Author's Note: It seems that the more I write Cindy Lou's accent, the thicker it gets. As a result, I'm going to try and lighten it up from here on out. My thanks to Hobbeth being a sounding board and for her betareading skills. And to FrankieC and Math Girl for listening and giving advice.

Disclaimer: I don't own them, I'm just writing about them. Any and all original characters, including Cindy Lou/Lucinda and her cats, are mine. Especially the cats. See my bio for information on copying/hotlinking.

Enjoy.

Tikatu

Cindy Lou rubbed her eyes. Awakened at four, her heart racing, she found herself gasping for air, the result of a nightmare that had taken over her dreams. She didn't know if she could go back to sleep after the experience, and instead went down to her computer to try and track down the authors or owners of the website that she was most concerned about.

By now, the press had picked up on both of the stories that the site had mentioned, putting their own slant on them. Almost universally, they praised IR for their care of the tiger, citing its rarity and congratulating IR for seeing the need for preserving such an endangered animal. As for the termite story, the press tried to get solid confirmation of the existence of the program, but found no official who was willing to tell them what they wanted. Cindy Lou snorted a small laugh and shook her head as she read the remarks made by the head of Interpol, Piers Donovan.

"At this point, we have no comment to make on this subject," he flatly stated. The press put its own spin on this statement as well, most of it speculation on what Interpol was trying to hide.

She rolled her eyes. Interpol, like most agencies of any kind, had plenty of information leaks, leaks that were either approved and covert, non-approved but overt, or non-approved and covert. ~The only thing that travels faster than light is gossip,~ she mused. She yawned, and glanced over at her vidphone. ~Maybe I should give Jeff a heads up on this. And let him know about those computer specs I sent along for Brains.~ Doing a quick time zone calculation, she frowned. ~I hope I can catch him. He may be asleep by now. It would be good for him if he was. Well, if he is, I'll just leave a message and he can get back to me. In any case, Marvin will email him.~

Jeff was closing down his computer for the night. He had gotten an email from Penelope, stating that she was safe, settled in, and had an early morning appointment with one of the senators who represented Great Britain in the World Senate. He stood and stretched, feeling the muscles in his shoulders tighten and relax. He was about to leave his desk when the vidphone rang. ~Who's calling at this time of night?~ Irritated, he thought about letting the answering service take the call, but a quick glance at the number and the name of the town turned his irritation to pleased surprise. He sat down again, leaning back in his chair, and answered the call.

"Hello, Jeff?" Cindy Lou's face appeared, framed by tousled red curls that showed a recent rising from bed. She was also in her modest bathrobe, a fact that did not escape Jeff.

"Well, hello there, stranger," he quipped. A bit of mental math and he continued, "You're up early."

"An' yoah up late," was her quick retort. "Don't you evah go to bed?"

"I was about to when you called."

"Oh, Ah'm sorry Ah called then. Ah can call back latah."

"No, no! It's okay. We can talk now. How's Gardiner, New York?"

"Cold, still. But th' Catskills are lovely. Can't wait t' see them all covered with green. How's life on th' ahland?"

"Quiet for a change. No new 'business trips' to report." He scrutinized her carefully as she yawned. "You're looking better. The bruising is disappearing and the swelling is gone."

She nodded. "Mah shoulder's just a little sore. Ah've stopped usin' th' sling, at least indoors. Hard t' use a mouse when yoah arm's in a sling. Ah 'spect t' ditch it entirely by th' end of th' week."

"I'm glad to see the improvement," he commented. Looking at his clock, he continued. "Well, enough chit-chat. Between the late hour here and the early hour there, I doubt this is a social call. What can I do for you?"

"Well, Ah thought you ought t' know that th' 'bug's' on th' loose, an' it's in Interpol's systems."

He frowned slightly. "I saw the news. How did that happen?"

"Franks or one o' his pals musta opened th' files while tryin' t' verify th' inf'rmation. Ah don' know how they got into Interpol's computer's, but they did." She let a breath out through her nose. "Theah are those who are blamin' yoah 'family business' for th' 'infestation'."

Jeff's frown deepened. "Who?"

She sighed. "There's a website o' two that are at th' forefront o' this. One o' them had a critique o' yoah last 'business trip' hours before th' legitimate press did. An' they had th' news about th' 'infestation' hours before th' press broke th' story."

"Hmph," Jeff remarked, shaking his head. "I should have realized. I know we're not universally accepted or liked but policing the cranks hasn't been a top item on my agenda. Still, it's disturbing that someone's getting news out about us so quickly. Any idea who's responsible or where they're getting their information?"

Lou shook her head. "No. Not yet. Ah've spent mah time since th' nightm... since Ah got up, lookin' into it."

Jeff thought for a moment about what she had almost let out and considered whether or not to press the issue. He decided to do so. "Lou, you were about to say 'nightmare', weren't you?"

She looked away, and when she faced the screen again, she had lowered her gaze and her eyelids. "Yeah. Ah was. But... there's nothin' you can do. It's gonna happen an' Ah just got to deal with it." Meeting his eyes on the screen again, she said, "It's not th' first time Ah've had t' work through somethin' like this, Jeff. It'll take time, but... Ah'll survive."

He gazed at her in silence for a moment, then nodded. "I won't press, but if you need a listening ear, I've had plenty of experience."

She smiled a little. "Ah appreciate th' offer, Jeff." Then she squared her shoulders. "Any news on Franks's whereabouts?"

Now it was Jeff's turn to look away. He looked up at the ceiling as if asking for providential guidance, then he faced her squarely. "Yes. My people think they've run him to ground."

She looked surprised. "Where? Where is he?"

He shook his head. "I'm not going to tell you."

This brought out a frown. "Why not?"

"Because," Jeff began, trying to choose his words carefully. "Because... I'm afraid you'll go after him on your own."

Lou huffed out a breath and gave him an "I can't believe you just said that" look. "Jeff, if there's one thin' Ah learned from mah work with Interpol, it's that a good cop does not go into a dangerous situation without back up she can trust. An' Jeff? Ah was a good cop."

"Still, I'm not telling you," he reiterated. "My people will confirm his location, then deal with him and his cohorts accordingly."

"Ah hope they can do that, Jeff. He's as slipp'ry as an ol' catfish."

"I'll keep that in mind."

There was silence between them, then Cindy Lou said, "Oh! Ah'm sendin' some interestin' computer specs to the man with the glasses. For a duplicate 'Net connection like mah own. Has he put th' bug in yoah antivirus program?"

"Yes, it's there." In fact, it was one of the first things Brains had done on his return from Atlanta.

Cindy Lou relaxed a little. "Good."

"Lou? Could you send me the URLs for those... cranks' sites, too? I'd like to take a look at them."

She regarded him thoughtfully. "Ah su'pose Ah could... as long as you don' get yoah blood pressure up over them. You let me take care o' those sites. This is th' kinda work Ah'm best at. Ah'll send 'em with th' specs. Or Marvin will." She yawned widely, belatedly covering it with a hand. "Well, Ah'd bettah let you go. Yoah bed awaits, an' so does mahne; at least until th' cats come callin' for their breakfast. Ah'll keep lookin' for whoever's behind that website."

"I appreciate it, Lou," Jeff said, smiling softly. "You get some sleep and I'll do the same. Have a good day."

"You have a good night, Jeff. G'bye."

"Goodbye." The conversation ended, and Jeff sat back, absently picking up a stylus and beating a tattoo against his chin. ~Anti-IR websites? It was inevitable that things like that would pop up. But I hoped that people... well, I guess I'm an idealist in a lot of ways.~ He yawned, dropped the stylus back onto the desktop and levered himself out of his chair. With a final glance at the room, he activated the lift that made his desk rise to the ceiling, turned out the light and headed to bed.

At her own computer, Lou shook her head slowly and yawned again. With a click of her mouse, she powered the machine into a stand-by mode. Looking over at the clock, she thought for a moment. ~Might be a better idea to get my run in while the day is early. Then get a shower. I can always nap later.~ Nodding to herself, she headed upstairs to her bedroom to change into running clothes.

xxxx

"Hey! When is the maid coming to change the linens?" Franks flippantly asked the household guards that came with his breakfast. He had been locked up for two days. Meals had been served, but no metal cutlery was provided, just a plastic spoon, which wasn't very easy to eat with. Nor were the meals very appetizing since he had a mere ten minutes to bolt them down under the watchful eye of the guards.

From his room he could see the Minister's helijet rise into the air, winging its way toward the sea. "So, where's your boss man going, eh?" he asked between hurried bites. The guards remained impassive. Franks had learned the day before that they were under orders to be silent. He had cursed at them in several different tongues, including the local patois, and though he thought he saw an angry glint in the eye of one of them, he got no other response.

The marginally smaller of the two kept an eye on his watch, and when the mealtime was up, he nodded to the larger man, who yanked the tray away.

"Give my compliments to the chef," Franks quipped sarcastically as the guards left him, locking the door securely behind them. He ran a hand through his hair; at least the room came with a bath and he could tend to his needs. Plus his small reserve of clothing had been laundered while he was still in favor, though his belts had been confiscated, along with anything that might possibly be made into a weapon. So was anything that he might have used to contact the outside world, including the laptop and its link.

He rubbed his stubbled chin. ~I could really use a shave.~ Looking around his relatively comfortable cell, he tried to remember where he had found the vid device. To him, it was a given that he'd be watched while he was there. So one of the first things he had done was search the room thoroughly. He had found several audio surveillance devices, but only one for vid feed. ~We did a much more thorough job at Lucinda's,~ he thought derisively. ~I wish I knew why there had been so much damn interference on the signal.~

Flopping down on the bed again, he put his hands behind his head. ~I wonder how long Alvarez will keep me here? Not that I'm complaining; I expected to have been shot by now. The longer he waits, the happier I am. I hope I can think my way out of this. I can't count on his "generosity" forever.~

xxxx

"Madam Senator?" The cultured British tones of the secretary to the Honorable Addison Kennicot, Senator representing Great Britain, rang out in the Senator's plush office.

"Yes, Anne?"

"Your nine o'clock appointment has arrived."

"Excellent. Please send her in."

Anne opened the door, and a young woman with dark, nearly black hair glided into the room. Addison studied her very carefully. There was something familiar about the woman, something that reminded her of an old friend from Rowden... She rose and offered her hand to the newcomer.

"Addison Kennicot."

"Alison St. Clair."

Penelope smiled, hiding her surprise at recognizing the woman who rose from behind the teakwood desk. Here was her old friend, Addi, whom she had not seen in several years, not since Addi's graduation from Rowden the year before her own. They had been close once, but had lost touch over the intervening years. ~I had forgotten that she had married and what her married name was,~ Penelope thought with alarm. ~I had no idea that she had gone into politics. That was not her intention when she left Rowden.~

For her part, Addison tried hard not to stare at her guest, even though she was sure that she'd seen this woman before. Instead, she offered the lady a chair and sat back down behind her desk. "What can I help you with, Ms. St. Clair?"

"The Prime Minster is planning a visit to Unity City in the near future, with hopes of addressing the combined houses of the World Government," Penelope began, aware of the scrutiny she was under. "He has sent me ahead to put things in motion for that visit. I need your help in contacting the appropriate people." She leaned toward Addison as if conveying a confidence. "This is my first assignment of this sort and though I am familiar with the names of the officials I need to see, I felt that an... introduction from your office would help me along. Establish my credentials, so to speak."

Addison nodded. "Ah, I understand. Who is it you wish to see first?"

Penelope removed a PDA from her briefcase. "Let me see. Ah, yes. First, I must see the secretaries in charge of chambers to schedule the visit." She glanced up at the Senator. "It will be at least six months from now, if not later, depending on the legislative schedule." A slim finger made the page scroll up for her, then she said, "And once the date is set, I am

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