The Irregulars

Chapter 5

He nudged Foxy in the ribs.

"Ain't that right, beautiful?"

"You are asking to be hurt," said Foxy in a low voice.

"The hard to get type," said Benny. "What about you, Alec? You've got a lady in your life. Maybe the Queen of the Sewers?"

"No," Alec said, shaking his head. "For all my abilities, women still remain something of a great mystery to me."

"Looking at you and Jane, I can see why."

"That's unkind," Alec chided. He turned to Karl.

"Do you have anyone?" he asked. "A girl back home?"

"Yes," said Karl. "Elsa. But she's..."

Before he could finish, Eddie's voice cut through the conversation.

"Goodnight ladies," he said. "This is where we part company."

The four of them looked up and saw him standing there with two women on either arm.

"Myself, Mathilde and..."

"Heloise," the other girl said to him, slapping his arm playfully.

"Right, Heloise," said Eddie. "We're going to head over to the Folies Bergere. I trust you know the way home."

Benny eyed Eddie with the two ladies and shook his head.

"Must be nice to be a pusher," said Benny.

Eddie shook his head. "A real user never uses his gifts on a lady," said Eddie. "This here, this is pure Eddie Clubs."

"Somehow," said Alec, "that is even more distressing."

At this, Benny and Foxy snickered and Eddie gave them a baleful glance.

"Ha ha ha. Laugh it up, girls," he said. "And enjoy your walk home alone."

With that, he and the ladies were gone into the night. On stage, the act had changed. A woman was standing alongside a nervous looking man, dropping hints about how much she would love to be kissed. The more hints she would drop, the more exaggeratedly nervous he would become. His eyes would grow wider and wider as he shuffled around on the stage, running his hands through his hair and straightening and loosening his tie. The crowd began heckling the man on stage.

"Kiss her, you fool!"

"Let me up there! I'll show you how it's done!"

Benny poked Alec in the ribs.

"Reminds me of you and Jane," he said.

"Very funny," said Alec, his tone completely dry. "She doesn't want to kiss me. In fact, I think she wants to kill me."

"Are you talking about what happened to your feet?" asked Karl innocently. His question produced a full belly laugh from Foxy, punctuated by a slap on the table. Alec shook his head and covered his eyes with his hand.

"She's pure evil," Alec said.

"You should go a little easier on her," said Benny. "She's been through a lot."

Alec gestured to his wounded feet.

"And I haven't?" he almost shouted.

"Take it easy, Twinkletoes," Benny said. "I'm just saying there's more to her story than you realize."

"Such as?"

"She lost her whole family in the Blitz," Benny said.

At this, Alec fell silent. He knew what it was like to lose family. Over at the other side of the table, Karl became similarly quiet, studying his drink intently.