Mique
Part 3
by Rocky & Lyraine
E-Mail: shaunday@shaw.ca or lyraine@yahoo.com
Chapter 3
Melly woke slowly, light filtering redly through her closed eyelids. The urge to stretch brought the realization that her left arm was totally numb from the shoulder down. A dead weight rested against her, snoring raucously. Turning her head slightly, she came nose to nose with a distinctly feline face. Her unthinking squawk sent Mique scrambling for the other side of the bed before his eyes were fully open.
Mique rolled off the edge of the bed and then slowly peeked back up over the edge. Slowly, he smiled and winked. "Was it good for you?" he asked, raking his whiskers back and leering evilly.
Wordlessly, she smacked him repeatedly with a pillow. Finally, the sight of him trying somewhat unsuccessfully to look contrite and dodge at the same time was too much for her. Collapsing in a heap on the bed, she giggled uncontrollably.
"Hey, I know that my morning breath isn't my best feature, but GEEZ, sweetheart!" He paused to run his hand over his head. "It's bad enough that I have pillow fur without you giving me a permanent bad hair day." He stood there in indignation. Melly continued to laugh. "Aw, c'mon, is this the way you treat all the guys that you sleep with?"
"Nah, just the lucky ones." She laughed slightly before carrying on soberly. "So where do we go from here? I suppose that some sort of plan is out of the question?"
"Plan? Plan? We don' need no steenking plan!" Mique leaned forward and licked Melly on the nose, leaving her sputtering and flailing wildly with her pillow.
"Wiseass!" Still muttering under her breath, she got off the bed and walked over to stare unseeingly out the window. "Fine, then. Blind as usual. Do you mind telling me what, exactly, we might be up against, then?"
"Each other?" Mique asked hopefully.
"Why do I bother talking to you? It's not like you ever take anything seriously. Sometimes, I think you…" She trailed off as someone knocked at the door.
"If you two are quite finished waking the rest of us up," Star's muffled voice said, "breakfast will be ready in five."
"Hmm…five? Wanna quickie?" Mique ducked an incoming flying pillow. "Hey! Okay, okay… later. I understand." An undercut from a second pillow knocked him on his tail. "Truce! Tell you what--we'll save the planet after breakfast."
Melly glared at him balefully. "Fine. Truce. For now." Yanking open the door, she stomped off down the hall and downstairs.
In the kitchen, Star and some of the girls were already sitting around the table. Unfortunately, they were all in varying states of undress. At her entrance, they all looked up in silence. Feeling like she was under scrutiny, Melly sauntered over to the coffeepot and poured herself a cup without saying a word.
Star wandered over to her sister and looked her up and down. "So how long have you been dating out of your species?" she asked with a straight face.
Melly replied with n equal amount of calm and just a hint of asperity. "Some days, it feels like a century. How about you?" As she took a long pull of her coffee, she eyed her sister over the rim of the cup.
Mique ambled into the kitchen, digging in his ear and rubbing his nose at the same time. He got as far as the coffeepot before identical stony looks from the two sisters stopped him in his tracks. "Whoa! Bad karma." He raised each arm and sniffed. Finally, he crossed his arms and glared back. "What?!"
Melly and Star looked at one another in disgust. Slowly, a matching twinkle rose in both sets of eyes. Melly nodded, and both sisters stalked menacingly toward him. Wordlessly, they each grabbed an arm and lifted him off the ground. Wheeling, they abruptly stuffed him head-first into the empty kitchen trash can.
"Just a goddamn minute!" cried a muffled voice. "Can somebody please tell me why I'm upside down, snorting cold coffee grounds?" After several minutes, the kicking stopped, and a quiet little voice asked, "Could I have a bit of help here…please?"
Snickering, Melly walked over and tipped him onto the floor. "All better now?"
Gyrating and twitching, Mique finally freed himself. He stood up, stretched in a way that only a five-foot cat man could, and licked the end of his nose. "Mmm…Colombian. Now could I have some in a cup, or is that too much to ask?"
Melly grinned and, pointing toward the coffeepot, executed a sweeping bow. While Mique was busy with his coffee, she turned back to her sister. "We really do appreciate you putting us up, you know. We're kinda in a major jam." Seeing the look on her sister's face, Melly hastily added, "Nothing illegal; just very complicated. NOT Mique's fault."
"I see. So you wait to be in a jam to show up on my doorstep." The bitterness in Star's voice was hard to mistake. "How complicated? As in 'I need money' complicated, or 'I need the name of a good OB-GYN' complicated…or maybe both?" she inquired, raising one eyebrow.
"Um… neither, actually. More like...oh, I don't know, 'We're out to save the world' complicated. As to the other, it's not like that, and you damn well know it. The fact that you were the first person I thought to run to for help ought to tell you something."
Star looked over at the cat man, who had by now sauntered over the table of scantily clad women and was making goo-goo eyes at a blonde in a blood-red teddy. "Didn't you dance in a cage at the 'Kitty Kat Klub' in Hull?" he asked in a conversational tone.
Shaking her head, Star sighed and looked back at Melly. "Looks like men are men. Care to elaborate on the save-the-world thing?"
Melly briefly contemplated the toes of her shoes, wondering how much to tell right off the top. Finally, she settled on the short version. Not looking up, she muttered, "Well, you see, Mique followed some, um, people here. We've already tangled with them once or twice. I thought it was over until yesterday; then we saw another one. They know where we live, so we needed somewhere to hole up while we figure out what to do next." Taking a quick drink of her rapidly cooling coffee, she risked a glance at her sister to gauge her reaction.
"Whoa… whoa. Slow down. What kind of people are we talking about here? You said 'Nothing illegal,' right? So these people are out to get you because you are in the way of something they want to do…and it involves the entire planet?!"
"Uh, yeah. They're not exactly local, y'see, and they kinda think they own the place. They're not nice folks. We shut one of 'em down a while ago, but the rest are sorta circling in for the kill now." Draining her coffee cup, she glanced over at Mique. Predictably, he was still ogling the blonde. Melly rubbed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Damn. I'm starting to make as much sense as him."
Mique looked up and grinned. "You're doing just fine, darlin'. Just quit dancing around the truth and tell her." He winked and touched the side of his nose. "Remember, the nose knows, and your sister here smells like good people." He looked back at the blonde. "Now, where were we? Oh, yes--the time I…"
Melly rolled her eyes and stuck her tongue out at the back of his head. Resisting the impulse to flip him a bird, she turned back to Star. "Basically, they're world-wreckers. They come in, take over, and bleed a world dry. We stopped the big guy, but now all the little guys are fighting to take their piece of the action." She paused to pour another cup of coffee, then continued thoughtfully. "There's probably a good chance that another one of the so-called big guys will try and muscle in. Hey, didn't you promise me breakfast?"
Star gave her sister one of Those looks and began cracking eggs into a pan on the stove. Soon, two plates of steak and eggs were presented, and the girls were shooed away. She sat down at the table with the odd couple and watched them eat. "How can I help?" she stated simply.
Mique pursed his lips as only a person with a cat face could and nodded slowly. "Told you."
"Well, as far as I know"--Melly shot Mique a dirty look--"the difference between last time and now is that this time, we don't know where they are. Besides giving us a base they don't know about, last time I checked, you had a pretty impressive contact network. That still hold, Sis?"
"More than ever. We're computerized these days. Instant access, worldwide. What else?"
"As to that"--she indicated Mique with her elbow--"Fur Face here would know more than I do."
"Cool!" The feline biker leaned into the table, trying to peek down the madam's blouse. "Brains and nice tits run in the family, huh?"
Melly reached out and smacked him one, square on the back of his head. "Be nice! We're trying to figure things out here. Do you suppose, just possibly, this once, you might try to be helpful?" Her suspiciously dulcet tone was belied by the nasty glint in her eyes.
"OW!" Mique winced, rubbing the back of his head. "Geez, pay a girl a compliment, and I get brain damage!" He got up and walked out of smacking range. "You jealous, or is it just that time-of-the-phase thingy?"
Throwing her hands up in the air, Melly said, "You're incorrigible, y'know that?" Pointedly ignoring him, she turned back to her sister. "Guess we might as well see what we can find out from your 'puter. Shall we?"
After waiting for the sisters to leave the room, Mique picked up the receiver of the kitchen phone and tapped in a long sequence of numbers. Idly, he batted at the loop in the cord, waiting for a pickup on the other end. "Hey, Percy, what's the haps, man?…Yup, more trouble…Say, do you know of an ET that looks like a duck in an ape suit?…Me neither. Ask around and let me know, 'kay?…What? Oh, yeah, I guess I'll have to call you. Peace." He hung up and decided to see what his two favorite earthlings were up to.
Melly and Star were hunched over the computer in Star's office. Star was chatting with an online contact in Ottawa.
S: Anything, Pete. Nationwide, not just out here. Anything unusual or unexplained. Odd sightings, anything like that.
P: You asked for it. Give me a couple of hours, though. Gonna let me in on the reason?
S: Can't right now. Maybe later. TTYL.
"Okay, that's Pete. What else? Any particular information you guys need, or are we just trying to locate them?"
"We're just…" Melly broke off as Mique entered the room. "I see you've deigned to join us."
"I got lonely," Mique said, doing his best pout. "Can I play too?" He looked at the monitor and then down at the keyboard. "Hey, what does this button do?" He reached out a finger to hit a key.
"Watch it!" Star grabbed the offending paw. "Nobody touches my keys without my say-so!"
"Lemme guess--same goes for the ta-tas, huh?"
"You got it, Jack." Star spun him around by the arm and shoved him toward Melly. "Here. You brought him. You keep him out of trouble."
"Whaddya expect me to do? He acts like this no matter what I say."
Mique ran one hand over his head, smoothing his fur; the other twitched at his whiskers. "I could give you some suggestions about what would make me behave." He tipped his head to one side and made a purring noise. "Can I help it if you two are a couple of bodacious babes?" The steely glare from Melly froze him mid-purr. "Okay, fine. I called Percy. He doesn't know what the duck critter was either. I'm supposed to call back later to see what he's found out."
"Great! It's about time you got off your butt. D'ya think he and the boys can find anything these days? It's been a while since he shut The Pit down. He might be kinda out of touch. Uh-oh. If he does find something, we're gonna need him out here. That could be a bit of a problem, given his penchant for traveling with a pack."
Star watched this exchange with interest. "This Percy guy travels with a pack of friends. Hmm…could this mean a bunch of paying customers?" she asked hopefully.
"Um, well," Melly hedged, "they might be a little rowdy for your tastes. Percy's a biker."
"Shit, honey, their money is as good as anybody's. I didn't make the scratch to buy this place by being picky." She extended one finger to poke her sister in the arm. "You should talk, considering your boyfriend here."
Melly snorted. "That's actually where I'm drawing my assumptions from. You've seen how he behaves. Seriously, though, Percy and the boys are nice guys. A little rough around the edges, maybe, but solid gold."
"Of course they're solid gold…everybody that hangs with me is solid gold." Mique glanced down at the floor. "Melly here, though, is solid platinum."
The quiet admission from the cat man left the sisters looking at each other in astonishment.
Melly broke the silence first. When she did, her voice was hushed with concern. "Mique? Are you okay? I mean, you're great, too, but that's just not like you."
Mique suddenly found the pattern in the carpet very intriguing. He dug his paws deep in his pockets and finally looked up at the sisters, who were looking on in surprise. "Mel, you know that you are the bravest thing on this planet ,don't you?…Not just anyone would take on a Grynak for just a stupid cat man." Mique pulled his eyes up to find Melly staring back in total surprise.
"I don't know any such thing. I did what I'd do for any frien-- at least, for any really good friend." Seeing his look, she paused for a minute, choosing her words carefully. "Look, Mique. Don't sound so insignificant. I know we haven't known each other all that long, but I'd be really lost if anything happened to you. It had nothing to do with being brave."
Star watched the interplay with interest. She looked as what she saw as a little guy in torn jeans start to blur. Blinking to fight off the skew in vision, she watched in horror as he changed into a feline, complete with whiskers.
Looking up, Melly saw the look of confusion on her sister's face. "Um, Mique? Does Star see you? I mean, really see you? Like I do?"
Melly's sister backed away slowly until she found herself backed up against the wall. One finger rose up, pointing. "What the fuck are you?" she demanded.
"I guess that answers that," Mique said, examining his nails.
Melly was on her feet and had a grip on her sister before Mique had a chance to register the dirty look she gave him. "Calm down, Star. He's harmless. Mostly, anyway. He's an alien." Seeing her sister's look, she hastily continued, "I told you, it's not his fault. He's trying to help. I told you we were trying to save the world. Star? Star?!"
"You're…you're sleeping with an alien." Star looked at her sister, goggle-eyed. "…And Mom kicked me out for sleeping with the milkman!" Star crumpled down the wall. Melly rushed over and began patting her hand.
"Mom never did have much sense of adventure." Then, as an afterthought, she added, "Of course, she doesn't know, either. Besides, we're not sleeping together. We just live together."
Mique raised one brow. "I could fix that. Mel has to make the first move, though." He leered suggestively.
"Oh, you're a lot of help." Melly's voice was acerbic, but she broke off as Star began to stir again. "Are you okay, Sis?"
Star blinked repeatedly as she allowed Melly to help her up off of the floor. "Okay. Now this whole save-the-planet shit means a whole lot more than it did twenty minutes ago."
"What did you think I was talking about? Geez…" She was interrupted by the sound of several bikes roaring up outside. Turning to Mique, she said, "I thought you said you were gonna call Percy back."
"I guess this is his idea of calling back." Mique grinned in a way that only he could. "Let's go say hey to the boys, Melly." He turned and was down the stairs before either of the sisters could react.
"Dammit. He won't be serious for long." Cursing under her breath, Melly followed him out the door. She never saw the thoughtful smirk on her sister's face.
As soon as she got outside, Melly realized that there had been more bikes than she'd thought. Percy had to have brought at least thirty of the boys with him. If they had any money, Star was going to be a very happy camper. Without looking, she knew that the girls were already watching out the window, sizing up the situation.
Squeals and giggles came from the large upper window as the tribe of cycle bums pulled up and parked their bikes. Melly ran up behind Mique to meet the throng of leather-clad motormen that filled the small parking lot. She was grasped from behind and spun from hand to hand. "Okay, put me down!" she hollered.
"Man, you'd think you hadn't seen me in weeks or something." She was a little annoyed, but their exuberance was contagious. She was out of breath, and the last place she'd landed was in Percy's arms. He still wasn't letting go. She disentangled herself gently, unwilling to offend him after all he'd done for her and Mique; then she looked up at him. "What's up?"
"Hiya, sweet cheeks!" The big bartender smiled jovially. "What's kicken'?"
"Me, if you don't behave. It's good to see ya." Melly laughed briefly, then gave him her best get-serious look. "What'd Mique tell ya? You got any news?"
Percy was busily watching the semiclad troop of young ladies descend the outer staircase. "He said there was trouble--something about a ET in an ape suit. So we're here." The big man shrugged. "So what's the plan?"
"Plan…plan? To bend Mique's favorite phrase, we ain't got no steenking plan. We're still trying to figure things out. At least you got here. Any word on the streets?"
"No, the stink of trouble was all I needed, and I gathered up the boys and girls, and here we are." Percy hitched up his jeans and rolled his eyes. "This is my kind of trouble." A shapely blonde cuddled up close to the big man. He gathered her close. "Didn't you dance in a cage somewhere?" he asked.
"Quite likely, Perc. This is my sister's house. C'mon inside. I'll introduce you." She looked around and spotted Mique in the middle of the girls ,as usual. Rolling her eyes, she headed back into the house. Star met them just inside the door.
The petite blonde attached herself to the burly biker. The two followed I themnto the building.
Mique disengaged himself from the crowd at the door and grasped Percy's arm in greeting. "Ready to kick some extraterrestrial ass?" he asked with a shit-eating grin.
Melly never gave Percy a chance to answer. "Like he'd be here if he wasn't. If you can spare me your attention for a moment or two, I'd like to try and figure this out. What was that guy in the ape suit, anyway?" She deftly stepped aside so that Star could usher the rest of the boys inside, but her eyes never left Mique's. "I'm sure you know; why not let us in on it?"
Mique threw his hands up in supplication. "Damned if I know. I ain't been everywhere, honey." The embarassed look on the cat man's face said more about the truth of the statement than anything else.
"Great. Just frickin' lovely. So we're all flying blind. Damn." Melly shook her head in disbelief. "So what do we do? Do we just wait for these creeps to find us, or do we go hunting?"
Most of the guys had disappeared while they were talking. The answer from the remainder was unanimous. Melly couldn't help but laugh. "Hunting it is, then. Where do we start?"
"I dunno. Maybe your sister's computer friends can come up with an answer."
"God, I hope not. I'm sorry she had to contact the son of a bitch. He's her ex-husband. Pete's not exactly one of my favorite people. He really screwed her over."
Mique was quiet for a moment. "That really sucks. Your sister is good people…she hurts; I hurt…you get me, Mel?"
Melly looked at him in dead seriousness. "Yeah, actually, I think I do." She reached out and laid her hand gently against his cheek. "For a change, I really think I do. You're a real peach, you know that?"
A funny noise rose up from the cat man. Mique couldn't help himself; the gentle touch caused a visceral response, and he began to purr.
Melly's hand jerked a little in surprise, but she didn't move it away. "Whoa--I didn't know you could do that. Do I dare ask what else I don't know?"
"This is gonna sound a little dumb," Mique said sheepishly. "Can I have a hug?" he asked with a quiet plea of trepidation.
Melly looked at him blankly for a minute, then found herself forced to suppress a grin. Mique looked too serious for her to laugh. She never said a word; she just held her arms open wide.
Star found them holding each other at the bottom of the stairs. She paused for a moment and then spoke quietly. "Hey, whenever you two are ready, my mailbox just pinged. Pete may have the answer we're looking for."
Melly let go of Mique reluctantly. The hug had been warmer and more secure than anything she'd known recently. It was still foremost in her mind as she followed Star up the stairs. Even the memory made it hard to concentrate. The real thing had made the world go away. She gave herself a mental shake and tried to pay attention to her sister.
The icon blinked repeatedly at the bottom of the screen.
P: You there, babe?
S: Can it. I'm here. What've you got?
P: There are sightings nationwide. Nobody's certain, but the name that keeps coming up is R'chan. There's no question it's an ET.
S: Any idea where it's headquartered?
P: Out in your neck of the woods. Not sure where. The majority of the reports peg the mountains, though.
S: That it?
P: For now. I'll keep digging and flag ya if anything comes up.
S: Okay. Later.
There was a brief burst of static; then the icon blinked rapidly at the bottom of the screen once again.
•••
(c) 1999, Rocky & Lyraine