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by
all sorts people.”
    Joe: “I
did.  From the lady upstairs and the security guard in the lobby.”
    They
continued to walk through the alley with Joe trying to match Beauty’s brisk
pace.
    Beauty:
“Well, that’s a start.  Those two were the most overt, but there were a handful
of others that noticed you too.  I counted six in total that took an interest
in your every move.  Fortunately for you, those people were associates of
Borland, so he probably had them spying on you.  Fortunately for me, you became
impatient and made my job easier.  Borland’s meddling in my affairs has made
things difficult for me lately.  I’d like to avoid him whenever possible.  That
includes looking like him.”
    Joe:
“About that … how exactly do you do that?  Change like that I mean?”
    Beauty
looked back, not at Joe, but beyond him.
    Beauty:
“Come on!  We have to go!”
    Beauty
grabbed Joe’s hand and started running.  Joe would have peeked backwards if
Beauty wasn’t yanking his arm so strongly.  He tried to formulate a sentence as
he gasped for air.
    Joe:
“Where are you taking me?”
    Beauty:
“We need to get back to my bike.  Move your feet faster!”
    They
rounded a corner quickly and ran straight for a while, past a flock of seagulls
that were busying themselves with large pieces of bread, too occupied apparently
to be scared of Joe or Beauty as they ran past.  Another corner to the right
gave them a nice clear path out of the alley and to the street.  Joe was tired
of running and hoped that the bike was right up ahead.  After getting up to the
street, they still had about a block to run until they reached the bike. Beauty
hopped on the bike first and put on her helmet.
    Joe:
“Where’s mine?”
    Joe
pointed at his head.  Beauty took her helmet off and removed one of her
earrings.
    Beauty:
“Here, take this and quiet yourself.”
    The
lightning bolt-shaped earring changed into a black helmet in Beauty’s hand. 
Joe, who was now getting used to these magic feats, let loose what he was
thinking.
    Joe:
“That can’t be sanitary.”
    Beauty
laughed and handed Joe the helmet.
    Beauty:
“Just put it on, Mr. Clean.  We have a lot of driving to do.”
    Joe:
“You’re going to have to tell me how you do this stuff one of these days.”
    Beauty:
“Not today.”
    She
placed her helmet over her head and Joe followed suit.  She revved the engine,
clutched the throttle, and accelerated to who knows where.

 
    Chapter
14
    The First
Revenger
     
    Joe was
starting to regret asking for a helmet.  The heat was not mixing well with its tightness. 
His face was covered with sweat and now he was feeling claustrophobic.  He
ripped the helmet off and accidently dropped it into the street behind him.  He
looked behind and saw it quickly change back into an earring and then disappear
completely as the bike zoomed down the street.  The night air felt nice and
calming on his face, despite still being quite warm.  The open air was at least
cooler than the inside of the helmet.  Joe was thankful for that.  He then
remembered that he was still supposed to be hiding.  He clung closer to Beauty
and rested his head against her back.  They rode on like that for a while until
they reached their destination.
    They
stopped at a restaurant.  One that looked rather old.  Across the red and white
awning were the words “Pierogi Place.”  It was nestled in a quiet old part of
Orange City that seemed on the verge of decay.  A lot of stuff downtown gave
off that look.
    Joe:
“Where are we?”
    Beauty:
“This is Steve Blonsky’s restaurant.  We’ll find poor food and poorer company
inside.  You’ll recognize Blonsky as the loudmouth that had me carried away
before in the stadium.”
    Joe:
“Yeah about that, how did you—”
    Beauty:
“Shhh.”
    They
walked through the door, right on through to the old country.  The place looked
like it was ripped from one of those old mobster movies.  Red and