"Little to the left." " Careful." " Why not?" "You know, it's been 30 years." "Grunge is due for a revival, and I can get paid if I do the reviving." "So this is not about makin' music, this is about makin' money?" "This is Babylon, dude." "I want a car." "I'm so lookin' forward to hooking' this up and having a hot shower." "Amen to that." "All my little boy can talk about is takin' a bubble bath." "Jacinda, anyone told you you have beautiful eyes?" " Ugh!" " What?" "Sister girl's the bomb, but now is not the time or the place, fool." "Have you got rivalry issues with a heterosexual male such as myself?" " I'm gonna put the smackdown on your ass." " I got it." "I got it." " You fool!" " I got it." "OK, on three." "One, two, three!" "Herbal... you got some guns on you!" "Yeah." "Thanks." "Ah!" "A hot shower in my own apartment." "If that ain't heaven, girl, I don't know what is." " I'm glad, cos that water heater cost enough." " It was worth every penny." "Gimme your paw." " What are you doin'?" " You never had a manicure before, boo?" "No." "Sounds too much like Manticore." "Besides, it's kinda girlie." "Sometimes you so butch it's hard to believe you're not on the all-girl team." "I'm not into the pampering thing." "Give me a hot shower, clean undies, I'm good to go." "Yeah, well, there's nothin' a man likes more than to know his woman minds the details." " Yeah, well, I'm no man's woman, OK?" " Whatever." "We got a rodent problem, boo." "Hear 'em gnawing'?" "I know." "So you really think men pay attention to this kinda stuff?" "I know they do." "Not consciously, though." "The male mind likes to think it's thinkin' on some larger issues - like the workplace, conquest, meeting adversity head-on - but it's way more subtle than that." "Original Cindy an expert on men." "Who'd have thought?" "Original Cindy's a'ight with the mens." "Just don't ever ask her to go to bed with one." "Somebody out there just doesn't want me to be happy." " That's my girl." " Don't hate the player, hate the game." "Who said you was a player?" " What's up, boo?" " We on?" " I only play to win." " Yeah?" "And that's not been my experience with you." "Do we know who this is?" " That is Diamond." " She's hot." " How long you been back in Seattle?" " Not long." " Just got paroled." " When are you gonna quit bein' a bad girl?" " When you stop liking' me that way." " Don't even try and put that on me." " Do the crime, do the time." " Only that's all over now." " From now on, I'm livin' straight." " Mm-hm." " At least as far as the law is concerned." " And you came all the way back here to drop the knowledge that you turned over a new leaf." " What makes you think I care?" " What makes you think I was lookin' for you?" "Maybe I just wanna get my drink on." "I'm just playin'." "Look, I heard you was gonna be here." "So I came down to tell you..." "I been missing you." "And I'm sorry." " You ain't done nothin' wrong." " Yeah, I did." "I didn't work hard enough to keep you." "This your crew?" "Max, Sketchy, meet Diamond." " And you remember Herbal Thought." " Mm-hm, my sister." " What's up?" " Can I get anyone an adult beverage?" " Diamond?" " Let me have a forty." " Long as you don't think it gets you play." " I pretty much get the drift." " You don't feature dudes." " Let's just say" "Diamond's never met a man worthy of her kiss." "But I know how you boys like a challenge." "Forty coming' up." "Diamond doesn't want your scrilla, boo." "She wants this." " Max." " I didn't know you wrote poetry." "You startled me." "It's not poetry." " Looks like poetry to me." " May I please have my book back now?" "OK." "You paged me?" "Yeah." "Uh..." "Pierpont Lemkin, the go-to guy from the Marbury Cartel." "I met Original Cindy's ex tonight." "That's nice, because Lemkin is paying off the sector police so he can run arms unchecked." "You should've seen Sketchy's face when he missed them makin' out." "Mm." "Word on the informant net is they're behind the heist of nuclear warheads from March Air Force Base." "What is it with guys and lesbians anyway?" "What's so damn fascinating about being unwanted by the opposite sex?" " Have you heard any of this?" " Every word." "I parallel process and multitask like there's no tomorrow." "We'll be out of tomorrows if we don't take Lemkin down, and fast." " What do you need?" " His records." "Who he pays, and how much." "It's all on this disk." "A guy in his inner circle got me the encryption algorithm to bust the code, but I need the disks." " Get your guy to grab 'em for you." " He's dead." "Executed." " His body arrived on his mother's doorstep." " Nice." "However, he got the combination to the safe." " So this is a box job." " Yeah." "I hacked into the mainframe of Lemkin's insurance carrier and dumped the blueprints to his house." "Guy's a security freak." "You'll have to do recon before you hit the safe." "On another matter, not unrelated, that new hot-water heater is nonoperational, due to an accident caused by rats eating' up our building." "If I happen to find some cash along with these disks, you don't mind if I help myself?" "I realise your mission is to save the world, and I probably sound opportunistic, but, you know, stealing' from a thief really isn't like stealing at all." "Just get me the disks." "Anything else you do, I don't wanna know about." "Cool." "So they were really makin' out?" "Yeah." "Hm." " Rat bastard!" " What's goin' on?" "Mickey's cracked-out cousin thinks he's settin' up house in our crib." "Could you try and keep it quiet?" "Cos Diamond's in there tryin' to sleep." " She's beat." " I bet." "How come you didn't talk about her before?" "There are some things that words just can't explain." " You're that tight, huh?" " Diamond opened my eyes." "She turned me on and turned me out." "Till then, I was a saddiddy thing, all quiet and shy." " So she brought out your inner bitch?" " Among other things." "Diamond brought me sunshine." "I ain't gonna front - she brought me a gang of rain, too." "She always had issues with the law, so I wouldn't see her for long stretches." " Do I need to lock my stuff up?" " It ain't even like that." "Besides, she says it's all in the past." "If she gets her act together, maybe you two can... work out." "Maybe." "Um, do you mind if she crashes here for a while?" " No." "No problem." " Thanks." "Oh, she's gonna be on the mike at Guru's tomorrow." "We got love if you wanna drop by." " Diamond's a singer?" " My girl drops the word." " She got skills?" " Diamond's the tongue twister, a'ight." " Where's my boo?" " I'm comin', sugar." " Night." " Night." "Gotcha!" "But you know what?" "One rat deserves another." " Hi." "Delivery for a Mr Lemkin." " Sure." "I'm gonna need a signature." "Oh!" "Sorry!" "It went over there!" "A rat." "It was this big, I swear." " Who are you?" " If you're Mr Lemkin," " I just delivered a package for you." " What are you doin' here?" " I gotta pee." "I was lookin' for the ladies'." " Pee outside." "Get her outta here." "Fine." "You were kickin' some dope rhymes in the club, for real, for sure." "When Diamond drop her word, it go down and it stay down." "You feel me." "No doubt, no doubt." "You were off the hook in there, boo." "Oh, you know..." "Listening to you is like reading original text - talkin' about yourself in third person, the whole "sugar, boo" dealio - I totally get where it comes from now." "If you sayin' that I'm bitin' Diamond's flava, I'm not even tryin' to hear that." "Don't even listen to her." "She get her stilo from Diamond." "Original Cindy don't bite nobody's stilo." "It don't come from nowhere except me, which is why the name is Original Cindy." " Period, point blank." " Boo." "Boo..." "I was just doggin'." "I got you!" "Hey, I'm sorry I even brought it up." "Jeez." "You guys get ghost." "We got a situation here." "What you mean "situation"?" "Just do like she says." "She knows what she's talking about." "Don't move." "Come on, let's get outta here." "You sure these weren't Lydecker's people?" "Well, they weren't jarheads, for one thing." "Lydecker's posse's all "GI Joe, hut-hut-hut"." "Plus, they're strapped with way more fire power than this." "No shortage of folks looking for Manticore technology." " Run a check on that." "Might narrow the field." " I'm all over it." "Well, this little girl's gonna go home and chill out before she knocks that safe over." "It's worth noting, while you're right, my mission is saving the world," " it doesn't mean that I don't worry about you." " Worry accomplishes nothing." "But it's nice to know that you think of me as more than your own private cat burglar." "Way more." "Can I take that to mean my name shows up now and then in those little poems of yours?" "Without stipulating to an admission that I do, in fact, write poetry... maybe." "Maybe, huh?" "I can live off of that for a couple of days." "Later." "Hope your girl is OK." "She called from her boyfriend's crib before." "She's cool." " I wonder what those guys were after." " Who knows?" "Homegirl's a real trouble magnet, though, for real." "I need some air." "Do you mind opening' a window or somethin'?" "So, boo..." "Mm-hm?" "It's stuck." "Hold on." " If you could live anywhere..." " I'm listenin'." "...and money was no object, where would you go?" "Someplace warm where it doesn't rain 362 days a year." "Like Mexico." "Yeah." "Right on the Gulf." "Yeah." "White sandy beaches." "So warm." "Maybe we'll make it there someday, you and me?" " Right, right." " What you doin' with a slim jim?" "Belongs to Max." " Use these for stealing cars." " Great for opening' windows, too." "Anyway... nice fantasy, but my arms are too short to even reach Mexico." "Life's too short, baby." "Sometimes you gotta take what you need to be happy, cos you might not get another chance." " You all right?" " Yeah, fine." "They tried to get me to change long-distance carriers." "Girl, I've been in some street fights, but I ain't never seen no moves like yours before." "I took karate as a kid." " Window was jammed." " Uh-huh." "See you girls in the morning." " You wanna hook up later and have lunch?" " Sounds good." "Maybe tonight I can be the wife and cook you dinner." "Mm." "Later." "Girl, you shower quick." " No point hangin' out when the water's cold." " Sorry... we drank all the joe." "Did you want some?" "No." "So, Max..." "I've been wonderin'..." " just runnin' things through my mind." " What kind of things?" "The way you handled yourself in that fight, how you got a slim jim just lyin' around, how you deliver packages for a living and can still afford this trick-ass rice-burner of yours." " Tips have been good lately." " Or maybe you supplement your income with an alternative career?" "Not unlike the one I pursue myself." "Is there a point to this?" "Cos I got work." "If you ever lookin' for someone to get your back, step to me..." "I'm available." "I'll keep that in mind." "Max." "Throw me some details - what's it like over at your crib?" "Three hot babies, hangin' around rubbing' moisturiser on each other?" "Yeah, Sketchy, then we put on our sexy lingerie and have pillow fights." "See?" " Hey, you got a sec?" " Yeah." "Um..." "I think it would be better if Diamond didn't stay with us." " You said it was OK." " I know." "But the situation isn't working for me, I'm sorry." " Which means what, exactly?" " Look, I'm not trying to make this personal, but I don't know who those guys were and I don't know what they wanted." "I can't have someone around I don't know and who doesn't know what the score is." "She'll be gone in the morning." " You hit me back." " The gun came back to a guy with nine different aliases hooked up with an outfit called the Nomads." " I'm guessing they aren't a speed-metal band." " No, bounty hunters working out of Tacoma." "It just gets better and better." "Do we know who the client is?" "No, that's gonna take some digging." "But these guys are very expensive." "Whoever they're working for's got deep pockets." " Thanks for the heads-up." " Max... you might wanna think about getting outta town for a while." "Lay low." "First I gotta knock over a safe for a friend." "You're lucky the cops got there before Lemkin took care of you - he's a bad man." "Good fortune smiles on me wherever I go." " Only you got captured at the scene." " Heard there was a party at that address." "The maid ID'd you from your little visit earlier." "Honest mistake on her part." "I must have one of those faces." "And your partner's in the win with all the cash." "My what?" "!" "Gimme Diamond and I can make this all go away." "Is that her name?" "I've never seen her before in my life." "Lemkin wants back whatever was in that safe in a bad way." "My boss wants this case closed, and there are some very powerful people after your friend." "Everyone goes away happy, you help us out." "You must be all worn out workin' for all these people like you do." " You and Diamond have a rendezvous point?" " You just watched her swing with my cash." "You seriously think she's waitin' over at the doughnut shop to split it with me?" "She's all yours." "This is the Synthedyne messaging service." "Will Dr Lamar please report to the decontamination unit." "Have you had any headaches in the last 24 hours?" " Where am I?" " Answer the question." "Headaches, nausea?" " No." " Bleeding from your nose or gums?" " No." " Pain in the joints or limbs?" "No, but I'm beginning to notice a very acute pain in my ass." "Where am I?" " Where is Diamond?" " Wish I could help, but like I told the cops, I don't know the lady." "You know, my interest in her is on a rather urgent matter, not to mention time-sensitive." "OK." "I'll make arrangements to have you returned to police custody." " Did she give us anything under Pentothal?" " Nothin' that gets us any closer to our girl." "Get rid of her." "As for Diamond, we have six hours tops before all hell breaks loose." "OK." "So, is this some kinda hospital or something?" "Cos, you know, I'm not sick." "And I've already had my shots." "Chicken pox, measles, whooping cough, tetanus..." " Something to help you sleep." " I don't sleep." "You will." "I don't think so." "I thought something might've gone sideways at Lemkin's." "Something did go sideways:" "Diamond." "Original Cindy's new, old, former, on-again girlfriend?" "Yeah, and big surprise - she's trouble." "Does the name Synthedyne mean anything to you?" "Oh, yeah." "Started out as a pharmaceutical company in the late 1990s." "Synthedyne made billions during the influenza outbreak of 2011, stockpiling vaccine and then selling it on the black market at inflated prices." "Gave them the capital to branch out." "Lots of subsidiaries." "Into everything from orange juice to private prisons." "Here's the CEO." "His name is..." " Satan." "We've met." " You did have a busy night." "He asked me lots of questions about Diamond." "Man's on a mission for Miss Thing." "So why would a player like Croal be interested in Diamond?" "Maybe they dated when she was in her experimental period and it ended badly." "Or maybe he was her landlord." ""Serving a three-year sentence for receiving stolen goods."" ""Incarcerated at the Synthedyne correctional facility."" ""Escaped two weeks ago and is currently at large." Guess we found our connection." "We just have to figure out what it means." " Hot run, 1298 Chapel." " That's on the other side of town." "I'll read some addresses and you pick the ones you're in the mood to visit." "1101 Wexler?" "No?" "17 Haskell. 283 Clancy." "Clancy's such a pretty street this time of year." "I'm on break right now." " You're on permanent break, baby girl." " Yeah, right." "I'm serious." "There's somethin' I haven't told you that you need to know." "Here we go." "What did you go and do this time?" "I wasn't up for parole for another 18 months." "So when they catch up with you - and they will - they'll throw your ass back inside, and I'll end up alone, like always." " That's not good enough for me any more." " I'm not goin' back." " You can't live your life on the run." " I don't have that much life left." "What are you talkin' about?" "Doctors in the joint say there's somethin' wrong with me." "Some kinda cancer." "They had me on all these medicines to keep it in check, but that's no kinda life." "That's why I walked." " You runnin' your game, same as always." " Not this time." "I spent my whole life runnin'." "Never staying' in one place or with one person long enough to have a real connection." "When I got the news that that clock was runnin' out on my ass, the only thing I could think of was seein' your pretty brown eyes one more time." "I've blown every opportunity I had to get with you." "I'm not gonna screw this one up." "It's my last shot at bein' happy." "Maybe it sounds selfish." "No." "Sounds beautiful." "So Mexico it is, then?" "Got a little cheddar put aside." "It's not a lot, but..." "No, forget your pennies." "From now on, you and me are livin' large." " Whoa!" " Look, I ain't gonna front it." "The way I acquired this cash ain't entirely legal." "But I figure stealing' from a thief ain't entirely illegal, either." "And like I said before, sometimes in life, you just gotta take what you need." "Original Cindy's gonna tender her resignation and buy a bikini." "Synthedyne figured out a way to dovetail two enterprises by using convicts as biotech guinea pigs." "They tell the prisoners that they've got something fatal- cancer, AIDS, whatever, and the prisoner agrees to be treated." "But they're healthy and Synthedyne uses them to build a better virus." "Cute." "In Diamond's cellblock, they were testing a designer disease called AN918." "She's been staying in our apartment." "As long as she was receiving her meds, the disease was controlled and not communicable." "But she's been out of Synthedyne for two weeks." "Then pretty soon she'll become terminal, and with this particular strain, highly contagious." "I have to find Original Cindy." " Where is she?" " Vamoosed with her lesbian love doll." " Where have you been?" " Where did they go?" "I don't know and I don't care." "Good riddance as far as I'm concerned." "I gotta find Original Cindy." "It's a matter of life and death." "She and her fine squeeze bounced down to Mexico to make sweet girl-on-girl love." " I'd give my hat and ass to watch." " Mexico?" "She gave me this to give to you." "I've never seen our sister so happy, but sad at the same time." " Did she say how she was getting there?" " Bus." " You a'ight, girl?" " Head hurts, that's all." "A little sleep, you'll feel better." "Diamond won't feel better till she's sippin' on a mango margarita and skinny-dippin' with her sugar." "Everyone off the bus." "Move quickly and stay together." "Everyone off the bus." "Don't ask any questions, just move!" "Here's the lab report." "Looks like Diamond's AN918's gone full-blown and she's contagious." "The other one tested negative for the disease, but we gave her the antidote anyway." "I was planning to put them together to see how long it took for the symptoms to present." "What do you want me to do with her now?" "Well, we can't let her go." "Hey!" "You can see this woman is sick!" "Help her!" "Give her something!" "What is the matter with you people?" "!" "How about a little adjustment?" "Max?" "Thank God!" "Get us outta here." "Put this on." "What about Diamond?" "I can't leave my girl." "Original Cindy... come here, baby." "Go on with Max." "Leave Diamond here." " No, I'm not even tryin' to hear that." " Don't make this harder, now." " I got this cancer, and I'm dyin'." " You were murdered." "The doctors at Synthedyne lied to you when they told you you were sick." "Injected you with a biological agent and pretended it was medicine." "I'm sorry." "It's too late." "No matter what happens in my life, you are my first, and my truest, love." " Know that." " I'm gonna be sittin' up in heaven watching' my baby girl shine." " You got her back?" " Always." "Well, I got a confession to make." "I jammed you up before." "It's forgotten." "I've been on the run myself." "I know what it can make you do." " We gotta go." " Before you go... there's one last thing I need to do, and I need your help." "OK, slow it down!" "They're not stopping!" "Get outta the way!" "What the hell was that?" "!" "Noon?" "By the time we play 18 holes, it'll be dark." "Sir, there's a possible contamination in Sector Five." "We're evacuating the building." " I'm on the phone." " I need to ask you to put on this suit." "After the money that I have schmeared that starter with, tell him I want a 7am tee time." "That's right." "Yes." "OK." "What do you want now?" " Hey, baby." " Diamond, I can help." "There's an antidote." "You mean this?" "No, sugar." "It's too late for Diamond and we both know it." "I'm stone-cold dead." "Oh!" "And so are you, cos there ain't no more of that." "Looks like Diamond finally found a man... worthy of her kiss." "Hm?" "OK." "Hey." "Hey." "This is little Cynthia McEachin." "Scared of her own shadow." "Didn't even trust herself to cross the street on her own." "And she doesn't exist any more." "So, tonight I'm gonna say a prayer and thank Diamond for that." "For helping me get my arms around who I really am." "You know?" "Yeah, I know." "Hard as I tried not to have all these feelings for her, cos it's easier that way..." "The feelings kept coming anyway." "No doubt." "And even though you ain't with that person, you're not alone in the world, either, cos of the vibe they be throwin' in your direction." "Weird how that is." "It's called soul power, sugar." "Only thing that's gonna help Original Cindy stay strong through this bitch." "Look at this manicure." "I just did this three days ago." "Nails all busted, polish chipped." " Price a girl pays for kickin' ass." " Mm-hm." "Well, sister girl's gonna help you out, a'ight?" "A'ight." "These brownouts are gettin' to be a major drag." "This is, like, the third one this month." "They're hoping to have the power back on next Thursday." "How's Original Cindy doin'?" "Time heals all wounds, right?" "I'm not sure anyone really gets over their first love." "I wouldn't know." "So when do I get to scroll through your lyrical pen scratchings?" "Uh, you don't." "And boy, do I wish you'd stop bringing it up." "Why do you get so embarrassed?" "Because my dad was one of those men who thought introspection meant you were weak." "Since when did Logan Cale, man of letters, let the Fred Flintstones of this world" " get under his skin?" " Since I was about three." " You really wanna see one of my poems?" " Only if you're cool with it." "Oh, well, I don't know about "cool"." "More like vulnerable and completely exposed, but..." "OK." "You wrote this about me?" "Depends." "Do you hate it?" " It's all right." " Well, then, yeah." "It's about you." "Cool." "Gotta bounce." "Don't wanna miss the curfew." "Oh." "OK." "I'll see you later." ""Forever eyes." "Dark."" ""Somebody's angel."" "Whatever." "But I never had anybody write a poem about me before." "So whoever's out there lookin' to put me in a cage or straight kill me, even if they succeed, they've already failed... because of this." "Thanks, Logan." "You're gonna help keep me strong through this bitch."