1
Quink
By H. Courreges LeBlanc
13 May 2002
Alexia would be here for the Todd any minute. I was about to squirt the boog in when I heard a cop clump up the back stairs, dragging Pink Jenny behind him. They were two flights down, but Pink Jenny was screaming her throat raw. I wondered which cop it was this time, come to squeeze another trick. Probably Gastineau.
I squirted the boog in. The Todd twitched all over, damn near grand mal. Pissed itself too. But I was in a hurry.
The Todd draped its legs over the edge of the table and hung its head between its knees. It wasn't breathing yet. "Go upstairs and put some clothes on," I said, kicking its shin. It didn't move. "Go on. I'll buzz you when I'm ready for you."
"Do you have any idea who my daddy is?" Pink Jenny shrieked. "I'll have your badge -- I'll have your fucking balls on a skewer. Ow!"
The Todd, finally breathing, lurched to its feet and shambled toward the stairs. A boog this complex took a while for a retread like the Todd to soak up, and until it did it would be pretty shaky. Retreads were a royal pain -- much higher maintenance, more bribes, more hassles from the cops. But I could field a dozen retreads for the cost of one catalog slug -- Dixie DNA's catalog items were for the hobbyist, not for the trade. Not any trade I could afford, anyway.
Before the Todd was halfway to the door, Pink Jenny stumbled in, followed by the cop. It was that thug Gastineau, of course, smirking as he shoved Pink Jenny down onto the floor. He would definitely try to squeeze a trick. No point in being nice.
"Hey maggie," I said coolly.
"Don't you maggie me, quink," Gastineau said. "How many times I told yo