy up against the brick wall of a building, scratched her jaw and looked down into twinkling green eyes. "Uhhmm…no, one of us would enjoy it too much." She lifted her unconscious toy up over her head and slammed him against the wall again. "And I'm not talking about you either."

"Ohh and Doris told me she was a wild woman compared to you; does she know how wrong she is?"

"Nope and I like it that way, remember what I said about secrets best kept? Now can we get on with this, my arms getting tired?"

Mac looked at the man and wondered how long they would have to wait for him to wake up. "Ohh Hell Truman, he's out cold and you smashing him into the wall ain't helping any," She pulled cuffs from her pocket and dangled them in front of Truman. "I think lock-up would be the perfect place to question him, Terry will get a kick out of what you did."

************************

"Funny how that creep had an arrest warrant on him that will keep him off the streets for the next 20 years or so?" Truman said and groaned when Mac flopped over the back of the couch and tried to put her head in her lap. "Too bad the same couldn't be said for you, I bet you could get a date in jail."

"Tried that once, those women are too butch for me, they've got tattoos in places that give me chills." She tried again to lie in Truman's lap and found the floor a second later. "Ohh come on Truman, we've slept together and everything and you won't let me get comfy in your lap?"

"If I remember correctly, you're the one who keeps crawling into my bed or falling on me when I'm on your couch, so no, I'm not letting you get in my lap under any condition."

"What you don't trust me or something, I won't hurt you or anything?"

"No I don't trust you and it's what you'll try that'll get you hurt."

"You're just a great big tease, give me those sexy looks and then dump ice down my drawers, your loss there." She climbed up to sit on the couch but kept giving Truman sideways glances. "So I guess necking is out then, what a pity, I'm pretty good at it."

Truman rolled her eyes and then turned on the couch to look at a grinning Mac. "OK now that we know that the scum bag is one of the men that beat you up and won't give up the other name until he knows that Mrs. Simson is safe and out of her husbands clutches, what are we going to do?"

"Make sure that she's put in a safe house and then have her call scum bag and let him know that she's safe. In the meantime, we can find the floozy; find out where she fits into all of this, and why she set me up. I tried to tell Mrs. Simson about her husband but noooo, they gotta beat me up and make me ugly." She rubbed her stomach and looked towards the kitchen. "We got any food, I'm starving?"

******************

Truman rolled over in bed, yanked on her blanket and shivered when cold air hit her feet. It hadn't been that bad when she went to bed but the temperature had dropped while she slept. Taking her blanket with her when she got up, she wandered into the living room to the thermostat and turned it up higher. When nothing happened, she turned it all the way up and waited a few seconds. "What the fuck?" She wandered across the hall and into Mac's apartment, the first thing she noticed was how cold it was. Going into her bedroom, she flipped the light on and saw a lump shivering in the center of her bed. "Mac get up and fix the furnace." She pulled the blankets from her and stood beside her bed. "Come on sea monkey I'm freezing my ass off!" She sat down on the side of the bed and pushed on her shoulder. "Ohh come on Mac, I can't sleep if I'm cold."

"It's broke…gimme my blanky." She reached around, grabbed Truman's blanket, and pulled on it.

"What do you mean it's broke…fix it I'm cold!" She wrapped Mac's blanket around her and saw the cord hanging from one corner. "This is an electric blanket, that's not plugged in!" She got up and went towards her own bedroom with Mac's blanket.

"Hey that's mine, come back with my blanky!" She stumbled from her bed, ran after Truman and jumped on her back when she caught up. "That's mine you can't have it!" She tried to take her blanket back and felt her world tipping sideways.

"Will you stop already, I'm cold, it's the middle of the night, and you didn't have it plugged in and get off my back." She dropped her head and flipped Mac off her back and to the bed. "Now be useful and plug this in and no wonder your cold, you're in your underwear." She took in Mac's baggy boxers and the thin white tank top that showed off her firm breasts, dropping both blankets onto her bed, she peeled her look away from Mac. "Plug it in sea monkey and don't get any dirty ideas in your head." She felt her insides turn to jelly when Mac crawled across the bed and then fell to her stomach to plug the blanket in. Trying to block out her own sexual thoughts about Mac, she spread the blankets out on top of the bed and Mac and then slipped under them. "We're only doing this because there's no heat, no other reason other than that, ya got me MacKenna?"

"Not yet but I will." She grinned and rolled over to take Truman's pillow. "This is mine so that means I get the choice whether I share or…OK." She handed it back to Truman after seeing silvery eyes in the dim light. "I'll share." After Mac flopped around on the bed and came close to being tossed on the floor, they settled down for the remaining hours before morning came. Truman gritted her teeth and worked her jaw when Mac rolled over to face her and buried her face against her chest. With one arm wrapped over her side, she slipped one thigh in-between Truman's and fell asleep. "Ohh sure Mac I like to cuddle and feel smothered." She mumbled to herself and then fell asleep.

*****************

Truman moved closer to the heat and sighed when it enveloped her entire body, on and off; she had waked slightly from cold air touching her. Now that the warmth was making strange thumping noises and gurgling occasionally. She opened her eyes and looked right into one of Mac's breasts, groaning, she tried to roll away and found arms tightening around her. "Don't move, still early." Mac wrapped her limbs around her and pulled her head back to her chest. "Breathe harder."

"What?" Truman dropped her head, backed out of Mac's arms and found her arms tangled in her sweatshirt. "Sick little sea monkey," She struggled and got her arms free and then realized that she was topless and two green eyes were staring at her bare chest. What she saw in her eyes was not what she expected, there was a hunger but not like, she had seen so many times in others. "It's cold in here I'm getting dressed." She turned to her dresser and took out enough layers to keep warm until they could figure out what was wrong with the furnace.

"You're beautiful Truman, no matter what you think or have been told before, I think you're beautiful." Mac said in a soft voice from behind her and placed a kiss between Truman's shoulder blades before going back to her own apartment. She placed her fingers over her lips to savor the tingling that came from Truman's soft skin. "I'd die a thousands deaths for one sweet kiss from your lips." She sighed and skipped into her bedroom to get dressed.

**************

Truman stood with her clothes clutched to her chest and staring out her apartment door into Mac's, she was still in shock and couldn't get her feet to move for anything. "It must be the cold that has her brain malfunctioning, I'm not beautiful and she only wants in my pants." She closed her dresser drawers and went towards the bathroom; the second her feet hit the tile floor, she shivered from cold. "I hope we can get that damn thing fixed today," She had forgotten that it was the weekend and it would cost a small fortune to get a repairman out to look at it. "I should have taken mechanical classes or something in school." A few minutes later and dressed in more layers than usual, she went over to Mac's apartment and started coffee. She wasn't surprised when she came into the kitchen wearing her sweatshirt or a pair of her sweatpants. "I wondered what happened to those, ever think of buying your own."

"Nope, yours are already broken in and everything, I called Bert, he's coming over to look at the furnace."

"You're gonna trust my grandpa to fix the furnace are you that insane?"

"Hey he's good at it, he's been fixing it for years and he's cheap." She scrounged in her pantry and came out with a 12-year-old bottle of Laphroaig Scotch. "A bottle of booze and we'll have heat until spring."

Truman looked at the bottle and knew that it wasn't a cheap Scotch like her grandpa sipped on cold nights. "Are you sure you want to part with that?"

"Why not," she wiped it off and placed it on the kitchen table. "I'd give him a whole case if it got the furnace working, besides; I have like two or three cases down stairs in a closet. One of the perks of working cases for bar owners and I know Doris would kill me if I gave him more than one."

"How much is a case of that stuff and do we work for any car dealers?"

"Ohh I think it's about $850.00 a case and I do know some car dealers, what kind of car do ya want?"

"That much for Scotch, good thing I don't drink Scotch and a car with four tires and an engine that runs is all I need. But it'll have to wait until I have some money saved before I start thinking about getting another car."

"Well you can use mine when ever you want," She took a cup of coffee from Truman and then went to the refrigerator. "Can we have scrambled eggs with cheese in 'em?"

Truman dropped her head and nodded, Mac could have anything she wanted when she gave her an impish grin. "Get the stuff out and I'll even make fried potatoes with onions, you know we have to go grocery shopping today?"

"After the furnace is fixed and my cartoons are done." She took her coffee and went down the steps and into the room where the furnace was.

"How is it that I always cook our meals and she gets to run off and play somewhere until the foods done?" She asked herself and started to get their breakfast made.

*********************

Doris set the Kerosene heater down in the center of Mac's apartment and waited for Truman to get some matches. She had brought it along them knowing that Mac would sit and freeze to death because she didn't remember about the heater. "So how cold did it get in here last night?"

"Cold enough that I woke up and you know if that happened then it was like Antarctica in here. And then I go in to wake up Mac, she's huddled in the middle of her bed freezing her ass off and she has an electric blanket." She lit the heater and stepped back while it sputtered to life. "She didn't have the damn thing plugged in, so I stole it."

"You left Mac to freeze her ass off?" Doris laughed and took a seat next to the heater. "Damn sea monkey has known for years that the furnace needs replaced, she's too damn lazy to call and have a new one put in."

"Well I didn't exactly leave her to freeze, she followed me and," She felt her face getting hot and knew it wasn't from the heater. "You want some coffee; I just made a fresh pot?" She hurried into the kitchen and felt her grandma right behind her.

"You're falling for the little sea monkey, you know she's really not that bad once she calms down."

"She has her moments; did you know that she combs her eyebrows and just wait until you see how she's dressed." She got coffee cups down and brought out cream and sugar. "And those horns on top of her head, I get this urge to smooth them down."

Doris leaned back in her chair and gave her granddaughter a knowing look; falling was past tense, she was gone. "So what else do you know about Mac and her habits?"

"She has hobbit feet and she spreads her toes continuously while she sleeps and then she…" She shut her mouth and dropped down into a chair across from her grandma. "I know more than I should in such a short time huh?"

"You know more than most people I'll put it that way, what surprises me is that she feels comfortable enough with you to act, like an idiot. And you're the same way, I know for a fact that you haven't been wearing layers of clothes and I know you have a pair of tight black leather pants." She grinned and clicked her false teeth when Truman choked on her coffee. "Did you really think that Sally sent Mac to that bar on a chance?"

"You people have been playing PI with my life haven't you?" She would have been pissed if this had happened at any other time in her life but because of it, Mac saw that she wasn't as straight laced as she wanted to appear. "You know she almost fell over when she saw me at the bar, she stood there and stuttered and then I gave her the third degree; I thought she was following me." She jumped from her chair when she heard a loud bang and then other smaller bangs come from the stairs; she let out the breath she had been holding when she heard Bert laugh and Mac cuss at him. She looked to her grandma and then went to the doorway to see what had happened.

"She's worse than a mother with a toddler, nervous, over protective and so damn anal." She looked to where she had set up the coffee cups in perfect alignment with their spoons beside them. "Mac's piggish ways must have her on the roof top within hours." She reached across the table and moved the spoons from where they were just to mess with her granddaughter.

********************

Mac picked up all the tools she had dropped and put them in Bert's toolbox, she leaned over and took one-step, fell over and lay on her stomach at the bottom of the stairs. "That's it I give up, I'm staying right here and I don't care if I get stepped on!" Truman looked to the bottom of the stairs and then to her snickering grandpa before skipping down the stairs to help Mac.

"Come on sea monkey, I made coffee and grandma D brought donuts." She pulled her to her feet and looked at how dirty her face and hands were. "Did grandpa make you go in the heat ducts or something?"

"Nope, he said stand right there, don't move or you'll get in my way and then all Hell broke loose and I got covered in soot." She bent over, grabbed the toolbox and cussed when the drawers slid out and all the tools fell out again. "I'm gonna take this fucking box and toss it off the roof!" She dropped the toolbox, twisted her horns between her fingers and whined. "I'm cold, dirty and I smashed my toes with the fucking toolbox."

Truman pulled the dishtowel from her pocket and wiped at the dirt covering Mac's face. "So are we going to get a new furnace instead of wondering if we'll be frozen one night?"

Mac grabbed her hand, stopped her from wiping her face off and just stared up into her face, her heart thumped when she took in the high cheekbones slopping down to a strong jaw. The small scar just below her bottom lip and the way her lips turned up at the corners. Without thinking, she wrapped her fingers in the front of Truman's shirt and pulled her closer. She licked her upper lip and stared into ice blue eyes. "Do we have any chocolate syrup for my coffee?" She grinned when Truman blinked and slowly nodded her head. "Good, you can get that fucking toolbox." She quickly kissed her chin and ran up the stairs before Truman could do anything.

"She'll pay for that later, I'll starch her boxers." She ran her fingertips across her chin, grinned and then got the toolbox. "Does that count as a first kiss?" She asked herself and jogged up the stairs.

************************

The next night, they sat on Mac's couch with Truman staring at her. The furnace was spitting out warm air at best and the apartments were plunging past the deep freeze line, even with the kerosene heater, they couldn't heat the entire upstairs. "On Monday I'm calling the furnace company and we're getting a new one." Truman said and put her ice-cold foot on Mac's leg. "One night of heat and then we're freezing our asses off, what did you do last year when this happened, or do I not wanna know?"

"First, can I afford a new furnace or am I gonna have to like search for a missing guinea pig from the guys childhood to be able to pull this off? And I always slept on Doris' couch when the furnace gave out, Terry's place isn't big enough and no one else wanted me…except for one reason and then they kicked me to the curb." She got up from the couch, hiked up her too big sweat pants and wandered out into the hallway. What made Truman shake her head was the zoot chain swinging down around her right knee.

"She's a freak that's all there is to it and I wouldn't want her any other way." When she got up and went to find her, she shook her head again when she found her staring at the one wall and twisting her horns. "What are you doing?"

"There's a fireplace behind this wall," She stepped closer and pointed to a seam at the ceiling. "My dad had it covered over years ago; he had this thing about the building burning because of the fireplace."

"And what good is it gonna do behind that wall?"

"We could tear it down and burn the wood to heat the upstairs tonight, drink some expensive Scotch in front of it and you can rub my feet."

Truman barked out with laughter, shut it off and shoved Mac. "You can rub your own hairy feet while you sit and look at that wall, what do I look like Bob Villa?"

"Can ya be Bert Villa, your grandpa built that wall, I'm surprised it's stayed up all these years." She stepped closer to the wall and found the nails sticking out of the wood paneling. "All we gotta do is pull these nails out and its right behind the paneling."

"Ohh yeah I can see it now, I pull the nails out, and the paneling falls and knocks me out. Then you give me CPR by taking off all my clothes and groping my tits."

"Damn you're good; can ya use your ESP and give me the winning lottery numbers for the pick 4?" She grinned and went into her office for the hammer she kept there, she went running back and handed it to Truman. "You're taller and can reach those nails better; I promise if ya get knocked out, I'll only grope you a little." With Truman pulling the nails out and Mac breaking up the wood after it was taken down, they had the wall down and were sitting on the floor drinking chocolate milk from the cartoon an hour later. "So what would you say to cuddling with me in front of the fire tonight?"

"I'd say have fun with your teddy bear because I've got the electric blanket and the kerosene heater."

Mac fell over on her back and clamped one hand over her heart. "And here I thought you were the romantic type, the brandy by the fire and some necking."

"Ohh I have nothing against romance but I'm all dirty, cold and tired, the only thing I want is a hot shower and my bed." She handed Mac the milk, got up from the floor and went into her apartment. It hurt her that she had to turn Mac down but the way she was feeling, it would go further than just sharing the fire. Sighing, she went into her bedroom for sweats and then went to her bathroom for her shower.

******************

It took a while and almost a whole pack of matches but Mac got the fire started and only let the hallway fill with smoke before opening the flu. With the screen closed, she went into her apartment, filled the kerosene heater and then went in for a shower. She knew that she was rushing it with Truman and that she had over stepped with the fireplace idea but she would make it up to her in the morning. That was if she wasn't frozen from lack of heat. "Maybe she won't notice if I sneak into bed with her?" She took a hot shower, dressed in sweats she stole from Truman and went out into her living room. Taking the thick blanket from the back of her couch, she wrapped it around herself and fell sideways onto the couch. After wiggling around, she got comfortable and groaned. "You're an idiot; you're comfortable and can't sleep because you left the light on."

"And you're gonna be cold as Hell if you stay here because I'm taking the heater." Truman turned the heater off and stood looking down at Mac. "Are you gonna sleep there or what?"

"Where else am I gonna sleep, the floors too hard in front of the…"

"Come on sea monkey, you got two minutes, after that you can sleep on the floor." She carried the heater across the hall, put it in the center of her apartment floor and relight it.

"How come we're staying over here and not in my apartment?"

"Because I've got the bed warm, I used a frying pan and got the sheets warm and I put more blankets on the bed, that's why."

Mac rubbed her hands together, ran into Truman's bedroom and jumped on the bed. "Since I'm first, I get ta pick my side!" She rolled from side to side and then took the side Truman always slept on. "Screw up your night, take your pillow to." She wiggled under all the blankets and then spread the one she brought out on top, by the time Truman came in she was half-asleep.

"Rotten hairy footed little twit," She dropped Mac's pillow on the bed, slipped her slippers off and crawled under all the blankets. "Steal my side and my pillow."

"Smells like you and it's softer than mine." She rolled over to face Truman, wrapped one arm around her waist and rested her wet head on her chest. A deep growling snore came from her and then whimpers that reminded Truman of a puppy.

"I don't like to cuddle." She turned her head and watched the horns appear on Mac's head. "Damn horns grow right outta your head." She wrapped her arm around her, smoothed down her horns with her other hand and drifted off to sleep.

*********************

Truman wandered up and down the stairs keeping an eye on both Mac and the furnace people that were hauling stuff in and out of the downstairs room. What had her blood pressure soaring were the looks the woman that was hauling the old furnace pieces out was giving Mac. Jealousy had never been a creature that she had dealt with before and she wasn't quite sure on how to handle it. Growling deep in her chest, she stood on the stairs and watched the butch flirt with Mac. It was below zero outside but this woman had shed her jacket and outer work shirt to strut around in her tank top. She flexed her muscles every time she walked by Mac and kept giving her lewd gestures. Truman stepped to the last step and stopped right behind an unknowing Mac, she waited for the woman to come back in before wrapping an arm around Mac's chest and pulling her back into her body. What got the woman's attention was the feline like growl, the baring of teeth and icy blue eyes narrowed beneath drawn eyebrows. Mac tilted her head back, looked at Truman and shivered; if the arm wrapped around her didn't yell 'mine' she would run screaming from the building. She turned her attention back to the show off and gave her a cocky grin before taking Truman's hand and spinning out of her personal space.

Whispering in a throaty voice, she said. "My God that is so…hot." She pulled her up the stairs and all the way into her apartment. "Was that feline display to scare off a certain furnace person because you care or because she was wasting time and you want the furnace done yesterday?" She stepped closer until she had Truman backed up against the wall. "Admit it Truman, you think I'm sexy, you want to kiss me and play with my horns." She ran her hands across Truman's stomach and slid them over to caress her hips. "You won't be disappointed."

"But you will, now get your paws off me before I let that Neanderthal down stairs have you." She slapped at her hands and finally just picked her up and moved her out of her way.

"Ohh you like me I can tell, if you didn't you wouldn't have growled at that woman down stairs." She licked her lips and wiggled her brows. "Come on Truman one little kiss and I'll leave ya alone." She opened her shirt, pulled out a red rose and handed it to her with a small bow. "One tiny little kiss and I'll leave you alone for two days."

Truman took the rose and brought it up to her nose. "You think I can be bought with just a rose?"

"It's a start right, I mean how many times have you gotten roses or a single red rose?" She wiggled her fingers at her. "Come on Truman, how many times…OK so," She backed up as far as she could before she was pinned up against the kitchen bar. "Maybe I'll get you some more roses, some chocolate candy or a what ever you want before I try this again." She wasn't prepared when Truman picked her up, put her on the bar and captured her lips in a kiss that had her falling backwards. She tried to raise her arms and wrap them around Truman's back but when her tongue slipped between her lips, she forgot everything but what was happening. Never before had anyone kissed her the way Truman was, her heart was pounding out of her chest, her ears were ringing and she was about to pass out from lack of air. Then, she was all alone and still lying on the kitchen bar.

"Ms. Jones we need to cut the power off…are you OK, you look a little flushed?" The furnace man asked and stepped further into her apartment. "Should I call someone, get you some water?"

She blinked, pressed her fingers to her tingling lips and grinned like an idiot. "Nope I'm good, just taking a little nap is all. Go ahead and turn the power off, just give me a minute to warn Truman." She gracefully got off the bar by falling off the edge and landing on the kitchen floor, she got up, limped across the hall, and then heard Truman yell her name. She limped into her office and felt her lips stretch into a wide grin. "I lied I'm not gonna leave you alone and they're turning the power off." She tried to strut over to her desk but stopped when Truman busted out laughing and fell from her chair. "What, I'm trying to be cool here and I can't because I got this damn chain tangled around me." She limped over to the chair in front of Truman's desk, tripped, fell into it, and then untangled herself from the chain. "You know this is all your fault and how long have you been in here?" She bent over and looked under the desk to see Truman laying there with her eyes closed. "Ohh what a perfect opportunity," She crawled under the desk and on top of Truman. "What happened to me in the kitchen, I don't remember anything?" She pried one of Truman's eyes opened and leaned in closer. "Can we do that again?"

Truman opened both eyes and shoved Mac off onto the floor. "Don't try and pull that, you know damn well what went on in the kitchen." When she was trying to get up, her foot went into Mac's zoot chain, she fell forward and landed with her face in Mac's crotch.

"What no foreplay?" Mac groaned and lifted her hips in the air. "I can handle that even though it's not even our second date."

Truman rolled off her, untangled her ankle and slapped Mac in her stomach. "And there won't be a first date either, now get up before I loose control and beat the shit outta you." She straightened her layers of clothes and ran her fingers through her hair. "I should have never kissed you…I must have unleashed the little Chihuahua in you or something." She fell backwards when her chair hit her behind the knees; she tilted her head back and looked at Mac. "That was cruel and heart stopping."

"I'm gonna pester you forever, and I'll give you heart stopping." She pulled Truman's head back and teased her lips with her own. Slowly she moved their lips against each other and then licked at Truman's bottom lip, when she parted her lips a little, Mac slipped her tongue in and kissed her passionately.

"Ohh sure, I haul my ass over here for a late dance practice, I stand down in the room for ten minutes and you're up here sucking face with some woman." Mac's dance partner Trudy said and then cleared her throat. "Hellooo MAC YOU PIG!"

Mac lifted her head up but kept her eyes closed, what started out as her kissing Truman turned into a battle of wills. She could still hear the whistles in her ears and feel the burning of her lungs from their kiss. "Damn but you could kill me; I've never heard bells and whistles before." She dropped her head down to rest forehead on her shoulder and opened one eye when she heard a throat clearing and a tapping foot. "Uuhhmm, we're caught." She left her head where it was and enjoyed the scent of Truman's hair and what was just her. "And if I don't move, you're gonna kick my ass and do other mean and nasty things huh?" She jumped when Truman growled. "Will you use the ruler on me later?"

"Get off me, I don't do cuddling."

"Yes you do, you can't get close enough ta me at night."

"Hellooo, remember me the one who caught you and is gonna blab to every cop I see? And what's this about cuddling; no one ever sticks around long enough to cuddle with Mac."

"That's apparent, she latches on and won't let go." Truman got out of her chair and slapped at Mac's groping hands. "Knock it off or I'll call that Neanderthal up here, damn rotten little sea monkey, go down stairs and dance until you fall over."

Mac wiggled an eyebrow at her and then walked over to Trudy. "I'll be up in a while and we can neck some more and maybe do some petting." She lurched from the room by Trudy yanking on her zoot chain.

"In your dreams and my worst nightmares, I'd rather kiss…any one but you!" She yelled and then dropped her head into her hands, she was trying to even out her breathing and calm her dancing nerves. "Damn you Truman what in the Hell are you doing?" She leaned back in her chair and ran a hand across her face. "Can you handle the little PI when it comes to more than just a kiss…that just about blew you fucking head off?" She spun back and forth in her chair with the stupidest grin on her face. "What could happen, she gets me off and I fall into a coma for the rest of my life?"

*******************

Truman had been out wandering around trying to get the feel for the case Mac was working on, she had been over at the ballroom and over to her grandma's to ask questions about Simson and his wife and any one else that he was close to. Her last stop was at the police station; she walked into the detective's area and saw Terry coming from one of the back offices. She checked her clothes and felt half-naked without her layer upon layer look. She looked up from checking to make sure that her shoes were on the right feet to see every male detective in the room ogling her. She looked back down to check her fly and then felt her face heating up from unease. She would have turned tail and ran if not for Terry's hand grabbing her elbow. "Ignore the assholes, the only woman they ever see is me and you got me beat 100 to one." She led her to her desk and gave each one of her men an evil glare. "Ya'll got work to do or what, damn men are useless as Hell when a gorgeous woman walks by." She dropped down in her chair and gave Truman a cocky grin. "So what brings you to my part of town?"

"I need some help with the Simson case."

"Where's Mac the fastest lips in West by God?"

Truman felt her face heating up again and looked to a point over Terry's right shoulder. "She's at the office interviewing a possible case," She crossed her ankles and leaned back in her chair. "I think this is a missing spouse case, and why are you giving me a feline grin?"

"Ohh because I heard all about you and Mac, so does she hog the bed and is she as good a kisser and lay as I've heard?"

"Ohh Jesus Christ, Trudy ran her mouth like she said she was and I'm taking the fifth on everything me and Mac have done…fuck me I have a big mouth." She covered her face with one hand and waved a finger at Terry. "We haven't done anything sexual so just stop thinking that way," She dropped her hand and saw that Terry was still grinning. "Ohh come on what now?"

"Ohh nothing besides that I've never known my old partner to pursue any woman, you're her first. Trudy told me she tried to set her up on a date and she turned her down flat, that's not Mac. She usually jumps at the chance for meaningless sex with any woman that catches her eye."

"So all she wants with me is sex, how unlike her."

"Ohhh no that's not it at all where you're concerned."

"So I'm a trophy, she can't have me so she'll do anything to win me?" She was getting madder by the second.

"Nope you're wrong again," She leaned across her desk and held pale blue eyes. "Just mentioning your name makes her swoon; she grins like a love sick pup and has to wipe her sweaty palms off. She's in love with you and there's nothing you can do about it."

"More like lust than anything, in my frumpy clothes I'm nothing, dressed like this I'm her fantasy."

"How blind can one woman be, how often are you dressed like you are right now and how does she treat you when you look your absolute worst?"

Truman had to think all of one second for the answer to her question, it didn't matter what she looked like with Mac. Even after waking up, with her face still puffy and her hair everywhere, Mac clung to her. She nodded her head and look sheepishly to Terry. "You're right but I still think it's because I'm like forbidden fruit to her…" She sighed and shook her head, no matter how she tried to think of Mac as the selfish sex crazed fiend it didn't work where she was concerned. Since their kiss in the office, Mac had been the perfect gentleman where she was concerned. She even had fresh flowers sent to her for her desk and brought her lunch from one of the better restaurants in town. After that, she had gone on her own quest for information while Mac interviewed the walk-in. "It's just hard for me to accept all the attention she gives me; it's strange and never happened before."

"I had a hard time accepting the change in Mac, I've always known her to be a womanizing little dog. But my spies out there tell me that she's been off the trail since she met you, even my Syd says that Mac is a lost cause." She grinned wider and wiggled her brows at Truman. "Now that woman has an unstoppable libido, I'm talking nonstop for hours every night!" She fell back in her chair and closed her eyes.

"Hours…you two do it for hours?" She shook her head and took a deep breath. "I came here to get pointers on PI work, not sex or be reminded that I haven't had any in years." She knew she had said too much when Terry's eyes popped open and her mouth along with them. "Can you shoot me before I give up anymore damning personal information?"

"Nah then I'd have a shit load of cops to pay off, your body to hide and a lot of explaining to Mac what happened to you. Now how can I help you with this case and what exactly is it that you need?"

"I need to know if any of the involved have warrants on them or past records, I tried pulling it up but I was locked out on Mrs. Simson for some reason."

Terry nodded and turned to her own PC; she typed for a few minutes and then looked to Truman. "She's under witness protection, that's why you couldn't pull anything up on her and why you were locked out. I'm surprised that this hasn't come up before, I mean with as many times as Mac has worked for the creep ya would have thought that she would know."

"Mac doesn't even know what a filing cabinet is used for and you want her to touch a PC and find out that she was locked out of a file? I do all her background checks now because she was so far behind that some of the companies had forgotten about them, I'm surprised that she's lasted as a PI at all."

"She lost interest after all these years, when she first started the PI thing, she was busy as Hell. Now it has gotten old and she's tired, not to mention people around here don't need PI's as much. I've tried to get her to retire and just do background checks or security consulting for extra money."

"So she just does this because she's bored and hasn't anything else to do?"

"Nope, she didn't want Doris to be without a job." She shrugged her shoulders and looked down at her desk. "She may seem like she doesn't care about anyone or thing but she's good at hiding it, maybe you can change her mind?"

"My grandma has been working because she didn't want Mac to be alone, ain't this screwed up?" She shook her head. "Those two dumbbells would keep on working until they were both in wheelchairs because of the other."

"Wouldn't that be something to see?" Terry took the print out from one of her officers and handed it across to Truman. "That's what I found out on Simson and his groupies, if you need anything else let me know and I'll help you."

Truman looked at the paper and smiled, it was more than she had hoped for. "Interesting, two of the four are in the witness protection. That leaves the boy toy and Simson, what are the chances that Mrs. and the slut are related some how?"

Terry felt her heart stop; the expression that came over Truman's features scared the Hell out of her. "Has anyone ever told you how scary you are?"

"No one that counts and Mac thinks it's sexy as hell." She got up, waved to Terry and walked from the room with every eye in the place following her.

************

"How come I get to be your muscle and I don't get paid?" Syd asked right before she kicked a door down. "Fucking sucks Mac, I want paid and in way of a huge ass steak dinner." She pulled her .9mm and dropped down beside the wall while Mac pulled both her pistols and creeped passed her to peek around the corner and into the dark garage.

"OK sounds like something I can afford," She grinned and crept closer to the dark garage where they knew to be a door in the floor that led to a secret passage. "Truman will cook for ya." Without being blown up, they had to do was make it through the passage; it reminded Mac of a video game so often played. "If my client is wrong about this I'm turning Truman loose on her if I survive."

"You've said her name more times than I can count and I'm ready to strangle you because of it." She crawled across the floor and kept an eye on the door leading out to the backyard. "You act like you're in love with her or something."

"Ohh great we're talking about stuff like this and it may very well be the last thing we talk about, so let's talk about… hot sex!"

"Ohh that's gonna be a one sided conversation, I get some and you don't. What else ya wanna talk about besides Trumantrumantruman?"

"How about that I can't lift this door up because your fat ass is on it?"

"And that's a problem how?" She grinned and moved off the door, a second later, they were in the dim passage and looking for the trip wires that were supposed to be there. "This sucks Mac," she whispered. "How many wires are there?"

"Six and then just the lock I have to pick to get the girl out."

"Why is this kid down here," She sniped a wire and tossed it to Mac to coil up. "What's so great about her that they would go through this much trouble to kidnap and keep her down here?" She cut another wire and moved forward.

"She's the daughter of a public official and the client is the kidnapper's girlfriend, she's keeping him busy until we get out of here."

"How come we're down here and not the cops or the FBI?"

"Because I'm greedy and wanted all the glory for myself," She coiled the last wire and looked to the steel door with a heavy padlock on it. "He would have one of those new fangled heavy duty a mortar round won't break me lock on the damn door."

"Please tell me that you're not gonna use those old bent lock picks that belonged to a guy that broke out of some prison in 02 BC?"

"I got new ones; these are from a guy who broke out of prison in 03 BC." She pulled her lock picks out and then sighed when Syd handed her a new set of lock jigglers. "This takes all the fun out of it." She quickly opened the lock and then Syd pulled the door back to reveal a young woman in her early twenties handcuffed to a chain. "Ready to get out of this rat hole?" Once out of the garage, the three of them ran to where Syd had hidden her truck. Before Syd and Mac could get in, bullets ricocheted off the building and around them. "Fuck this shit!" Mac pulled both pistols and fired at the three men running towards them, when she was empty; she jumped in and yelled when the door hit her in her legs. "Did you make the back-up call?" She grunted and pulled herself up onto the seat.

"Yep the boys in blue should be there in a few seconds," She pulled the distributor cap from their car off the dashboard and tossed it out the window. "They can't go anywhere and with all that shooting the neighbors had to call 911." As they rounded a corner, three police cars blew past them. "As usual they're late." She grinned and looked over to the dirty frightened woman next to her. Are ya hungry, Mac's treating?"

************************

Truman looked up from her PC and gave Mac a glare that told her exactly what she felt at that moment. Terry had called her and told her what Mac and Sydney had done and to tell her lover that she was in deep shit. "You had better lock yourself in your apartment for the next 20 or 30 years and you!" She pointed to Sydney. "Are in even deeper shit than the sea monkey!" She got up from her desk and saw the dirty under-nourished woman with them. "Ohh for fuck sakes Mac," She grabbed her by her pistol harness and pulled her up close to her body. "What is wrong with you, she should be at the hospital."

"She didn't want to go and besides I promised them food and said you'd cook it." She ran her hands up Truman's stomach to stop right over her breasts. "You'll do that for us won't you?" She ran her thumbs across her hardening nipples and watched her eyes go to silver.

"Then I'm going to kill your rotten little ass, I can't believe you got in a gun fight." She held back the moan that was fighting to come forth and moved away from Mac's wandering hands. "Why didn't you leave me a note saying where you were going?"

"I wasn't sure that we were gonna be doing anything," She limped behind Truman and slapped at a snickering Sydney. "It was all Syd's idea to get in that gunfight; if she hadn't parked ten miles away we wouldn't have had that problem."

"Ohh sure blame it all on me," She waited for the young woman to go before her and then asked her name. "Who are you anyway?"

"Lynne Holmes and thanks for getting me out of that place, my dad will pay you guys the ransom money."

Syd looked from Lynne to Mac and pointed a finger at her. "You didn't say anything about a ransom!"

"Ohh because I didn't know anything about a ransom that's why," She grabbed Truman's ass on her way to her bedroom and yelped when she was kicked in her ass. "Ohh that makes me even hotter for ya Truman!"

"She's gonna pay later that's for damn sure." Truman mumbled to herself and took a deep breath to calm her raging hormones.

***********************

Mac leaned back in her office chair and looked at the check in her hand, never in her life had she seen that many zeros on a check with her name on it. She brought it to her lips and gave it a big kiss, when it was pulled from her fingers she whimpered. "Do you want me to burn a copy and have it framed?" Truman asked as she stuffed it in a zippered moneybag with the rest of the checks that had come in that week. "I'm going to the bank to make the deposits and then to the grocery store for food, is there anything you want or need?"

Mac licked her lips and gave her the predatory look that she used on so many women. "Yeah you ta sit on my face." She would have wiggled her eyebrows but didn't have the chance when she found herself falling backwards and landing so that she could look up at the ceiling. "Hey I was kidding…Truman…I'm sorry!" She yelled after her and struggled to get off the floor. "Damn it," She fell to her stomach and slapped the floor. "I fucked up again." She crawled across the floor and out to Truman's desk, getting into her chair, she picked up the phone and hit speed dial. "Hey it's me again; I need two dozen long stem roses, one red and the other what ever color says I'm sorry." She thought for a minute and asked for something else. "Do ya have anything with a stuffed animal; you know a bear or something?" She listened to her options and ordered one of each kind. "How long before it's all delivered?" She hung up with a long sigh and then went into her apartment. "You have a lot of ass kissing to do MacKenna."

******************

"I can't believe she said that, the little pig!" Truman ranted to thin air. "She's worse than any man I know and I could just pommel her when she opens her mouth and that shit comes out!" She slammed a hand on the steering wheel and yelled at the car in front of her. "Move it asshole I'm pissed and in the mood to kill innocent bystanders!" She pulled into the banks parking lot and then tromped in mumbling under her breath. "Rip her tongue out…no it's useful for other things…don't go there Truman." She stepped up to one of the tellers and pulled all the checks from the bag. She couldn't help but grin when she came to the check for two hundred and fifty thousand dollars. "Mac won the lottery." She took the receipt and the two hundred dollars in cash that would go for their food and left the bank feeling calmer than before. An hour later and with the car full of groceries, she pulled into the garage and got out. She went over to the intercom that Mac had put in and buzzed her apartment. "Get your ass down here and help me!"

Mac ran around Truman's apartment getting last minute details done before she ran down the stairs to the garage. Huffing and puffing, she jogged over to her car and dropped her eyes when Truman turned to look at her. "I'm sorry for before, that was uncalled for and I'm sorry." She moved past her and took four of the bags from the back before heading back to the stairs. "Whose apartment do these go to?"

"Yours that's where we eat isn't it?" She grabbed her own share of bags and followed. "She's up to something and it can't be good."

Mac put the bags on the kitchen table and ran for the stairs and past Truman who was almost to the top. She jumped down the last three steps and pushed through the door to the garage. After grabbing four more bags, she ran to the door and stopped to get her breath. "I may not last for supper; I think I'm having a heart attack." She took deep breathes and looked up when she heard footsteps coming down the stairs.

"What are you doing?" Truman asked and then saw how flushed she was and the sweat pouring down her face. "Mac put the bags down," She ran down the steps, took the bags from her hand, and made her sit down. "Breath Mac, take deep breathes." She caught her when she grabbed her chest and fell over. "Don't do this to me Mac!" She picked her up and carried her over to the car. After getting her inside, she ran around and got behind the wheel. "Hold on Mac, were going to the hospital."

"I'm OK…happens some times." She panted, fell over on the seat and grabbed at her chest. "It hurts…" She grabbed onto Truman's leg to keep from falling off the seat when she tore out of the garage at breakneck speed. "Don't kill us on the way."

*****************

Truman paced the floor in the hospitals waiting room and ignored the looks she was getting from the other people. It had been two hours and even threatening the lives of several nurses and two doctors couldn't get her any answers. Finally, she called Terry at home and asked her to come over and use her badge to get through the doors. It had been fifteen minutes since Terry had passed into the 'doctor's only territory' and it was killing her not knowing what was going on. With the whoosh of the doors, she spun and saw that it was Terry pushing Mac in a wheelchair. Her smaller friend looked terrible, her skin was pale and she looked exhausted. "Ohh God Mac what did they say?" She took the papers from her hand and looked to Terry.

"She'll be OK, it's happened before and it's one of the reason's she quit the force. She gets stressed out and ends up with a panic attack; she needs to stay in bed for a few days and rest."

"And I can talk for myself ya know, I'm not dead yet." She looked up into tear-filled blue eyes and felt bad for scaring Truman. "Sorry for scaring you and all the other stupid ass things I did today, can we go home now since super cop sprung me from this prison?"

"Glad I could help," She messed up Mac's hair more than it already was and handed Truman the discharge papers. "And I want to thank both of you for giving Syd that money; she paid off all her bills and paid the taxes on the Ballroom for the next three years."

"She helped me so I paid her, no thank you needed." Mac said and looked up at Truman. "Are all the groceries ruined because of having to be here?"

"Nope, the frozen stuff is still in the car and its cold enough out there to keep them that way. The rest were just staples, cereal, soup and some other stuff." She saw that Terry was standing with her mouth hanging open. "I do all the cooking so I do the grocery shopping to."

"God you two are like a married couple, what else do you do?"

Mac grinned and wiggled her brows. "Lots of stuff, she even cleans and washes clothes. But she doesn't want precious for some odd reason." She waved her ring in front of Truman and tilted her head to the side. "What about now though, I'm rich, I own my building, kinda good looking and I can say I'm sorry when I'm wrong?"

"Keep on dreaming there sea monkey, just because you have money doesn't make you a good catch." She helped her into her car and then gave Terry a tight hug. "Thank you for coming, I don't know what I'd do if anything happened to her." She let go and wiped tears from her eyes. "Can you guys come over for supper tomorrow night?"

"Sure, we'll be there. Anything we can bring, like beer or wine?"

"Nope we have everything; around seven o'clock would be good."

Terry looked at the passenger window and raised an eyebrow. "You better get her home; she's acting weirder than usual when she's on drugs."

Truman turned her head and rolled her eyes, Mac had her face smashed against the window with her tongue hanging out. "This should be fun tonight; I may have to tie her in bed." She blushed when she thought of what she could do to the restrained PI and Terry laughed. "I better get her home before she does something to get us arrested." She gave Terry a quick hug and cussed when she saw that Mac was stripping out of her clothes.

***********

"OOHHH NO YOU DON'T!" Truman yelled at Mac and spun her back towards the couch. "Sit your ass down or I tie you up, you need to rest or I take you back to the hospital."

"Under one condition, you sit here with me, I'm tired of being in here alone."

"How many years have you lived alone Mac and I'm just at my desk."

Too many years and I can sit out there just as well as I can in here," She gave her puppy dog eyes and grinned when Truman held out her hand. "Someone's coming up the stairs," She looked to the door and knew she was in deep shit. "Ohh Hell where's my guns?" She jumped from the couch and ran for her bedroom.

"I'm looking for a Truman Avery." The flower shop deliveryman asked after looking at his clipboard.

"I'm Truman and from the way Mac took off out of here I know the flowers are from her." She took the boxes he held, signed the paperwork and handed him some bills from her pocket. "Thanks for coming all the way up here."

"I have more stuff down in my van, where do you want it?"

Truman looked at him and then cleared her throat. "More flowers…how many more?"

"I'm not real sure, it's all boxed." He went down the stairs and out to his van. When he was finished, Truman stood in her apartment looking at all the arrangements he had brought up.

"Ohh is she in trouble, some flowers are fine but buying out the place is way over board." She ran her fingers across the petals of the red roses she was carrying and then took in the scent. She placed them on her desk and then went over to chew Mac out; when she got to her bedroom door, she changed her mind. "She might get chest pains again or drop from a stroke." She tapped on the door and when she didn't hear anything, she opened it up. "You know that poor man has a hernia now, why did you get me so many arrangements?" She pulled the blanket off Mac and chuckled when she tried to hide under her pillow.

"Uuhhmm because I'm a cad and saying I'm sorry just wasn't enough?" She peeked out and saw the small smile on Truman's face.

"You know my apartment looks like a hospital room and the flowers scent is so strong that I can't breathe?"

"Sorry, you can always sleep here or bring the flowers over, your choice." She rolled to her side and gave her a wicked grin. "Did I do OK though?" She watched as Truman moved further onto the bed and towards her.

"Yeah you did OK just don't do that anymore, it's too much." She leaned down and placed a gentle kiss to her lips. "One rose is fine, a couple hundred flowers is over board." She kissed her again only longer this time, when she pulled back, Mac wrapped an arm around her neck and pulled her back down.

"One more and I'll behave myself." She captured her lips in a steamy kiss that had them sinking into the mattress with deep moans. Truman straddled her hips and ran her hands across her tight stomach until she could get her hands under the t-shirt she wore. The feel of warm silky skin sent tingles to her center and what Mac was doing with her tongue had her juices flowing. She shivered from her wetness and broke the kiss when her lungs began to burn.

"We shouldn't be doing this, you just got out of the hospital yesterday and Terry and Syd will be here in 30 minutes or so." She looked down into emerald green eyes and wished for the first time that circumstances were different. She wanted nothing more than to fall into her and feel for the first time in years. "You need to take your medicine and unlock the door downstairs."

"They have their own keys and I already took my pill, lot a good it'll do me." She sighed when Truman got up and held out a hand to her.

"I'm gonna go shower, keep an eye on the roast and make sure it has water in the roaster."

"You don't need a shower; you're not dirty or anything."

Truman narrowed her eyes. "I need a shower now watch supper until I'm done." She walked quickly to her own apartment and started stripping before she got to her bedroom. "I need a cold shower after what we were doing." She grabbed clean clothes and headed to the shower, turning the water to mostly cold; she climbed in and pulled the curtain closed. She shivered and yelled out when the cold water hit her chest. "Fuck this shit, I can't take cold showers." She adjusted the water and heard Mac calling her name. "Now what did she do?"

"Nothing that I haven't thought of or done before," She pulled the curtain back and grinned from ear to ear. "I turned the oven off and pulled the roast out." She climbed in behind Truman and pressed into her back. "I decided that I'm as dirty as you are."

"Do you enjoy pain because I'm about to cause you a great deal of it?" She shivered and moaned when small hands ran across her body and up to her breasts.

"Depends on what kind of pain, a little is good." She pressed tighter against her back and caressed her breasts until she felt her sinking to her knees. "But we don't have time for that," She pulled her earlobe in to her mouth and sucked gently before nipping it. "Maybe later we can explore the possibilities of you inflicting pain on me?" She got out of the shower, ran back to her own apartment and to her bedroom to get dressed. "I'll wear you down until you fall for me." She dressed quickly and went into the kitchen to set the table.

"She's gonna kill me one way or another," Truman whimpered and placed her hand between her thighs. "Can't believe she's got me to this point." She ran her fingers through her wetness and then rubbed her throbbing clit until she climaxed with a loud breath and a whimper. With her knees still weak, she climbed from the shower and went into her bedroom with her clean clothes hanging from one hand. A couple minutes later, she was dressed and heading over to Mac's. When she walked in, her face turned red when she saw Terry and Syd sitting at the kitchen table. Ignoring their looks and Mac's wide grin, she went over to the roasting pan and pulled the roast out to cut.

"So Mac's been telling us that you've kept her a couch prisoner all day," Terry said and saw that her face became a deeper shade. "Or was that a sex prisoner?"

"You're a dead women Mac, as soon as we're alone I'm reading you the riot act and killing you."

"Hey I didn't say anything about sex, that's all Terry and her evil over sexed mind, not that I haven't been thinking about it for a while now, but I didn't say anything, I'm trying to be good." She pointed a finger at her friends. "Stop it or I'll kick your asses and enjoy it." She took the serving plate from Truman and then helped her with the rest of the food; Terry tapped Syd's foot and nodded to where the other two women were working in the kitchen.

"That is just too weird; they know what the other wants before she knows it."

"I know what you want, does that count?"

*************

Curled up on her side Truman was looking out her bedroom window, it was almost light outside and her alarm clock would be ringing in a few moments. She had flipped and flopped all night long and felt like she had a hang over from no sleep. She was about to crawl from bed when she felt a warm body snuggle up against her back, she looked over her shoulder and saw sleepy green eyes looking at her. "What are you doing in here?"

"I missed you last night; I can't sleep with out that snorting growling noise you make in your sleep."

"That's not me making all those weird noises that's you, now what are you doing in here."

"I'm hungry and wanted ta know if you'd make me some French toast, I've tried to make it before but I end up with this soggy bread and…" She buried her face in the back of Truman's neck and took a deep breath. "It can wait; I just wanna lay here for a while." She wrapped her arms around her tighter, brought her leg up over Truman's hip, and fell over onto her stomach when Truman got out of bed.

"You stay there and cuddle with my pillow, I don't cuddle and I don't do sex so just forget it." She grabbed her robe and pulled it on.

"Jeez and I've been told that I'm not a morning person, what made you so mean and celibate?" She jumped when a low growl came from Truman; she got out of bed and followed behind her. "How about if I make you some coffee, maybe rub your shoulders…massage your feet?" She jogged behind her and tried to come up with something else to do for her.

"Mac will you stop following me like a puppy, I don't enjoy sex and cuddling makes me claustrophobic so just drop it and get the eggs and milk out."

Mac grabbed her chest and fell on to the kitchen counter. "But sex is everything, its exciting and bonding, its mind blowing!" She threw her hands in the air and tilted her head back. "It's orgasmic and exhausting in a good way!"

"It sucks and that's why I don't have it anymore, now get the stuff out or go hungry." She dropped her head down and took a deep breath. "Son of a bitch," She turned and took in Mac's sleep rumpled self and sighed. "Listen, I'm sorry for snapping at you, I didn't sleep and my back hurts. Just get the stuff out and I'll make breakfast as soon as I get out of the bathroom." She walked towards the bathroom and felt green eyes watching her, she had no idea why she acted so mean towards the small PI. "It's my parents fault, has to be, who else's could it be?"

Mac got everything out that Truman would need for their breakfast, she knew Truman didn't mean anything by snapping at her but she did have her curious as to the not having sex part. "I'll change her mind, may take me the rest of our lives but I'll change it. Hell with what we've done so far there ain't much further to go." She grinned from the idea blossoming in her mind. "I can be Rhett Butler to her Scarlet O'Hara, already kinda dress like him." She hiked up the too big sweats she was wearing and tried to smooth down her horns. "Finesse, charisma, and a lot of understanding and patience will work." She groaned and twisted her hair into tight horns. "I may be taking a lot of cold showers and crying on Terry's shoulder." She looked up when she felt Truman trying to smooth her horns down.

"Those things will never disappear will they?" She smoothed them down again to watch them pop back up.

"I've always had 'em, my ma used to say that it was my true personality showing through, pop said it was his genes showing." She looked into pale blue eyes and saw years of pain and suffering come forth and knew that it came from her parents. "You busy today," She changed the subject hoping to change Truman's mood. "I'm going over to see Mrs. Simson while asshole is at his bar, maybe find out more of what's going on with that dysfunctional family?"

"Nope, I finished all the background checks and since you and Syd did your Kamikaze stunt the other night, no ones called."

"OK, now do you know how to shoot a gun?"

"Mac I'm from Alabama what do you think?" She stepped around her with a wicked grin on her face and started their breakfast. "You make the coffee and only put three scoops in there not six, I was jittery all day yesterday from that crude oil you made."

*******************

Truman came out of her bedroom dressed in black trousers, shirt and carrying her jacket over her arm, she rolled her eyes at Mac and went over to her desk. "Put your hat on your horns have hard-on's." She grabbed a switchblade from her desk drawer and saw that Mac noticed.

"You have a switch blade and my horns only get that way around you," She held out a worn double pistol harness and a wooden box. "These were my pops, I've kept the guns oiled and sighted in."

"Do you really think it's going to be that bad that I need to carry and besides, if I put that harness on then I'm carrying without a license?"

"Nope, you have one of those; good thing I give concealed permits huh?" She handed her a laminated concealment license and a leather wallet. "That's your PI badge, you're my partner now."

"As far as I know I have to take some kind of test to be a PI or did I already do that and don't remember?" She put the holster on and then opened the wooden box to see two nickel plated Colt .38 Super pistols in a bed of red velvet. "Mac I can't carry these…"

"Ohh yes you can, I have my favorites right here." She tapped the butts of her .9mm pistols. "I just cleaned those yesterday and the clips are full, they hold nine bullets to the normal seven that other Colts have." She felt her pulse pound when Truman pulled on a long black leather trench coat and then slipped on a pair of dark aviator sunglasses. "Damn but you're hot." She mumbled, walked slowly up to her and ran her fingers across the smooth warm leather. "As hard as you've made it and as hard as I tried not to, I've still fallen in love with you, now let's go bust some ass."

Truman's mouth dropped open; she spun and watched Mac jog down the stairs. "You can't say that!" She took off after her and ended up jumping down the stairs to catch up. "You can't say that to me and you can't be in love with me…there's a law against it!" She jumped into the passenger seat of the Outback and grabbed Mac by the front of her brown leather bomber jacket. "Take it back, take it all back."

Mac turned her head and blew her a kiss. "Nope can't do that so gimme some sugar and I'll leave you alone until we get home." When Truman just glared at her, she shrugged her shoulders. "OK how about some heavy petting…or maybe we should get this case over with and then talk about our 'partnership' later."

"You're out of your mind and I will never give you anymore sugar and I told you I don't do sex." She straightened her coat and turned to stare out of the windshield. "It's ho hum, boring, a waste of time and,"

"You were with the wrong person; she must have really been bad."

"Him it was a man and it was horrible, disgusting…" She looked to Mac and back to the road ahead. "I was…confused and trying to live the life my parents wanted, you know the southern lady, husband, two point five kids, dinner parties and the charity functions. Funny thing is that my parents are divorced, my father lives in DC with some slut and mother is still in Alabama trying to convince herself and everyone else that he's coming back." She looked over to Mac and sighed. "Needless to say that I'm more of a disappointment than the long list of sluts my father has."

"The Hell with what they want and think it's your life, live it the way you want." She now knew more about Truman than she did before and if given half the chance, she would kick her parent's asses for all the shit they tried to force on her. "Stick with me doll and I'll show you the world."

"That's what scares the Hell outta me," She leaned back into the seat and closed her eyes. "Wake me when we get there." 40 minutes later Mac was parking the car across from Simson's huge house. It showed exactly how much money he made or stole whichever way you wanted to look at it. She looked over to Truman's profile and felt her heart thump in her chest, she was the most beautiful woman she had ever seen and she loved her more than anything. "This is a first for you MacKenna; you've never been in love before and you've never said that L word to a woman either." She reached out and trailed her fingers down Truman's cheek to her soft lips, leaning to her side; she kissed the side of her neck and waited for her to wake up. "Come on Truman we're here," She lifted her lips to her ear and whispered. "This will only take a few minutes and then we can go home." She moaned when Truman turned her head and pressed their lips together, her hat hit the floor and she fell back into her seat. "It can wait." She tangled her fingers into silky hair and pulled Truman down on top of her. They acted like teenagers in the front seat, hands roamed under clothes; they moaned deeply and grunted as they tried to get closer to each other.

"Well I never expected to see this," Terry stood looking inside the Outback. "Should I or shouldn't I give you all a ticket for indecent exposure and Mac, when did you get your nipples pierced?" She chuckled as she watched them try to straighten their clothes and calm down. "I'm supposed to be your back-up but I'm not into group sex and besides, Syd wears me out every night."

"Shut up Terry and don't you dare say a word about this," Mac looked over to Truman and blushed. "Just don't say anything."

Terry felt her jaw drop when Truman got out of the car. "Damn Mac but you sure can pick 'em, you better marry her." She whispered out of the corner of her mouth and then gave a glaring Truman a bright smile. "I love that coat, do they make them smaller for us regular sized peoples?"

*****************

Mac threw her hands in the air and walked away from Mrs. Simson, she had been trying to convince her to go into police protection for the last half hour with no luck. She looked to Truman, dropped her head and shook it. "Why don't you give it a try, I've done everything I can and Terry's given up?"

"Like I'm a convincing person, I can't even convince you that I don't like making out with you…" She covered her face and shook her head. "Forget I said that, I can't even convince myself of that anymore. God I'm such a loser when it comes to you." She went into the living room, looked at Terry and marched straight over to Mrs. Simson. "Listen lady, either you tell me what I wanna know or I go tell everyone in your husbands bar that he's a queen and jerks himself off to bathroom recordings he gets from the men's room." She leaned towards the woman and looked at her over the tops of her sunglasses. "And that this information came right from you, just think of what he'll do to you when he gets home."

"You wouldn't do that; no one in their right mind would wish a beating on a woman!" She looked to Terry and then to Truman. "What is wrong with you people?"

"I never said I was in my right mind and to prove it I'm going over to your husbands bar and cause hate and discontent."

"Why are you doing this, please I'll tell you anything you want just don't cause problems with that asshole."

"Who beat up Mac," She grabbed the front of her shirt and picked her up out of her chair. "If you lie I'll know and then I'll make one phone call." She growled deeply and felt Mrs. Simson shiver.

"It was the bartender at my husbands bar, he owed him." She started to cry when Truman didn't release her. "I swear on my daughter's life it was him."

Terry nodded her head to Truman and then used her radio to call in a few cars to arrest the bartender and Mr. Simson. "OK Truman you can let her go now," She laid a hand on her arm and gave it a small shake. "Let go and go check on Mac." She shivered when silvery eyes turned her way and held her, she swore that the room's temperature dropped twenty degrees and was glad when Mac came into the room. "Mac can you do something?"

She ran her hands across her shoulders and whispered in her ear. "Come on Truman you're getting me all hot and bothered here, let Mrs. Simson go and we'll go home and I'll share my Victoria's Secret catalog with ya." When Truman let her go, she turned to Mac, grabbed her hand and pulled her from the house.

"I'm filing for police brutality, do you hear me!"

"Go ahead but she's not a cop," Terry said and then led her out the front door to one of the waiting police cars. "She should be though; she's damn good with interrogation."

*****************

Mac jogged up the stairs beside Truman, she kept glancing at her profile and hoped that her heart held out for what she hoped was to come that night. The whole way home, Truman had been staring at her with an intensity to set her blood on fire. "Are you OK, you're awful quiet?"

"Ask me again later," She grabbed Mac's hand and pulled her into her apartment, she kicked the door closed and then stalked her all the way to her bedroom. "You're in desperate trouble; I can't believe what I did. I threatened that woman, had her squirming in my hand." She dropped her coat on the floor and pinned Mac against the wall. "The power I had over her, that's what I've always wanted. That's what I always fantasized about doing to my asshole father," She slipped her hands under Mac's jacket and up her ribs. "Grab him by his throat and bounce him off a wall a couple times." She nipped her chin and then grabbed her earlobe between her teeth. "Is it always like this, the adrenaline rush?"

Mac shivered and closed her eyes, her body was screaming with excitement. "Ohh it can be better than that I guarantee it," She pressed her hips into Truman and moaned deeply. "Let me show you." She pulled Truman's head down and kissed her with everything that she was feeling and what was in her heart. Wrapping her arms around her neck, she lifted her legs up to wrap around her waist. When their kiss ended, Mac looked into dark blue eyes and saw her future. "I love you Truman and I want you." Truman walked towards her bed with Mac still wrapped around her body; she couldn't fight what she was feeling anymore.

"Do you mean it?" She asked as she stopped in front of her bed. "Don't lie to me just to get in my pants, 'cuz if you are, I'll throw you out the window."

"I would never lie about that, trust me." She kissed her gently and pulled back. "Just trust me Truman." She held on as Truman lowered her to her bed and let her arms fall to the side. "You know I'm really good at this?"

"You're pushing it Mac," She took off the pistol holster, slowly unbuttoned her shirt and slipped it from her shoulders. "I don't want what you gave others." She leaned down and then crawled onto the bed to straddle Mac's hips.

"I've never loved anyone else Truman, you're my first and last if you'll have me?"

"Mac offering me your ring is a bit premature." She pulled her up so that she could get her coat and shirt off. "This could go really wrong, we could end up hating each other and…" She looked towards her apartment door; someone was pounding on it hard enough to make the wall shake. "See, the fates have jumped in and interrupted us, it has to be a sign of some kind."

Mac cussed and got up from the bed when Truman did. "Yeah that I'm going to prison for committing murder." She went to the door, yanked it open and growled. "You suck!" She tried to slam the door on Terry and found out that it wouldn't budge. "Move your foot!"

"My feet aren't anywhere near the door, hi ya Truman, I hated coming over here. I tried calling but when you guys didn't answer," She saw that their shirts were missing and knew why Mac said she sucked. "Ohhh Hell, I'm sorry guys. It's Simson, he threw a fit at the station, I'm suspended and the DA is looking for you." She tapped Mac on her head. "They want your license because we fucked up a case that Internal Affairs has been working on for the last two years."

"Wait a minute, I was finding the assholes who beat me up it had nothing to do with the IAD."

"Mac didn't do anything it was me; I forced Mrs. Simson for the information." Truman handed Mac her shirt and pulled her own on. "Who do I talk to, you guys aren't to blame for any of this and why was he throwing such a fit?"

"It won't matter who you talk to, they're all pissed and assholes pissed because she wasn't home when he got there and then someone from the cop shop called and let him know that she was put in to protection."

Mac rolled her eyes and thumped her head against the door. "The cop that called Simson is the one that IAD is investigating; he thinks that the wife has spilled her guts about what's going on."

"And he's gone clean as holy water and passed it on to who ever else was involved on the take."

"Just fucking great and I'm to blame because they're slow and didn't get the evidence they needed to bust these assholes before?"

Truman held up a hand to interrupt them. "Wait a minute, this just ain't right. They're using us for scapegoats, so that's telling me that there's a problem in the IAD. So what is it and how can we find out?"

Terry looked from Truman to Mac and shrugged her shoulders. "No idea, that's like an entirely different creature all in its own. Those cops are supposed to bust bad cops so they look at all cops as being bad. They really hate Mac; she's been a thorn in their side for years."

"Why doesn't that surprise me, it seems that she has that special talent of getting under everyone's skin like a splinter." She picked Mac up under her arm and carried her across the hall to her apartment. "I need coffee, I can't think without caffeine."

"Could you put me down, I feel like a sack of tators?" Mac hung under her arm and covered her head when Truman walked too close to the door jam. "I can't think if I'm in a coma from a head injury."

"Like we'd be able to tell one way or another where you're concerned." Terry said and smacked her on her ass before going to the kitchen table and taking a chair.

*******************

Mac looked across the desk at the police Captain and then over to Terry, they had decided to spend a few hours with Terry's boss as both an alibi and maybe figure out what was going on with the IAD officers. "Now Captain you know damn well that Simson paid those guys to beat the Hell outta me because I wouldn't kill his wife and one of the guys he paid to beat me up. Now that has me confused beyond belief, he wants me to kill the guy but turns around and pays him to attack me. I had no idea that IAD was working on Simson so why do they want to slap me around and take my PI license?"

"Now you know as well as I do that IAD are a bunch of up tight assholes that can't find their own dicks with both hands, they're pissed and what better way to cover up their fuck up then to blame you." Captain Morris said and tossed her a cigar from his desk drawer. "And to top it all off, you solve a high profile case before we even knew there was one. The Mayor was fucking pissed about that one," He winked and tossed her his cigar lighter. "Come to think of it, he's hated you since the day you were born."

Mac grinned and gave Terry a wink. "He was doing the kiss the baby thing and I wasn't pleased about it so I threw up on him." She polished her nails on her shirt front and grinned wider.

"Figures, even as a baby you were evil; I just hope you never have kids. Does Truman wants kids; I can see her with kids?"

"I don't know we never talked about stuff like that…" She looked to the Captain when he cleared his throat. "Never mind, we'll talk later. Anyway boss man, how can we get me out of trouble?"

The Captain looked at his watch and counted on his fingers how much time had passed. "It all depends on how long of an alibi you two needed for what ever it was that you planed?"

Terry covered her eyes with one hand and kicked Mac in her shin. "We never pull that off, why is that?"

"Because you look at you watch every few minutes and Mac twitches each time a door opens, that's how I know when you two are playing around. So who's doing your dirty work and will they be in lock-up later?"

"They better not end up there or someone's gonna be hurting and it ain't us, Syd doesn't play well with others and Truman..."

Mac kicked her back and pointed a finger at her. "Will kill me the first second she gets if she's arrested and get you to, remember what you interrupted today?" She wiggled her brows and cleared her throat when Captain Morris snickered.

"Like you won't get a hold of it later tonight," He said and then saw how red Mac's face was. "Ohhh so this isn't one of your floozies, what's happened to you?"

"She's finally growing up after 30 some years, she might even live to have another birthday."

***************

"You know we could have just had a nice little chat but you just had to call me a bitch," Truman shook her left hand and grinned wickedly when the man screamed. "Why is it that men always think that women are bitches," She looked over to Syd. "Do they call their mothers bitches because they're women?"

"If they had any kind of parents, they wouldn't have teeth left in their heads. My ma busted my ass the first time I swore in her presence, whatcha say we drop this fucker and go have some supper?" She loosened her grip on the screaming man's ankle and let out a loud howl. "Scream like a bitch!"

"Alright I'll tell ya just pull me up!" They pulled him up and dropped him on the roof top, just so that he didn't change his mind; Syd dangled a noose in front of him. "There's a dozen cops on the take, I'm just one of 'em and I'm not telling ya who the others are. They'll kill me and it'll compare to nothing that you could ever envision."

Truman placed the toe of her boot on his crotch and pressed down. "Don't be to sure about that little man, I've got a whole bunch of bodies hidden that think I did just fine. Now who's the man in charge of all this and we'll forget all about you pissing yourself?"

"He's a public official…the case Mac solved, it's her father. It was all a set up to get him to give up the money, he was ripping us off."

"Ohh I get it now, the bad cops were pissed because they weren't getting a fair percentage from the crooked politician! Well fuck you all!" Syd grabbed him by the front of his shirt, picked him up and tossed him off the roof.

"I bet he shit himself with that one," Truman slapped hands with her, walked to the edge, and looked four feet down to where the cop was weeping on an old filthy mattress. "Fucking pussy, you need to go turn yourself in, and you suck because if you were any kind of cop, you'd know about the secondary roof on your own building!"

Syd placed a hand on her shoulder and squeezed. "So do ya think Mac would make me a PI, I can be the muscle?"

"That all depends, can you use a PC?"

She rolled her eyes and snorted. "Who can't, it's a part of living…oohh so Mac still won't touch the things, damn wimp." She scratched her jaw and looked at Truman's profile. "About those bodies, did you…ya know?"

"Ohh hundreds of them back in Alabama, my cousin was pissed when I buried all his little green army guys."

******************

Mac stood at the edge of the door to the IAD offices, she was trying to eaves drop on any conversation that she could. She had a bad feeling about them and knew that they just had to be involved in the case more than anyone knew. All she could hear were mumbles and air blowing in her ear. "You're loosing your touch Mac; a blind person would know you're hiding out here."

"You suck Terry and I wasn't hiding, I was…lurking in the shadows. Did you find out anything from the garage mechanic?"

"He said that three of the plain cars were checked out by IAD the day before the kidnapping and turned in three days later. He said they were full of fast food wrappers and other garbage, you know like a stakeout car."

"So they were staking out either Simson and his morons or…"

"They were watching the crooked asshole politician," She pulled her towards a stairwell and held the door open. "But where does all of this connect and where in the Hell are our women?"

****************

Truman wiped at the BBQ sauce running down her chin and handed Syd another baby back rib from the bag. Using her hip to open the police station door, she waved a hand at the desk sergeant and headed towards the stairwell with Syd following. When they reached the desired floor, Syd kicked the door open and yelled when it came back and hit her square in the face. She fell back into Truman and sent them to the floor in an instant. "What the fuck Terry," Mac said and pushed the door open. "Why'd you do that?" She looked at the bodies on the floor and cussed. "Ohh you are in so much trouble and I'm not helping you!" She reached down, pulled Syd to her feet and then Truman. "That's gonna be a nasty lump later," She touched the lump on Syd's forehead and flinched when she yelled. "For once I can't be blamed."

Terry pulled Syd in to her arms and kissed the lump on her forehead, she apologized before she noticed all the BBQ sauce that was being smeared all over her shirt front. "Sorry baby I thought it was crooked cops trying to sneak up on our eaves dropping."

"That's OK we're even now," She wiped the last of the sauce from her hands and blew her lover a kiss. "Good thing that's not your favorite shirt, 'cuz this stuff is gonna leave a …Ohhh Hell you've got my shirt on!"

Truman shook her head at a whimpering Syd and looked up at Truman's face. "Got any more ribs left, I'm starving. Terry's just like my pop; if he wasn't hungry then no one else was either." She took a rib from the bag and moaned from the tanginess that assaulted her taste buds. She rolled her eyes and placed a hand on Truman's chest. "I'll be your slave forever if you tell me where you got these."

"Got them from a little restaurant in Falling Waters, cheap as Hell, ten pounds for twenty bucks, we got the slaw and rolls out in the truck." She used her thumb to wipe sauce from Mac's chin and then licked the remaining sauce from her fingers. "So did you two find out anything?" She grinned at Syd and saw that Terry was looking at the floor. "Ohh so you guys came up empty, you guys owe us then 'cuz we hit a gold mine." She handed Mac the bag, led her from the stairwell back to the lower floor and told them all the information that she and Syd had gotten from the cop.

*********************

Mac paced the floor of Truman's office and kept shooting her glances, she couldn't believe the stunt she and Syd had pulled. She covered her face and kept on pacing even though Truman warned her about walking into something. "What were you two thinking?" She threw her hands in the air, dropped them on to her hips and glared at Truman. "What if he presses charges for assault, attempted murder or worse?"

Truman rolled her eyes and leaned back in her chair. "Get real, what man in his macho mind would admit to having two women chase him down, carry him to the roof, dangle him from his ankles and then toss him off?" She tossed a wad of paper at Mac to get her to stop glaring. "Who was it that pulled off a kidnap rescue with the same muscle head?"

"But that was different, there weren't any cops involved in that…OK so there might be cops involved but we didn't…OK so I popped off some shots at 'em when we were leaving."

"Some shots was it, I remember you telling me it was two full clips." She got out of her chair and stalked Mac until she was pinned up against the wall. "And now we know that it was cops involved in that kidnapping but which cops, IAD or street cops?"

Mac looked at Truman's chest and all the way up to the hollow of her throat and felt her heart thump. She reached out and wrapped her arms around Truman's waist and pulled her closer. "How would you like to assault a retired cop that will proudly scream from the rooftop what you did ta her?"

Truman dropped her mouth close to Mac's ear and whispered in a hoarse voice. "That's bragging sea monkey and for some reason I think you've done a lot of it, probably more than any man." She wiggled from her arms, took her hand and pulled her towards her apartment. "We'll see who gets bragging rights tonight." She had half of Mac's clothes off before they got to the bedroom, pulling her own shirt off; she tossed it to the floor and then pushed Mac back onto the unmade bed. "You're a pig Mac."

"Everyone knows that, let me show you what some people don't know." Truman knew that there couldn't be too much not known about Mac, so she ignored her and crawled on top of her.

"Mac find something better to do with your mouth besides try and impress me with your studliness." Dropping her head down, she licked between Mac's breasts and up to her neck. Leaning down across her half-naked body, she pressed into her warm skin and growled. "Any time you wanna show me here, I'm kinda at a loss and..."

Mac rolled her over to her back and looked down into her eyes. "Relax Truman; I don't like to rush anything in the bedroom." She pushed her shoes off, got to her knees and they slowly removed the rest of each other's clothes. Mac tangled her fingers in Truman's hair and pulled her face down closer; she bit her bottom lip and flicked it with her tongue until she opened her mouth. Their kiss was long and deep, soft moans, ragged breathing and then gasps for air when they parted. Mac caressed Truman's bottom lip with a fingertip, groaned when it was nipped by white teeth and then sucked between wet lips. She shivered and felt her center twitch each time Truman's warm wet tongue circled the tip of her finger. She pressed herself down into Truman and felt her wetness paint her tight stomach. Rolling her hips back, she stopped over a thin strip of short coarse dark hair and whimpered from the feeling it caused when it touched her clit. She arched her back, dropped her head down, licked a trail from her lover's throat to the tops of her firm breasts and continued to roll her center against her. She lightly nipped at the tanned flesh and felt Truman arch her back, long fingers tangled in her hair and pushed her towards a hardened nipple. Taking it between her lips, she sucked slowly and nipped gently; Truman moaned and let her hands drop from her hair. Mac lifted her head and saw that Truman's lips were parted, her eyes were lidded and the veins in her neck throbbed with each beat of her heart.

Truman felt small shock waves travel throughout her body each time Mac bit her nipple, her center throbbed and she needed to press up into her body. With only having one other sexual experience, she didn't have anything to compare these feelings to. All she knew was that she never wanted it to end and needed Mac to touch more of her. She raised her knees, planted her feet and thrust upward into her lover's wetness. "You're so wet." She mumbled and ran her hands up her lover's thighs and stopped at her hips. Mac lifted her head and nipped at her neck, she moaned when Truman licked at her lips and then captured her in a heated kiss. They rocked into each other while they kissed deeply, Mac was the first to break the kiss and move away from her lover's body, she ran a finger across her lips and shook her head.

"I'm not going anywhere…trust me." She kissed and licked her way down Truman's body until she came to her six pack abs. She traced each muscle with the tip of her tongue and became aroused further with the scent of their combined arousals. Her juices ran down the insides of her thighs with each thump of her center, she moved down Truman's body and moaned deeply at the sight before her. Her lover's outer lips were shaved smooth, deep red and swollen with arousal. She ran a fingertip across the soft skin and watched as they twitched and exposed her swollen clit. She pushed her sheath back and licked the very tip of the bundle of nerves. A small grin came to her face when Truman bucked and hissed out a breath. She licked each lip and then teased around her fluttering center to stop just short of her clit, when Truman swore and grabbed a handful of her hair; she pierced her center with her tongue. While moving her tongue in and out, she ran her thumb across her clit and held on with her other arm. The sounds that Truman were making made no sense until the word "STOP" echoed in the room. Mac raised her head and looked at her lover, she wondered if she had done something wrong.

"Come up here, I wanna look in your eyes when it happens." She held out her hand and pulled Mac up so that she was straddling her hips and their clits were touching. She looked down and moaned from what she saw; Mac's soaking wet curls barely hid her clit. Her own was swollen but was nowhere near as large as Mac's, she ran a fingertip across it and watched it twitch.

"Stop or it'll be all over for me," She grumbled behind clenched teeth. "Can't hold on much longer."

"Trust me Mac, I know." She pulled her in for a kiss that had Mac falling into her body; she raised her hips, rolled them and then broke their kiss. She gazed into Mac's eyes as long as she could before she fell over the edge with a gasp and deep guttural grunting and thrust her hips with each spasm. "Ohh Gods…Mac…" She arched her back and yelled out Mac's name when another orgasm tore through her.

Mac was stroking her G-spot with two fingers and grinding her clit against her at the same time. She bucked against her, threw her head back, yelled out her release and shook as her juices spurted from her center. She fell forward as far as she could and took deep breathes; whimpering, she raised her head. "My arm is going numb…help?" She panted and tried not to move with the waves from her orgasm.

"Why's it going…," She looked to Mac with a raised eyebrow. "You're stuck." Truman said and then felt around with one hand, she was surprised to find that Mac's hand was behind her back and between her legs. She moved down towards her lover's hand and moaned when her slickness covered her stomach, when her fingers slipped free of her center, Truman moaned from the loss. Her center was still throbbing with after shocks and juices were still flowing from inside her. "What did you do to me…I'm still…"

Mac lay down on top of her and nuzzled the side of her neck. "That's what happens sometimes with G-Spot orgasms…" She kissed the side of her neck, wrapped her arms around her and mumbled before she fell asleep. "So tired…love you Truman."

Truman wrapped her arms around her, rolled them to their sides and tried to smooth down her lover's horns. Placing a soft kiss to her forehead, she closed her eyes and whispered. "I love you to MacKenna, hard as it is to believe, I love you."

"I knew you did," Mac whispered and pulled back away from her lover. "It's hard not to, I mean I am adorable, rich, good looking, did I mention I'm adorable and good looking?"

"Did I mention that I'm vengeful and…" Mac captured her lips and never let her say anything except for her name until the early hours of the next morning.

***********

Truman sat leaning back in her office chair, her head tipped back, mouth hanging open and the most horrifying noise coming from her. She twitched, wiped at the drool running down her chin but never woke. Doris shook her head and was about to go into Mac's office when she noticed that her granddaughter was dressed in just a button down shirt, boxers and socks. She stepped closer and saw red blotches down the side of her neck and good sized bruises above her breasts. "So you do have tits, all these years it was hard to tell." She went into Mac's office and stood looking down at her. "Why is Truman half naked and sleeping at her desk?" She waited until green eyes looked up to her before leaning down closer. "Come on little dog what did you do to my granddaughter, if you took advantage of her, I'll…"

"Ohh she took total advantage of me," Mac pulled her shirt front to the side to show a huge hickey over her left breast. "You're not the wild woman of the family no more; she did this while we were eating breakfast." She winked and leaned back in her old chair. "How do ya know what kinda shape she's in, unless you went in my…she's at her desk?" She got up and stumbled her way out to Truman's desk and stopped behind her chair, she ran her hands down Truman's chest and remembered that Doris was right beside her. Buttoning her shirt, she tried to smooth down her wild hair and rested her head back against her chest. "I told her to stay in bed," She kissed her crown and looked up at a grinning Doris. "Am I gonna get the riot act read to me and then thrown out the nearest window?"

"Nope, I just had to come over and see if the rumors were true." She snorted when Mac pushed the chair with Truman in it from the office, over to her apartment and into her bedroom. She stopped when she saw the fireplace with a couch in front of it. "You finally took the wall down after all these years, what a waste covering that up. Or was it a romance thing to get in Truman's pants?"

"We took the wall down because we were freezing our asses off up here," She leaned down and spoke in her lover's ear. "Come on Truman get in bed and get some more sleep." She helped her out of the chair and into bed with Doris making snickering noises behind her. After covering her up, she placed a soft kiss to her lips, brushed her hair back from her forehead and whispered. "I love you Truman."

"So the rumors are all true about you two, I thought I'd never live to see the day when MacKenna Jones fell in love." She pulled her into a tight hug and kissed the side of her head. "You take good care of her or I'll have you tossed off the roof."

"Don't worry if I screw up, Truman will do it herself." She crept from the bedroom and then headed to her kitchen. "You want some coffee, I know how ta make it now." She grinned at Doris. "Truman taught me, that's after she sat and shook for a few hours after just one cup of the sludge I made."

"OK, but why is Truman wiped out and you're not, I've never seen her in such bad shape?" Doris asked and pulled the can of coffee from Mac's hand. "I still don't trust your coffee making capabilities."

"Ohh that's an easy one," Mac shined her nails on her shirt and did crude gestures behind Doris. "I'm in better shape than she is, I took naps." She yelped and shuffled across the floor from her horns being pulled. "OK so I was unconscious a few more times that Truman, she's a dangerous woman and I got muscles that scream when I move too fast. Why ya got me by the horns?"

"Because you rotten hairy footed little sea monkey, I know you were doing hip thrusts behind my back."

"Yep and now my back hurts again, I need some of those Therma thingies; ya know that ya wrap around your back and they heat the muscles up for eight hours."

"Or to stop thinking your 20 years old and thinking you can still do the sexual Olympics like you did back then." She hugged Mac to her side and kissed her head. "Forget the coffee and go get some sleep, you look terrible."

"Yeah and I feel that way to," She hiked up her sweat pants and let Doris lead her to her bedroom. "Ya know I wanna marry Truman but she keeps turning me down, why is that?"

"Give her time Mac, she doesn't really have any faith in the whole marriage thing and your history doesn't help any."

"But 99.8% of its all lies, I'm not that bad…damn me and my mouth."

Doris laughed, gave her another hug and left her outside her bedroom door. "Get some rest Mac and take some time off for a change, you both need it." She was gone before Mac could say another word.

"I'm not that bad, I just like to brag too much." She crawled into bed next to Truman, cuddled against her side and rested her head on her shoulder. "I'm not that bad, Terry will tell ya." She whispered and fell asleep in a matter of seconds.

*******************

Terry pulled all the files from her in box out, dropped them into her briefcase and then headed out of her office. She had an uneasy feeling and wanted nothing more than to go home, crawl into bed with Syd and hide until morning. There had been nothing but whispering in the building all day and that was not a good thing as far as she was concerned. Usually, that meant that all Hell was going to break loose and heads were going to roll. She didn't want her head to be one of them, so being a chickenshit, she was going home sick. And going by way of the back staircase and door to the parking lot, she wasn't taking any chances. Once she was in her car, she pulled out onto the road and took the most direct route home. She was a mile from home when a dark blue car pulled up along side her and the passenger opened fire and shot out her windows. She fell across the seat and let the car go where ever it wanted. She just hoped that whoever it that was shooting at her thought they had hit her and would leave. She braced herself as best she could and cringed with the impact, she lay on the floor for minutes before she took the chance to look up. What she saw made her heart slam in her chest, a telephone pole was suspended by only wires; if it fell, and it would crush her car. She looked around and saw not one person coming to see if she was alive. "Well this really sucks, glad that so many people care!" She pulled her cell phone out called Syd and then crawled from the passenger window where she lay on the ground waiting for more gunshots. When nothing happened, she got up and jogged to a hiding place beside someone's garage. "I wish I had a ticket book, I'd give everyone of you fucker's tickets for ignoring a car accident."

**********************

Mac and Truman were sitting in the living room eating supper and watching TV when the door opened and Terry and Syd came in, they closed the door quickly and then ran to look out the windows showing the street. "What in the Hell are you two doing?" Mac asked and watched Terry spin and stutter.

"Someone…cops…can we hide here?"

Syd pulled Terry into her arms and held onto her shaking body. "Someone shot the Hell outta her car this afternoon after she left the cop shop; we've been driving around for the last six hours to make sure no one tailed us. The weird thing is that her cars still sitting where it stopped and no ones even called it in!"

Truman got up from the couch and waved to them. "Come in the kitchen, are ya guys hungry, we have beef stew and fresh bread?" She turned the heat on under the pot and got the bread out that she had baked a few hours before. "Any ideas why someone would shoot at you?"

"I have an idea; I think it's all this bullshit with IAD." She sat down at the table and kept looking at the door. "I had a bad feeling at work so I was leaving early," She looked to Mac and looked at her feet with a raised eyebrow. "What's wrong with your feet?"

Mac looked down and shrugged her shoulders. "Nothing why and don't change the subject." She hid her feet when Syd looked down at them and then pointed a finger at Truman. "Did you get them ta do this, ya know make comments about my feet?"

"Why would I do that, besides I figured they already knew that you had Hobbit feet; now go on with your story Terry while I get you guys something to eat."

"I left early because my instinct was screaming, I was almost at home when a car pulled alongside me and the passenger started shooting at me. My car has this telephone pole dangling over it and a couple hundred bullet holes in the driver's side. No one came to see if I was OK and no one has called it in to the station or anywhere else for that matter."

Mac ran a hand across her horns, raised an eyebrow and went over to the refrigerator for milk. "How did they pull that off, I mean people had to see it; did they kill everyone off on your street or something?"

"Ohh don't say that," Terry shook her head and rubbed her arms. "They could pull that off and blame it all on some serial killer and then arrest some derelict for the crimes."

"Come on baby you're starting to get me spooked about all of this," Syd said and moved her chair closer to her lovers'. "They can't pull something off like that, there's got to be an explanation for no one checking out your accident."

Truman filled bowls with stew, placed buttered bread in the center of the table and then went into the living room to turn the volume up on the TV. She stopped and turned back when she heard something about an abandoned car found under a telephone pole. She yelled for Mac and their friends and took a seat on the couch to listen.

"Earlier this afternoon, the city closed down this section of town when a business proprietor smelled natural gas in his basement. The city inspectors and the fire department searched each building but found no leak; it is thought to be a seepage problem with the manhole covers near the building. After the inspection was complete, firefighters found a shot up car beneath a telephone pole. The police were unable to determine what happened and are investigating a possible car theft ring involving area gangs."

"See now tell me they can't cover shit up and make a whole town disappear!" Terry pointed to the TV and paced behind the couch. "Now I'll get tossed off the force for being involved with gangs, drug running and car thefts!"

Mac stood up and paced right beside her old partner, she was being to wonder if the whole police department wasn't crooked with the exception of a handful. "I was thinking that maybe you should call the chief but I have this bad feeling that he may be in on everything that's going on. If he was clean, he would've called you the minute your car was found, which brings us to the fact that the other cops didn't say it was your car."

Truman leaned her head back and watched them pace. "Maybe they wanted to keep that out of the papers, you know so they could build a phony case against Terry?" They threw ideas back and forth, Truman yawned and felt her jaw pop, she looked to Terry and pointed to her apartment. "You guys can use my apartment, there's clean sheets on the bed and the heat works now." Taking Mac's hand, she let her pull her up from the couch and then they went to bed. No sooner had they laid down then they were both wrapped around each other and sleeping.

****************
Mac laid spread across the bed with only a sheet draped across her hip, her mouth hung open and drool ran from the corner of her mouth. Truman looked around the door jam and grinned wickedly, she had finally been able to wear her lover out. It had taken a while but she figured out her secret, it was naps; she made sure that Mac didn't get any this morning and now she was history. Grabbing a bottle of water from the pantry, she headed for the stairs and went into the weight room. It had been a while and she needed to run, it was a blizzard outside and the treadmill looked real good this morning. After looking at the controls, she started it up and was running at 5.0mph. Sweat pore down her face from the exertion, she wiped at it with her forearm and kept on running. 25 minutes later, she hit the button to slow it down and used five minutes as her cool down. She wasn't concerned about how far she ran it was how fast she was going that counted to her. On the regular track, she never knew how fast she was running so this was like a game to her. Getting off the treadmill, she bent over at the waist and stretched out her hamstrings, she knew if she didn't do some stretching, she'd be sore in the morning. Finding a brand new yoga mat leaning against the wall in its box, she pulled it out and stretched it across the floor. Stretching out on the mat, she went into some light stretches and then went into a short Pilate's routine and finished up with yoga stretches. She looked up from one of her stretches and groaned; Mac was standing a few feet apart with her jaw hanging open.

"Baby I didn't know you could do that," She walked closer and wiped drool from her chin. "After last night and this morning I thought I knew everything about you."

"Well I thought I knew everything about you to but I never knew you could get a hard on that big." She looked at the front of her lovers boxers and raised an eyebrow. "And don't you dare tell me that's from a clit pump, it's impossible to…" She fell back on her elbows when Mac stepped so that she had a foot on each side of her hips. "Only you MacKenna would wander around in a strap-on when we have guests upstairs." She moaned when the end of the ultra skin dildo peaked from the leg of her white boxers.

"They're busy doing the wild thing in your bed; I forgot how noisy those two are." She ran her fingers through her lover's hair and let her head drop back when she ran her hands up her thighs. "The screams…grunts…oohh God baby!" She looked down and thrust her hips when Truman pulled the dildo through the fly of her boxers. "What are you…oohh you're not…" She thrust her hips again when Truman licked the tip and then circled her tongue around it. "I've never had…OHHH GOD!" Never before had she ever had a blow job, the feeling wasn't there it was her imagination that had her blood racing, heart pounding and is what sent her over the edge yelling her lover's name. She sunk to her knees, fell into Truman's arms and let her lay her on her back. Her hips kept thrusting with aftershocks and her center clenched around the small end of the double headed dildo.

"You better hope that your nap gave you enough energy for what I want." Truman said as she stripped Mac of her boxers and then tossed her own with them. She straddled her lover's hips, leaned down and kissed her until they were both gasping for air. Rising up on her hands, she looked down into sea green eyes and lowered herself down onto the dildo. When it was all the way in, she rolled her hips and moaned from the fullness. "Feels so different," She rolled her hips and grinned when Mac's eyes rolled back in her head.

"Then what, feels different…than what?" Mac moaned and lifted her hips up to push into her lover, she had to admit, it did feel different to her as well. She opened her eyes, ran her hands up to cup her lover's breasts and rolled her nipples between her fingers. It then hit her as to what Truman was talking about, she knew for a fact that men didn't give a damn and when they were finished, it was over for the female as well. "I want you to get pleasure from this…don't stop until you do." She grunted when Truman moved down into her and felt her juices start to flow freely from her center. "I'm gonna die…" She held onto her lover's hips and let her do what ever she wanted.

Truman felt her insides tense and then tingle with her oncoming orgasm; she leaned forward and thrust faster and harder. Her chin dropped to her chest, she took a deep ragged breath and let her head go back with the eruption that started in her center and roared through to every fiber of her body. She shuddered and shook until she fell on top of Mac to ride out the last tremors. She wasn't expecting her lover to roll her to her back and capture her lips in a loving kiss or the slow thrusting that took her back to the edge of the abyss. She slipped her hands under Mac's shirt, cupped her breasts and pinched her nipples. She locked onto sea green eyes and watched them change colors; she knew her lover was close. "Don't wait for me…" Her back arched with what Mac did to her, she tried to take a breath and couldn't. All she heard was Mac yelling out her name and then the feeling of being burned alive. A few minutes later, she opened her eyes and looked over to where Mac was lying beside her on her back. She moaned and then chuckled at the site of her lover with a dick. She reached over with one hand, unbuckled the leather straps and watched the dildo fall slightly between her thighs.

"I lost my woody," Mac mumbled and turned her head to the side. "But someone else has its little head wiggling," She eased the dildo out, rolled to her side and looked downward. "And no clit pump this time." She crawled over to lie on top of Truman and adjusted their bodies so that her enlarged clit was between Truman's nether lips. She moaned against Truman's neck and nipped at her sweaty skin. "Wish it was bigger."

"Mac it doesn't need to be…over an inch is big enough…Ohhh Hell," She bucked when Mac's clit rubbed against her own. "Just fine…this way…" She wrapped her arms around Mac and ground against her, a few minutes later; they were gasping and riding out the tremors from their climaxes. "No more Mac…" She was speaking to deaf ears, Mac was already sleeping. She ran her fingers through her damp hair and tried to smooth down her horns. "I love you and I still out lasted you." She kissed her crown and lay back on the floor, it wasn't the most comfortable that she had ever been but she was too tired and sore to move.

*******************

"You find her and you take her out, I don't care how many die with her, no witnesses do you hear me?" The chief of IAD said and pointed to six of his best cops. "Get that damn Jones to, she's the reason all of this went to shit." He looked to the police chief and waited for him to say something, he knew that both Jones and Detective Salisbury were his friends but it came a time when friends were dispensable. Especially when they caused too many problems and got in the way of a business mans wallet. "I want there faces on the damn news as casualties, burn down Jones' building if you have to!" He threw stuff from his desk at the scampering cops and then turned to the chief. "And you are staying with me, I don't need you calling Jones and warning her or telling her to warn Salisbury." He pulled out a taser, fired it into the chief's chest and watched him hit the floor. "That should keep you quiet for a few hours." Signaling to Simson's bartender, he stepped back and let him pick the chief up and put him in a small closet at the far side of his office. "If he makes one peep, you zap him again, can't have him ruining my plans." He walked from his office and pointed to certain IAD cops to follow him on his way out the door.

*****************

"Where are they, I checked her apartment and there's no one there?" Syd said and then crawled into bed beside Terry. "Truman needs some furniture, she lives like a nun."

"Syd, most of the time she's across the hall, why does she need furniture?"

"I don't know, I still think they're both a little weird." She wrapped her arms around her lover and buried her face between her breasts. "I smell smoke."

"Well my tits aren't on fire so it must be in your head." She sniffed the air and then saw smoke drifting through the open apartment door. "Ohh fuck, I think the buildings on fire!" They jumped from bed, searched for their clothes and ran from the apartment yelling their friend's names. When they got to the stairs, they saw Mac and Truman using wet towels on the fire. The flames seemed to jump when they tried to beat them out, and then Terry groaned and ran down the stairs. "Its gasoline…we need extinguishers!"

"Call 911 and we'll take care of this!" Truman yelled and ran to the door that led out to the garage, she remembered seeing an old bag of potting soil along the wall and knew that it would put the fire out. Tossing the bag over her shoulder, she jogged back to where Mac was and dropped the bag on the floor. The flames were eating the door and part of the stairs, she moved when Terry and Syd jumped over the flames and started helping them try and put them out. With two of them beating at the flames with wet towels and a blanket, the other two threw dirt on the floor to absorb the gasoline and smother the flames. They were sitting in the garage half dressed and covered in black dirt and soot when the firefighters came tearing into the building. "Nice timing guys but we put the fire out already."

"You're TOO SLOW!" Syd yelled and threw her dirty t-shirt at one of them. "Now go make sure its out, I don't wanna do that again." She got up and helped Terry to her feet.

"Where's your Chief, I need him to do something out of the ordinary?" She said and looked to Mac and Truman. "Guys we're all dead, we got burned up or suffered smoke inhalation, because this is all too neat to be a random thing."

Truman covered her face and fell sideways into Mac. "We have ta call my grandma, she'll go ballistic when this hits the news." She looked up at all the firefighters' running back and forth through the building and realized that she and Mac were sitting there in only their boxers. "Let's go take showers and get dressed, I have a feeling that we're about to be put out on the street once Terry gets done."

****************

"You're sure that's what the fire chief said, that they pulled four bodies from Jones' building and they've been identified as Salisbury, Jones, Avery and Irving?" The IAD Chief said and looked at the paper that one of his cops handed him.

"I was outside the building and saw them carry the four body bags out, once they were gone, me and my partner went inside and didn't find anyone. Chief, we used ten gallons of gas in the downstairs foyer; we splashed the stairs and everything. We saw the flames from the side of the building and took off when smoke and flames started coming from under the garage door." He watched his chief stick the paper in his desk drawer and then dismisses him as if he were a servant.

"Wait, I almost forgot. The Chief of detectives is in my closet, get his body out of here." He dropped down into his chair and acted as if his closet held dead body's everyday.

********************

"Hello Truman is there any brain activity in there?" Syd asked and waved a hand in front of unblinking blue eyes. "Ya act like you've never seen Mac's ass before."

"Huh…not in Levis I haven't, faded holey and worn in all the right places." She sighed and rested her chin on her fist. "I'm hiding all her trousers and buying her Levis."

"You are so hopeless and I never took you as an ass woman."

"Never was an ass before Mac," She blinked and shook her head. "Did I just call myself an ass?" She felt her mouth water when Mac leaned over the bar and gave her a clear shot of her ass in tight faded Levis.

"Ohh that's it, Mac get your ass down before Truman has a heart attack or starts humping the table leg!" When Terry leaned over the bar right next to Mac, Syd got up ran over and ran her hands all over her.

"And she yells at me for looking and she's groping in public!" She looked around the kitchen and realized that they were the only ones there. "Hell I'd take Mac right there on the bar if I could so what the Hell am I talking about?" She got up and went over to see what her lover was staring at through the one way mirror that looked out into the Ballroom bar area. She had asked if it was wise to go out in public and to their normal hangout but once she found out that there was a tunnel system from their garage halfway there and then another tunnel system into the Ballrooms basement, she felt better. She never thought of the mirror behind the bar as being one like they had in the cop shop either, now she had a reason to be paranoid in bars. "What are ya doing over here?"

"Watching two IAD cops try not to announce to the whole place that they're cops," Mac said and snorted. "Notice the freshly shined badges on their belts and the humongous bulge under their arms. Not to forget the humongous hand that is between my legs…a little to your left." She snickered at Terry's groan and nudged her with her shoulder. "So are they good cops or bad cops?"

"I think those are bad cops, I always see those two sneaking around my chiefs door…why hasn't he tried to get a hold of anyone about our deaths?"

Truman rested her chin on her lovers back and looked over to Terry. "I have this bad feeling where your boss is concerned, first, you get shoot at, and you abandon your car and he never calls. Now we're dead from smoke inhalation and he still doesn't make an appearance, not even on TV when the news people were outside the station, why?"

Syd raised her hand and waved it in the air like an idiot on a game show. "Ohh pick me pick me! He's in dumpster number two!"

"Not funny Syd," Terry said and smacked at her hand. "That could have been us tonight, if Mac and Truman hadn't been downstairs, what were you guys doing down there half-naked?"

"Exercising in the weight room…Ohhh fuck, I forgot the you know what on the floor." She slapped a hand over her face. "I wonder how many firefighters saw it?"

"I doubt if any of them will say anything about it, it's bigger than anything they got, besides, who doesn't know you're gay?" Truman said and looked to the door when it opened.

"All right you horn dogs," Sally said and pointed to the small TV across the room. "You're on TV again and they found the Chief of Detectives in a flop house handcuffed to the bed post."

Mac snorted and flipped the TV on. "What did some reporter bust in on him or something?"

"More like the maid found his cold body when she went into clean." Sally said and handed everyone a can of Coke. "His wife was taken away in an ambulance after she collapsed at some women's meeting at church. If I was you four, I'd hide for a while and let this cool down."

"Can't do that Sally," Mac rubbed her temples and looked to her lover. "We have to find out what the Hell is going on and whose behind it, they tried to kill us by burning my building."

"Two of us can look into this; me and Syd aren't known by face. We can grab that cop again and see what else he can tell us, he really likes to cooperate."

**************

Not thinking that it was safe to return to Mac's building or to go to Terry's, they stayed at the Ballroom and in Syd's room. It wasn't a very large living area but would do for a night or so, what Truman found funny was the bunk beds in the bedroom. "Will you two stop already; I swear this is like a sleep over nightmare." Mac rolled over and covered her face with one of the pillows.

"But its fun and it annoys you that's why we're doing it." Truman said and shined her flashlight under Mac's pillow. "I can imagine the type of sleep overs you had as a kid, taking your grandpas skin magazines and looking at the nekkid women all night."

"I had my own subscription to Penthouse, didn't have ta take his. Terry's the only one who slept over because she wasn't afraid of me jumping her; now turn out that flashlight before I kick you and Syd." She reached over the side of the bunk bed, grabbed a shoe and threw it up on the top bunk. She snickered when she heard a yelp and the flashlight hit the floor. "Now go ta sleep I'm tired and my body hurts."

"My little baby sea monkey overworked herself," Truman whispered and placed a soft kiss to the back of her neck. "We'll behave for the rest of the night."

"More like someone overworked me," She rolled to face Truman. "My clit is killing me." She whispered in her ear and then snuggled into her body. "Love you Truman."

"I love you too and we'll sleep in tomorrow morning."

"No ya won't, I'm waking your asses up every hour!" Syd yelled and then was silent except for muffled grunts.

"I'll kill her if she does that." Terry said in a thick voice and then all was quiet for the rest of the night.

**********************

Truman and Syd walked into the county morgue, they had a feeling that Terry's boss died by strange circumstances and the only way to find out was to pose as cops and get a copy of the autopsy report. Truman looked over the top of her dark sunglasses and grinned, the assistant ME was the only one in the morgue and he didn't look like he shaved yet. She unbuttoned her shirt until the bottom of her bra showed and rolled her eyes when Syd stared right at her cleavage. "Come on Syd before I get happy and slap the shit outta you." She walked up to the young man, flashed a seductive smile at him and showed him Mac's old badge. "I'm Detective Julie Andrews, I need the autopsy report on the former Chief of Detectives. I was told that it would be waiting for me when I got here?" She leaned over further until his eyes came to rest on her breasts. "Can I have the report now?"

"Uuhhmm…sure, just let me uhhmm look for it." He stepped back from the counter, tripped over his chair and stumbled over to the other desk. After flipping through numerous papers, he came back with what she wanted. "It was just finished a little while ago; if you need anything and I mean anything call me."

"What I need you can't give me but my bull mastiff can and does regularly." She waved the report at him and walked with a snickering Syd beside her. "Like I'd be that desperate to want anything to do with a pencil necked, needle dicked little twerp who plays with dead bodies." She read through the report and whistled under her breath. "He was murdered, says here that the cause of death was a severe heart attack caused by high voltage." She pointed to the sketch of a human body and to the areas marked. "He was hit in the chest by one of those taser things, ya know the one where it shots those dart things into you and zaps your ass?"

"Nice guys, the only ones that I know who carry those are cops, we'll ask Terry to make sure though. Now where are we off to and can we stop and get some food I'm hungry?" She looked around Truman's arm and at her chest. "I didn't think it was that cold in here is it that nipply?"

"Is that even a word and stop looking at my tits?" She buttoned up her shirt and pulled her coat closed. "As bad as Mac, OK so the four of us are all pervs must mean something."

She rubbed her growling stomach. "Yeah we're all pervs now where we gonna eat Julie Andrews…that didn't come out right."

"You're giving me shivers over here," She said and slapped Syd in the back of her head. "Now I got that damn song about deer in my head and pictures of Mac skipping through fields full of flowers."

****************

"This fucking sucks," Mac grunted from where she was on her back with her feet stuck over her head. "How the Hell does Truman do it?" She flailed her arms and gave up when nothing happened. "Terry…help me?"

"I was hoping you'd help me, my feet are stuck on top of my knees." She tried to move and ended up rolling onto her back. "We're so screwed until our women get home."

"Ohh to have a camera right now," Truman said from the bedroom doorway and walked over to look down at Mac's red face. "Not as easy as it looks huh sea monkey?" She helped her up and then helped Terry as well. "Chief Morris was murdered, from what the report says his body was moved to the flophouse. Ya know with lividity and all that other medical mumbo jumbo stuff." She pulled it from her pocket and handed it to Mac. "What else do we need to bust this case open, I wanna go home?"

Mac wrapped her arms around her and pressed her face into her breasts. "So do I but we have to get those assholes first." She looked up and held Truman with an intense look. "We have to trap them and that means that the dead have to rise, can you use the pc to get some dirt on the IAD cops and the ones we think are in with 'em, ya know like public record stuff?"

"You mean like houses, cars and anything else a cop can't afford but they all have?" She grinned and gave Mac a tight hug. "Does Sally have a PC here that I can use?"

"Ohh we have better, I've got a brand new Dell laptop that's got everything ya need." Syd handed it to her and dropped down onto her old couch. "It's one of the things I bought with that ransom money…ignore the background picture…it's shocking."

Truman gave her a raised eyebrow look and waited for the laptop to boot, when it was finished, she looked up from under her drawn brows at Syd. "Shocking is not the word I would use for this, horrifying, nightmarish or down right scary is more like it." She looked to Mac and shook a finger at her. "I'm making a copy of this picture, framing it and putting it on the mantle at home." She snickered and the busted out laughing at the picture of Mac in a pink tutu complete with little wings and her horns pointing up along side a silver halo.

"Ohh Syd are you a dead woman, I thought I saw the last of that damn picture." She looked over her lover's shoulder and groaned. "I lost a bet OK and that's what I had ta do."

"And walk up and down Main Street doing little leaps and everything." Mac tossed in and then Terry finished the story.

"I had to bail her out of the nut ward that day, one of the businesses got tired of watching her go jumping past their windows."

"They still cringe when I walk by, now let's get some dirt on other people and leave me alone."

"Ohh I'll get you later," Truman whispered to her and grabbed her ass. "I wanna hear all about this bet you lost." For three hours, she did background and financial checks on the names that Terry and Mac gave her. Some of them came up clean, while others came up with more money than all of them put together had. "OK guys now I need some help here, the cop kind of help." She laid out all the reports that had extreme amounts of money spent and bulging bank accounts on the long table in the Ballrooms kitchen. "These are all the dirt bag cops, more money than they're supposed to have for married or single cops along with the fancy houses, cars and other activities. The ones on the left are IAD, the right is regular cops. Chief Morris is no use now that he's cold so who do we go to for help?"

Terry looked through the reports and groaned, she knew all the cops that were there and had trusted some of them with her life. "We can't go out of house for help because we won't know if they're bad, I can pull some of my guys and maybe get some from other departments. Now you have to remember that the blue code runs deep with cops but if I can show that Morris was killed by IAD then they might just step up to the line."

"But he was as crooked as the other ones," Syd remarked and looked through the files. "What about us, they tried ta make us all crispy, you're the boss of some of them, just get them and we'll help."

Mac nodded her head at Terry and took Truman's hand. "All we need are a couple of cops for back up and we can handle the rest, I say we grab the politician first."

"Nope," Truman shook her head. "We need his files before we can do anything, once we have those; we turn copies over to the District Attorney. Once we have the files we have his ass in a sling plus we have all the names and can get them all at once. Ya never know who's involved; we do know that Simson, his bartender, and the dork that's in lock-up, and the Simson women."

"OK so how do we get his files and how do we know where to look for 'em to begin with?" Mac asked and grinned when Truman wiggled her left brow. "You know where he has his files?"

"He's got a deposit box at the bank and I just happen to know the bank manager, good thing about having relatives in the same town." She picked up the phone and called her aunt at home, a few minutes later she hung up. "We can go by there before they open and she'll let us look in the box."

Terry raised a hand and shook her head. "That's illegal; we need a search warrant to look in that box."

"Not if we just happen to get that box by accident." She winked and leaned back in her chair. "That bank only has one key per safety deposit box, so that means that the bank president and vice president have master keys that open all the boxes. We're going in to get one and it will just happen to be one that's all ready taken."

Terry clapped her hands over her ears and paced the floor; she kept glancing at the other three grinning women and gave up. "Ohh just fuck it, I'm dead already might as well break some more laws while I'm at it."

*****************

Truman handed the files from the safety deposit box to Terry on their way into the county court house, she had pulled everything from the box and wasn't sure what was there. When Terry stopped and cussed under her breath, she stopped and looked back. "Tell me we have something and that I didn't just risk my freedom for nothing?"

"Ohh you got something here, too bad we have to give these copies anonymously." She handed one of the pages to her with a wicked smile. "He really fucked himself by putting all his eggs in one box, the city council will be cleaned up along with law enforcement."

"Hell they'll have to build another jail just to hold these assholes, they can't use this stuff in court so what good is it?"

"They can't use this stuff but they can get search warrants because of it and then it's all over for these assholes." She took the paper back, slipped it into the plain folder with the district attorney's name on it and went through the fire door that was just down the hallway from where the DA's office was. She ran down the hallway, slipped it under the closed door and ran back to where Truman was waiting. "Let's get out of here before we're seen."

"Now what do we do, and can we go home?"

"Can't see why not, I mean as soon as the DA takes a look at that file, she's gonna be taken heads off. The first one she's gonna grab is the chief of IAD and the dirty cops, just make sure that Mac doesn't play hero and go out to wrangle bad guys by herself." She leaned in and whispered. "She really sucks at it; she's kinda like Magnum PI always getting her ass kicked."

"I'll keep her busy, besides if anyone comes in the place they'll be facing two women with loaded pistols." She tapped her sides and grinned at Terry. "I'm even legal carrying 'em and a better shot than Mac will ever be, she's too short and can only take out knee caps."

*****************

Two men dressed in dark clothes crept through the garage and stopped right outside the door to the foyer, they looked to each other and then one went through the doorway. They had been alerted by someone inside the police department that all Hell was going to break loose and that the four women they thought dead weren't. And if they wanted to survive themselves, they were to kill them. They had been watching the building for a couple days and were happy when the four women snuck into the building by way of the side door. Once they were taking care of, then the others involved would find their lives shortened as well.

*******************

Mac kept looking out between the blinds in her office, she felt safe in her own building but was still a little uneasy about being back there so soon. Even with the alarm system turned on for the first time in ages, she was still jumpy. "We should have stayed in a motel or something." She mumbled and then sighed when strong arms wrapped around her from behind.

"And you'd be complaining about not being at home and having ta sleep in some strange hard ass bed." She kissed the side of her neck and then rested her chin on her shoulder. "Plus we have two body guards here with us and two undercover cops wandering around the outside of the building, what more could we need?"

"A nice warm beach, palm trees, wimpy drinks with fruit floatin in 'em and the sun settin over the sea. I'm tired of the cold and I've never had a vacation," She tilted her head to the side and looked into pale blue eyes. "Can we do that when this is all over; go to Aruba or some other little island for a vacation?"

"You just wanna see me in a thong and no bikini top."

"And that's a problem because?" She wiggled her brows and licked her upper lip and canine tooth. "You could model 'em for me here so I can practice not jumping you and humping your leg."

"Ohh after all the trouble I've gone through ta get you to do it the right way now you're gonna try and break that habit, I don't even think so sea monkey." She nuzzled Mac's neck and pulled away quickly when she heard a creak at the stairs, she knew that Terry and Syd were watching TV. In a whisper she asked close to her lover's ear and turned them towards the office door. "Are we expecting anyone?"

"Nope, I called Doris and Sally and told them ta lay low until one of us called, why?"

"Because I heard that step creak, you know the third one from the bottom?"

"Ohh come on Truman it's your imagination plus the alarm didn't go off."

"Because they probably cut the damn thing from outside, call Terry on her cell phone while I sneak out to my desk for something." Just then her cell phone vibrated on her hip, she answered it in a whisper and froze in her steps. "OK send someone now." She dropped to her knees and crawled out to her desk, she opened the bottom drawer and pulled out two flash bang grenades that Syd had given her earlier that day, she didn't know where she got them and didn't care. She saw Syd and Terry crawling from the apartment's doorway towards her; she turned her head and saw the top of a man's head coming up the steps. Looking closer, she didn't recognize him and tossed one of the flash bangs towards him. When it went off, her ears rung and it felt like a hammer hit her between her eyes. She fell to the floor, wrapped her arms around her aching head and then yelled when a sharp pain lanced her left shoulder. She rolled and came up to fall backwards into Mac's office with one of her pistols drawn, she shook her head to clear it and then stood beside the door next to a wide eyed Mac.

"What the Hell was that?" Mac yelled to deaf ears. "You're hit…and bleeding!" She pulled her pistols, charged out into Truman's office and started shooting towards the stairs. When her clips were empty, she slapped two more in and ran all the way down the stairs and started checking all the rooms until she was punched in the side of her face. She hit the floor, blinked and then cussed when she looked up to see Syd's dark wild hair sticking up all over and her golden eyes looking down at her.

"Ya all right, I didn't know it was you and were you shooting at us?" She yelled and then squinted when Mac yelled back at her. "I can't hear ya and I don't read lips, we got two stiffs in the garage!" She helped her up and then saw Truman stumbling down the stairs towards them; she ran over to her and made her sit on the stairs while Mac opened the front door for the District Attorney and her cops. "The bad guys are in the garage!" She yelled and shrugged her shoulders when the DA and her two cops covered their ears.

"Why is everyone yelling around here?" She asked and moved out of the way when paramedics came into the foyer.

"I threw one of those grenade things!" Truman yelled and slapped at Mac's searching hands. "Stop it or I'll smack you hard!" She pointed to where the spent flash bang lay on the floor and then fell back into Mac's arms. "I don't feel so good, the rooms getting kinda dark…"

*********************

Days later, Truman sat on the couch drinking coffee and watching Mac try and fold their clean clothes, she had gotten out of it by struggling with the bed sheets. With her left arm in a sling, she had trouble doing most things, cooking was one thing she would struggle with, Mac's idea of cooking was instant oatmeal. "So what's gonna happen with Terry and Syd killing those two cops?"

"Not a thing, after knocking out the two undercover cops outside, they broke in here, shot you and were gonna take out the rest of us so it's self defense. Terry's back to work, Syd's getting our groceries and the stuff we need to fix all the bullet holes." She dropped all the socks back in the laundry basket and looked to her lover. "I hate folding clothes, the socks…there's too many!" She whimpered and crawled across the couch to lie in Truman's lap; she looked up at her with watery eyes and blinked. "I'm retiring, no more cops and robbers; you got shot because of all of this shit…" She wiped at her eyes and wrapped an arm around Truman's thigh. "I can't loose you or anyone else because of the scum out there; if I hadn't been dealing with Simson then none of this would've happened."

"And the bad guys would still be out there killing, stealing and all the other things that they were doing with a badge to shield them. 32 bad guys Mac, we got 32 bad guys off the street and they're being charged under the RICO law. You saw the list they had of all the people they wanted dead for one reason or another, now they're safe."

"Yeah but you still got shot and it could have been worse…" She sniffled and wiped at her eyes. "I know what you're saying it's…I feel guilty about everything, I worked with some of those guys and then my old boss was in on all of it and I never knew."

Truman rocked her and tried to smooth down her horns. "Terry worked with him every day and didn't know, they were good at staying hidden Mac, running a bookie business out of Simson's bar, getting kickbacks from the casino at the racetrack. The cops charging certain businesses for protection from Simson's thugs and then giving him a percentage of that money and all of this under the direction of a city councilman and paying off lawyers and judges to keep certain people from going to jail." She moved down on the couch so that they were both lying down and were more comfortable. "It's just amazing that know one knew about it in this small town."

"Ya know how ya look the other way when I do something stupid, that's what everyone does when there's crimes' being committed by cops and when someone saw them they died because of it. Then it's easy to get the word around when an examples been made, what makes me sick is I took blood money from both Simson and the councilman."

"You earned that money and no matter what, you and Syd saved that man's daughter. Mac we did good and that's all that counts, we still have the background check contracts and we're not hurting for money so we retire and go to Aruba for a month or so."

"And whose gonna take care of the building when we're gone…" She stopped when a long finger pressed over her lips.

"Who did I loose my apartment to," She whispered and licked at Mac's ear. "Whose been fixing all the stuff that's broke around here, she even fixed the electric garage door opener?"

"Ohh I gotcha…what would ya say to letting Syd take over the PI business when we get back and we lay around all day and practice all the positions in my sex book?"

"I hope you have them memorized, Terry took it the other day and the last I saw, some of the pages were marked with energy bar wrappers and smudged with strawberry jelly."

"That's OK; I got a bigger book under our bed. Whatcha say we go snuggle in bed and watch TV, my jaw hurts from Syd punching me?"

"I'd say ya got lucky, you could have been as close as I was to that damn grenade." She rubbed her ear and looked down at a smirking Mac. "Are we still yelling like before 'cuz I can't tell?"

"For Christ sakes I can hear you guys all the way out on the other side of the street," Syd walked past them with her arms full off grocery bags. "Ya gonna help me or do ya want me ta put the stuff away as well and why did I do your grocery shopping anyway?"

"Because you're the greatest thing in the world…and I don't trust Mac, Fritos, cheese whiz and peanut butter are not things you eat for supper." She got out from under a snickering Mac and went to help Syd put the groceries away. "We're going on vacation so you guys will have the building to yourself, no orgies in our bedroom."

"Aaahhh damn and I had it all planed out to, I was thinking a torture rack in the corner and maybe filling the bedroom with those wedge pillows." She stopped what she was doing and looked at Truman. "When are ya going and do I get ta play PI?"

Truman looked to where Mac was trying to put their socks into pairs and grinned. "I'm thinking maybe in the next few days, I need a break and Mac's coming undone."

"Ohhh yeah…I'm loosing it 'cuz we got an uneven number of socks!" She tossed them in the air and fell back on the couch. "We're leaving in a few days and you're in charge of the office, ya can even wear my hat!"

"Like I wanna wear that nasty old hat, I think that's what makes them little horns grow on your head. Old nasty evil possessed by the devil hat is what it is, eyes turnin red and shit and hair growin all over your body!" Truman backed away from her and looked over at Mac. "That's why ya gots hairy hobbit feet's, it's the devil hat! You're possessed by the devil and Truman's your evil kinky pitch fork carrin stab me in my ass demon!" She jumped at a wide eyed Truman, ran across the room and jumped on Mac. "Can I wear your zoot chain to?"

********************

"OK so we managed to get the beach to ourselves and scared off the kid that was bringing us fruity drinks, now what do we do?" Truman asked and tilted her head to the side to look at Mac's profile; they had been in Aruba for one day and already made a huge impression on the Hotel staff. They second they came out of their room, everyone ran and hid. She felt her lips pulling into a wide grin when Mac's eyebrow raised and she tilted her head to the side. She loved her more than anything and wanted nothing more than to spend the rest of their lives together.

"Guess we have to get everything ourselves," She looked around the beach and didn't even see a bird. "What did we do anyway, I was being nice?"

"I think it's our yelling we should have waited until the humming in our ears was gone before coming here and will you take off that stupid hat!" She grabbed Mac's fedora and tossed it under her chair. "I finally get you out of zoot suits and into shorts and you won't leave the hat in our room."

"It was either my chain or hat, you hid my chain so." She lifted her hands and gave Truman a wicked grin.

"I didn't hide your zoot chain, you used it last night to chain me to the headboard and that's where it still is." She pulled her sunglasses down, dropped her lounge chair to the reclining position and looked over at Mac. "Come on Mac I know you wanna so get over here and play out your fantasy."

"Yes my Queen and it's not my fantasy," She got up from her chase lounge, grabbed the bag of grapes and kneeled beside Truman. "This is your fantasy; we should've brought Terry and Syd along so they could fan you with those big Cleopatra fans." She placed a grape in Truman's mouth and moaned when her fingers were sucked on. "OK so it is my fantasy," She pressed her hips into Truman's thigh. "And ya know what I want!" She fell back into the sand when Truman got up and jogged away, she looked down at her hand and saw that her ring was gone. She lay there for a few seconds before she got up and chased after Truman and yelled. "You took my ring…you stoles precioussssss…does that make me your concubine?!"

The end.
Swing Time
By Larisa
Hecate3366@frontiernet.net

The Athenaeum's Scroll Archive