The Big Bad Wolf

NED MAHONEY AND I were stuck in a close, dark pigsty of a bedroom with the suspect, Rafe Farley. The woman, who assured us she was his girlfriend, had put on a filthy bathrobe and been taken into the kitchen to be questioned. We were all angry about what had happened outside. Two agents had been wounded by a booby trap. Rafe Farley was the closest thing we had to a break in the case, or a suspect. Things kept getting weirder. For starters, Farley spit at Mahoney and me until his mouth went dry. It was so strange and crazy that at one point, Ned and I just looked at each other and started to laugh. "Think this is fucking funny?" Farley rasped from the edge of the bed, where he was lodged like a beached whale. We'd made him put on clothes, blue jeans and a work shirt, mostly because we couldn't stand the sight of his flaccid rolls of fat and his tattoos of naked women and a purple dragon eating a child. "You're going down on kidnap and murder charges," Mahoney snarled at him. "You injured two of my men. One might lose an eye." "You had no right comin' in my house while I'm sleeping! I have enemies!" Farley yelled, and spit at Mahoney again. "You barge in here 'cause I sell some weed? Or I screw a married broad who likes me more than she likes her old man?" "Are you talking about Audrey Meek?" I asked. All of a sudden he went quiet. He stared at me, and his face and neck turned bright red. What was this? He wasn't a good actor and he wasn't real smart either. "What the hell're you talking about? You been smoking my shit?" Farley said finally. "Audrey Meek? That chick they kidnapped?" Mahoney leaned forward. "Audrey Meek. We know you know all about her, Farley. Where is she?" Farley's piggy eyes seemed to be getting smaller. "How the hell would I know where she is?" Mahoney kept at him. "You ever been in a chat room called Favorite Things Four?" Farley shook his head. "Never heard of it." "We have a record of your conversation, asshole," Ned said. "You got a lot of 'splaining to do, Lucy." Farley looked confused. "Who the hell is Lucy? What are you talking about, man? You mean, like, I Love Lucy?" Mahoney was good at keeping Farley off guard. I thought we were working okay together. "You've got her in the woods somewhere in Jersey," Mahoney yelled, then stamped his foot hard. "Did you hurt her? Is she all right? Where is Audrey Meek?" I picked up. "Take us to her, Farley!" "You're going back to prison. This time, you don't get out again," I shouted in his face. It was as if Farley were finally waking up. He squinted his eyes and stared hard at us. Lord, he smelled, especially now that he was scared. "Wait a fucking minute. Now I get it. That Internet place? I was just showin' off." "What's that supposed to mean?" Farley slumped down into himself as if we'd been beating him. "Favorite Four is for freaks to talk. Everybody makes shit up, man." "But you didn't make up the stuff about Audrey Meek. You know things about her. You got it all right," I said. "The bitch turns me on. She's a fox. Hell, I collect catalogues from Meek, always have. All those skinny-ass models look like they need a good unh, unh, uh!" "You knew things about the abduction, Farley," I said. "I read the newspapers, watch CNN. Who doesn't? I told you, Audrey Meek turns me on. I wish I abducted her. You think I'd be sleeping with Cini if Audrey Meek was around here?" I jabbed an index finger at Farley. "You knew things that weren't in the newspapers." He shook his huge head from side to side. Then he said, "Got a scanner. Listen in on police radios and such. Shit, I didn't kidnap Audrey Meek. I wouldn't have the balls. I wouldn't. I'm all talk, man." Mahoney cut in. "You had the balls to rape Carly Hope," he said. Farley seemed to be shrinking inside himself again. "Nah, nah. It's like I said in court. Carly was a girlfriend. I didn't rape her none. I don't have the balls. I didn't do nothing to Audrey Meek. I'm nobody. I'm nothing." Rafe Farley stared at us for a long moment. His eyes were bloodshot; everything about him was pathetic. I didn't want to, but I was starting to believe him. I'm nobody. I'm nothing. That was Rafe Farley, all right. Sterling Mr. Potter The Art Director Sphinx Marvel The Wolf The cover names sounded harmless, but the men behind them weren't. During one session, Potter had nicknamed the group Monsters Inc. as a joke, and that was an accurate description. They were monsters, all of them. They were freaks; they were deviates and worse. And then there was the Wolf, who was in a whole other class. They met on a secure Web site that was inaccessible to outsiders. All messages were encrypted and required a pair of keys: One key garbled the information; the second key was needed to recover it. More important, a hand scan was necessary to get onto the site. They were considering using a retinal scan or possibly an anal probe. The subject under discussion was the Couple and what to do about them. "What the hell does that mean - what to do about them?" asked the Art Director, who was jokingly called Mr. Softee because he could get very emotional, the only one of them who ever did. "It means just what it sounds like," answered Sterling. "There's been a serious breach of security. Now we have to decide what to do about it. There's been sloppiness, stupidity, and maybe worse than that. They were seen. It's put us all in danger." "What are our options?" Art Director continued. "I'm almost afraid to ask." Sterling responded instantly. "Have you read the newspapers lately? Do you have a TV? A team of two took a woman in a mall in Atlanta, Georgia. They were spotted. A team of two abducted a woman in Pennsylvania - and they were seen. Our options? Do absolutely nothing - or do something extreme. An object lesson is needed - for the other teams." "So what are we doing about the problem?" asked Marvel, who was usually spookily quiet but could be nasty when he was aroused. "For one thing, I've shut down all deliveries for the moment," said Sterling. "Nobody told me about that!" Sphinx erupted. "I'm expecting a delivery. As all of you know, I paid a price for it. Why wasn't I informed before now?" No one said anything to Sphinx for several seconds. No one liked him. Besides, each of them was a sadist. They enjoyed torturing Sphinx, or anyone else in the group who showed weakness. "I expect my delivery!" Sphinx insisted. "I deserve it. You bastards! Fuck you all." Then he went off-line. In a huff. Typical Sphinx. Laughable, really, except none of them was laughing right now. "The Sphinxter has left the building," Potter finally said. Then Wolf took over. "I think that's enough idle chat for tonight, enough fun and games. I'm concerned about the news stories. We need to deal with the Couple in some decisive manner that satisfies me. What I propose is that we have another team pay them a visit. Is there any disagreement?" There was none, which wasn't unusual when the Wolf had the floor. All of them were petrified of the Russian. "There is some good news, though," Potter said then. "This fuss and attention... it is exciting, isn't it? Gets the blood boiling. It's a hoot, right?" "You're crazy, Potter. You're mad." "Don't you just love it?" The well-protected chat room was not protected enough. Suddenly, the Wolf said, "Don't say another word. Not a word! I think someone else is on with us. Wait. They're off now. Someone broke into the den and now they're gone. Who could have gotten in here? Who let them in? Whoever it is, they're dead."