Rapscallion

More Whiskey Would Be Nice

I blow a breath into the icy air and press the buzzer again. "Let me in, it's freezing ass out here."

My fingers are pink and I stomp my feet to get the blood flowing back into my boots. Edgar sits patiently beside me, contently warm underneath his mountain of hair. I smack the buzzer another couple of times.

After mulling over Void's new suspicions all day, I finally decided that answers are in order. So I waited for an ungodly hour to pay a visit to my dear heroine friend, who hopefully has an idea of why Void's been sniffing around.

Finally, there's a click and the little light turns green. "It's eleven thirty, you bastard." Jane's familiar drawl makes me grin as I push open the gate and hurry up the stairs.

When I give door 4B a light rap she opens it, leaning on the frame. Her unimpressed downturned mouth reveals exactly how excited she is to see me. "Dude," she says, "I was in bed."

I give her my best puppy-dog-eyes and apologetic-smile combo. "I just wanted to come see my best friend and wish her a Merry Christmas."

"Bullshit, you hate Christmas." But her eyes soften and a smile pulls at the corner of her mouth as she steps back to let me in.

I do hate Christmas. Maybe there's a reason I scheduled a heist on the day before Christmas Eve. I'm a Grinch to the bone. I collapse on her couch in the light of her Christmas tree and and she sits cross-legged next to me.

"Is your boyfriend asleep?" I ask, glancing towards the bedroom door.

Her eyes roll up to the ceiling. "His name is Carson, for God's sake. I know you don't like the guy but seriously."

"Sorry," I murmur, "I just think—"

"He's a slimy cat-loving weeny, I know."

I crack a grin. Jane knows me too well. "It's super business," I tell her quietly.

"Ah." Her head tilts back as she checks the door behind us. Honey blonde hair spills in messy waves down her back. "The bar down the road is still open, let's go grab a drink." She grabs an oversized flannel jacket and pulls her feet into Uggs. "I have a feeling we're both going to need one." She loops her arm through mine and Edgar happily trots next to us on our midnight excursion.

"So," Jane starts, "I hear you had a successful heist yesterday."

I give her a sideways look and nudge her in the ribs. "Have I ever had an unsuccessful one?"

She chuckles and shakes her head, kicking snow up with her boots. "No, I guess not." I can tell she has more to say, but she holds back and changes the subject. "Are you going to come over tomorrow for Christmas?"

I exhale and wish it was cigarette smoke rising from my lips. God, I could use a smoke right now. "Maybe. I don't know."

Her hand drops down to mine and she gives my fingers a squeeze. "Come on, Ben. I can't let you mope around in your crappy apartment all day."

My real name sounds nice coming out of her mouth. Not many people call me that anymore. I miss feeling like a human. God, do I miss it.

I avoid answering as I tie Edgar outside and push open the bar door that insists you need to pull. This is Jane's and my spot—Jed's, a hole in the wall bar that's open until two A.M. even though it's deserted by ten.

John's behind the bar tonight. He grins when we slide onto our respective stools. "Hey, Jane, Ben. Haven't seen you guys in awhile."

"Hey, John." I slap him a handshake. John's a good guy. He's a single dad, and works hard and late, although he's not as subtle a listener as he thinks. "You manager yet?" I ask him.

His smile drops. "Nah, man. Not yet. Thanks for asking though."

Jane makes a sound of sympathy, reaching over to pat his hand.

"Anyway, you guys want your usual tonight?"

Jane nods. "Yeah, thanks John."

I wait until he's safely out of earshot to tell Jane about my chat with Void. "So," I start, hooking my feet through the bars on my stool, "Void paid me a visit this morning."

Jane raises an eyebrow. "Oh?"

I drop my voice. "He started asking me about the money and was all suspicious about what I'm doing with it. He said—" I pause as John comes by with our whiskey shots.

"Split the bill again?" he asks, and we nod.

"—he said he'd been asking around about me. About my background. I was curious if he'd talked to you."

Jane blinks her chocolate brown eyes at me once, then downs a shot. When she sets it down with a clunk she says, "He did." She chuckles, shaking her head. "Said he was worried you were 'saving up for a plan'. Almost gave me a heart attack he knocked so hard. Why does he always have to knock so hard?"

I groan. "Dammit. He was never worried about it before. Why now?" I tip my head back and let the whiskey burn its route to my stomach. "What did you tell him?"

"That I had no idea." She wipes her mouth with the back of her hand and her gaze slides to meet mine. "He asked me what your real name was."

I stared at her. "You're kidding."

"Wish I was." Without looking, she says, "John, stop eavesdropping. I can see you over there."

John blushes and hurries to the other side of the bar.

I down another shot. "Maybe we should get another round," I say hoarsely.

"Why don't you just tell him?"

I've thought about it. Jane knows everything. Why not Void? It would certainly give him some peace of mind. I trace the rim of my empty shot glass. "I don't know. I just... have a feeling."

Jane nods. "I know, sometimes I wonder about him too. I don't fully trust him either." Half of her face is illuminated by the pink neon sign outside. It's the same shade as the lining of her black spandex super suit.

Jane, unlike me, doesn't have a day job. Her day job is being a super—she's on a government contract to essentially be a glorified police officer who's also on call for the military.

Sometimes I wish I'd signed that contract. I wouldn't have to worry about protecting my identity or getting, you know, sent to jail. Life would be simple. Reliable.

I rest my forehead on the bar. "What am I going to do, Jay? He's not gonna let this go."

She sighs. "You've got to tell him something. But tomorrow's Christmas, so you've got at least a day or two to think about it."

I grumble my choice of profanity into the table.

"Excuse me?"

I raise my head and blink at her blearily. "I said thanks."

She chuckles and accepts my correction. As great as Jane is, she would still kick my ass. Even with my intangiblity, I still don't mess with her super speed and strength enhanced ninja skills.

I swallow down a third shot. Jane takes her second, and she's giving me the Look, the one that's asking me if I'm going to drown my sorrows in whiskey like I did last Christmas.

I'm definitely considering it.

Jane must have read my expression because she covers my hand with hers. "You want to crash at my place tonight? Couch is yours tomorrow too."

I turn my hand over and give hers a squeeze. "I'll be okay. I've got Edgar now. I need to catch up on some sleep anyway. And do laundry." I offer a crooked grin.

She doesn't look happy about it, but she nods. "At least promise me you'll come by sometime tomorrow? Just to say hi?"

"Okay. Yeah, I will." I close my eyes for a moment, not minding Jane watching me. In twenty four hours a drunk driver would hit my parent's car. I tip my head back once more and enjoy the burn of my last shot.

Tomorrow's going to be a long day.