"Boss, you gotta eat somethin'," Trigger said, setting a tray containing a sandwich and a cup of coffee on it on the desk. With an annoyed grumble, he pulled the empty scotch bottle from the man's hand. Walking around the desk, Trigger took hold of the mouse, pulling up the media player on his boss's computer. The boss had the damn thing on repeat again, still playing that damn country music! Trigger shut the computer down and pulled the tray closer to his boss.

Edward lifted his head from the blotter. It had been just over two weeks now since Dee had left him. Since then, he hadn't showered, or shaved, a scraggly and dirty beard covering his chin. He hadn't even changed out of the boxers and t-shirt he had been wearing when she left. Whether or not he had eaten, he couldn't remember. He did know that he had been plenty drunk most of the time, as the scattered scotch bottles indicated.

"I'm not hungry," he lied, pushing the tray away and putting his head back down. He was hungry, but he didn't want to eat. What was the point?

"Mr. Nigma, you need to eat. You need to shower. You need to shave. You stink. Benny won't even come in here anymore."

"Shut up! What business is it of yours if I do anything?" he demanded, spittle flying from his mouth.

Trigger almost blurted out that the boss had gone crazy. From past experience, he knew better than to say such a thing. He also knew that his boss was currently in hell. However, not eating, drinking up all the scotch in the hideout, and stewing in his own stench was exactly the thing a lunatic would do.

"Mr. Nigma, either you eat this sandwich, or I'll shove it down your throat. Then you will take a shower and get yourself cleaned up!" insisted Trigger.

He lifted his head again, a cold, frosty curtain slid across his face. "You would dare to speak to me like that?" he growled.

"I would when you're being unreasonable. Do you think that she would be happy to know that you're sitting here, moping around? She would tell you the same thing," the larger man said, staring back at his boss.

"If she were here," he said through clenched teeth, "none of this would be happening, you lummox!"

The boss was turning back to insults. Benny and him had heard every one in the book twice over ever since she left. He shook his head in disgust, feeling pity for the disheveled man behind the desk.

"Fine, Mr. Nigma. If that's how you want to be." He left the tray and headed for the door. "Don't think that she wouldn't be disappointed to know how you're acting. You're making yourself sick, and that's no fault of ours. We tried to help you."

"Get out!" he shouted, standing and jabbing a shaking finger at the door. "Out! Out! OUT!"

Slumping back in his chair, Edward returned to staring at the picture of him and Dee taken at the Third Degree Swing nightclub. Dee sat in his lap, smiling as she looked at him. A few nights later, they had consummated their relationship. That was all over now.

Dee had told him that he, being a male, didn't know what it felt like to be "used, cheated, and played with." But he did know, all too well. It was exactly what those women had done to him. What Pam, who was supposed to be his friend, had done to him.

He indulged the whims that Dee had, her toying with him as she had when they returned from England, because he knew that letting her have her way on little matters made her happy. If she was happy, he was happy. Simple as that. She didn't tell him what to do, or whom he could talk to or not. Her greatest care was how he treated her.

Before all of this, he had wondered exactly why she hadn't asked him about his past relationships. He would have told her about them, told her how many girls there had been. She never asked. When she left, she had told him why. The knowledge hurt, and she never wanted to know just how many there had been before her.

As he slid to huddle under his desk with a new bottle of scotch and the picture cradled in his arm, he remembered her telling him that she couldn't compete with the others. Didn't she realize that there was no competition? That she had blown the rest out of the water, because she treated him like a person, not a thing? She might act possessive of him, but he acted the same toward her. No, there was no competition, and never had been. Yet she never gave him the chance to explain that before leaving. In a way, he couldn't blame her for leaving him. He wanted to leave himself as well.

~ ~ ~

"Is he eating yet?"

"No. He's still throwing attitude around, like it's our fault she left," Trigger said, pulling a beer out of the refrigerator.

"Did you tell him that we found some of her stuff over at Palindrome?"

Trigger shook his head. "Didn't get the chance. He's determined to be miserable." He put the beer down. "Any word on where she might be now?"

"Yeah. What's his name, that friend of yours down in Little Italy?"

"Gio."

"Yeah, him. I called him up like you said, and he said there was a sighting of her in Chinatown."

His eyebrows went up. "Think she's back with those people? The ones the boss took her to?"

The day after she had first appeared, the boss had disappeared with her, not telling them where he was going. In his drunken ramblings, he had told them that she had friends in Chinatown, and that she would be happier and better off with them than she would ever be staying with him.

Benny shrugged. "It's a good bet. He said the place has been getting some unusual requests. They eat a lot of weird stuff anyway, y'know. But now they're getting some sort of exotic animal supplements."

"Tangram. She probably is there. We should check."

"You really think we should be getting involved in this?"

"Benny, it's her or more of them. You want someone who got the boss to realize that we can do more than simple muscle work, or you want someone who bullies him out of our share of the money? I know who I prefer. I know we both didn't like her very well..."

"You more than me. Remember that," Benny said, pointing a finger at his partner.

"Yeah, me more than you. After all the others, why should she have been any different? But she is, and she's a helluva lot better than all those others. She made him happy."

"And she didn't just care about puzzles, like that other one. I mean, she seems to like them, but she's more interested in the boss."

"Exactly my point. They got along because of more than just puzzles. Ever notice how it was always one thing or another? Most of them wanted money, and then there was the odd puzzle lover. Remember the other day when he got drunk and passed out right here on the floor?"

Benny nodded.

"I heard him talkin' to himself how she didn't care about the money. Just like she told you in England." Taking a deep draught of his beer, he set the bottle down with a thunk. "I know we're getting our share without losing any to her. She takes only what he gives her."

The other man sniffed. "So what're we gonna do? I mean, we can't really go in there and tell her the boss misses her."

"Why not?"

"Trigger, she probably doesn't even want to see us. Ever think of that?"

"You have a point. I think we're going to have to do something sneaky to make the boss get himself in gear. And I think I know exactly how to get him moving."

~ ~ ~

"Chinatown, you say?" Trigger said loudly as he walked down the hallway on the cordless phone. He made certain to pause outside of the study. "You certain it was her? Yeah. Five four. Red hair. Blue eyes. About a hundred and thirty? Yup, that's her."

In the study, Edward's ears pricked up. Chinatown? She was back with the Jade Tiger Triad. He thought of the threats both Manchu and Jiaoshu had leveled against him, and shuddered, cupping his crotch. No doubt if he set foot in Chinatown, they would make good on those threats. He was rather surprised that they hadn't come to the warehouse looking for him.

At the same time, he grumbled to himself, "She's one twenty and has green eyes, idiot!" He sniffed indignantly as he quaffed more scotch. "And she's more like five three and three-quarters. Not really five four. She's also got a little birthmark..." He trailed off, knowing they wouldn't know anything about her birthmark, and never would if he had any say in the matter. Edward Nigma would be damn certain he had a say in that matter!

Trigger wandered back off down the hall, talking about an exotic animal vet that had been seen in the Chinatown area.

For a moment Edward sat there, continuing to stare at the picture. He wanted to tell her what had really happened, but he feared that if he showed up, the Triad would do horrible things to him. Perhaps they were just waiting for him to show up in Chinatown before they made their move.

"You have a choice to make here, Edward. The lady, or the Tigers?" he mumbled, taking a swig from the bottle he held.
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