"If you have the cred to stay at the Regent, then you're obviously better off that your run-of-the-mill piece of Rim trash. Money is the universal language here, so mostly you'll find people looking to buy themselves a piece of the action here. It's got a bit more of the creature comforts of the Core compared to the Constellation. Not my kind of place, but the card tables are filled with rich men and women in various states of inebriation. You can make a good deal of money here if you play your cards right....literally." - Jacob Cain

A high-end inn, boarding, and dining establishment. Located in the Upper Docks, on Belltoll Street. The establishment is favored by wealthy travelers as a fashionable place to dine and chat, and for its superb accommodations. An entire floor is devoted to long-term occupancy rooms. The Regent is frequented by many powerful individuals, both from the city and afar. The decor is elegant while somehow managing to retain the best of informal good taste. It is rumoured that hidden inside the Regent are lockboxes containing the valuables of several powerful Alliance officials, but nobody has yet been able to find them. Apart from its food the establishment serves spiced wine and liquor, but no beer of any sort. Gambling does take place in the casino on the ground floor.

3/1/09

Room 1408

Cooper Mandrake slipped his feet off the bed and onto the floor. One landed in a half eaten plate of nachos el grande, which explained why his tongue had the aftertaste of a brigade of browncoats having marched across it. The half empty bottle of whiskey not far away quickly complete the puzzle. The puzzle being, what the hell was he doing waking up at noon and who was this very sexy beast spread out across his bed.

He tried to cover her up when he woke, but she'd just kicked the covers away and curled up on him. After a glance around his room he watched her roll to her side, her hips ground a little into the mattress trying to find just the right level of comfort. Her hair was a mess, yet the strands seemed to invited him to move them about; which he did. Off her shoulders and breast to her back. 'lilly.'

No makeup was left on her, just a bit of a smudge maybe. Cooper looked at the window, 'jeezuz'; he was supposed to be meeting 'uhm, Hutch' someone had called him. Captain Jeremiah Hutchins. The vice on his head reminded him a bit more of last night. Or rather not so much last night, but this morning. The last thing he could remember it was light, first light and Lilly. 'no, Lily'; had been against the floor to ceiling window watching the sunrise. He'd been behind her. Cooper smiled at her sleeping.

'there is a patron saint of policemen then..' And she wasn't asleep. It was harder to fake sleeping than most people thought.

"Good morning." His smiled broadened.
The door buzzer went off.
"GoSe." I've got a meeting, grab a shower, sleep, order room service." He got up and dodged a room service cart, half a bottle of champagne, strawberries and chocolate; all half consumed. 'Oh yeah.' That he remembered.

The door buzzer went off again, he tapped a comm, "One moment please."

Cooper found a pair of pants and a shirt in the dresser, didn't bother with anything else except a speedy gargle of something minty from the bathroom. As he crossed the bedroom again he looked at Lily. They had been absolutely crazed last night. This morning. For reasons they didn't fully share they had agreed, at some point on the couch.. 'yeah', to throw caution to the wind; he was pretty sure they'd been naked and sweaty by then, and party like the end of the world.

Her movements on the bed suggested she was feeling the affects, but still, her legs crossed, body twisted; he wanted to get back on the sheets with her. Managing to head out to the living room the door buzzed again as he made it to the door, tapped a quick look at the security cam. 'Hutch.'

Detective Mandrake opened up the door, "Captain Hutchins, come on in." As he turned to beckon him in the condition of the room gained clarity. Bottles, food containeers, Lily's clothing, and his lay about, sofa cushions on the floor, his handcuffs glasped the leg of a heavy chair. 'oh yeah!'

"Heh, sorry about the condition of the place Captain. Maid doesn't usually get here until afternoon on Wednesday."

3/2/09

Room 1408 - Regent Hotel

Lily woke up as soon as Cooper turned and sat on the side of the bed. He tried to cover her up, but she was feeling a bit warm and besides, staying well in view often got her some extra coin. After all, she did charge by the hour and you might as well use what assets you have.

She rolled to her side, wriggling her hips just a little, making like she was still sleeping. Sometimes it just took that little wriggle bring them back. She could tell he was tempted, just by the fact he touched her hair, moving the tresses to fall on her back instead of allowing them to stay where there were, somewhat covering her nakedness. Yes, this man was on the verge of slipping back into bed with her.

She smiled as she thought back to their evening. They had acted like animals in heat. She hadn't pegged him for someone who would fork over the coin for an extended session, but he indulged himself. She was going to collect a tidy sum from him. They had hooked up late the past evening. About 2:00 am, right around last call at the bar.

First, she had sexed him on the couch. Why they did it there, she didn't know but it was definitely his idea. Maybe he was looking for a wild night and not just a simple roll in the sack. And the experience on the couch was definitely wild. It included sharing whiskey from the bottle, plus a few shots' worth consumed straight off each other's bodies.

Next, it had been in the shower. It hadn't been long after the whisky/couch experience, but they had started to get a little sticky from the booze. He had looked at her hungrily as he lathered her body in soap. She returned the favor, sliding her hands over his shoulders, down his chest, over his abdomen and elsewhere. She liked the Regent because their showers were spacious, giving her "clients" room to explore every shower related fantasy they might have.

It was after they got out of the shower that they ordered room service the first time. Nachos El Grande and a bottle of Tequila. They fed each other as she sat in his lap while they still opted on drinking from the bottle instead of getting glasses. Just this time, the drinking was a lot less messy.

Then it was in the window within full sight of the rising sun, plus anyone else who happened to be walking by (and looking up a floor or three as they came down the street towards the hotel) at that early hour. They had gotten a couple of looks - someone had actually stopped to gape - but Coop didn't seem to notice.

That was when they had ordered room service again, this time champagne, strawberries, and chocolate. She fed him each bite, making sure that every smudge that missed his mouth or dribbled down his chin was taken care of by her very talented mouth. The champagne was a nice contrast to the whiskey and tequila; light, crisp and bubbly. They drank champagne from glasses though. Guzzling a decent vintage out of the bottle just seemed… wrong.

After a while, he slid her onto the floor, grabbed his handcuffs and cuffed her to the legs of a formidable, study chair as they rutted some more. Afterwards, he had led her into the bedroom, where they languidly kissed, touched and pleasured each other before falling into a deep sleep.

All in all, ten hours. Ten hours and he was on the verge of succumbing to more. Until the door chime rang. He was obviously expecting someone, but didn't expect to spend the night with her at his beck and call to satisfy whatever carnal whim came to mind. He jumped up and tried to make himself look presentable by grabbing the bare minimum of clothing and gargling a bit with the mouthwash provided by the hotel. He still looked a mess though. His face stubbled from being without his morning shave and a definite case of bed head.

Also, he obviously wasn't embarrassed by her presence in his suite. He didn't run around trying to find every piece of her clothing that was strewn about. He didn't even bother to close the bedroom door shut all the way. Nor did he try to scurry her into the bathroom to make sure there was no possible way for her to be seen. Some of her other clients were like that. Uptight. He just left her there on the bed, with her body in full view of the half open door.

"Captain Hutchins, come on in."

Hutch?

With one look up and out the door, she confirmed it was him. She saw him quickly survey Coop's room, his eyes soaking up all the details. Just like a good investigator would. It didn't take long until his gaze fell onto the opened door and her inside it. He recognized her right off the bat. She could tell by the hint of a smile that graced his lips. She smiled back fully and sat up in the bed, pulling her long tresses through her fingers to smooth them out.

"Heh, sorry about the condition of the place Captain. Maid doesn't usually get here until afternoon on Wednesday."

"Coop?" Lily called out from the other room. "Do you want me to stay or is this a private meeting?"

3/3/09

"Uhm." 'come on, it wasn't that hard of a question.'

He looked down Hutchins' line of sight right into the bedroom. "Yes?" he answered with a noncommittal smirk to both questions.

Cooper turned to the Captain of the ship. A ship he'd be on in a couple of weeks or sooner.

"We can talk here if you like Captain, though some matters might require a secure site. I think they have a conference room on this floor that foots the bill." He wasn't sure if the Captain was entirely aware of the sensitive nature of Mandrake's assignment. Cooper looked again into the bedroom, he couldn't remember the last time he'd seen a doll like that naked, much less spent the night with her. Later, he'd try to remember the half he couldn't remember; for now, the half he could was making him dizzy.

Or maybe it was the reason for the half he couldn't. He looked around for water, but, "Say Captain, fix you a drink?"

3/3/09

Room 1408 - Regent Hotel

Hutch looked at the man standing in the doorway. His hair was mussed. He was unshaven and dressed in such a hurry that he had buttoned his shirt crooked. He had no shoes on and… was that cheese on his toes? Hutch looked behind the guy and saw a trail of cheese marks on the floor. Yep, it was cheese.

This is Cooper Mandrake?

Hell of an initial impression. He came with such good references. Hutch hoped he did his job better than what he was seeing now.

"Captain Hutchins, come on in."

Mandrake turned to the side to invite him in and gave him a better view of a room that looked more like a natural disaster zone instead of an upscale hotel suite.

"Heh, sorry about the condition of the place Captain. Maid doesn't usually get here until afternoon on Wednesday."

Hutch stepped inside and started to look around. His keen investigator's training started putting together the events of the previous evening.

"Just call me Hutch," he said. "No need for formalities. We'll all be in reasonably close quarters on the Constable."

The room was a mess. One of the first things he noticed was the sunshine streaming in through the picture window directly across the room from him. The view came complete with a slight smudge in the middle of it and two sets on handprints on either side of it. One set was higher (obviously Mandrake's) than the other set (a woman's). Both sets were palm against the glass, so it didn't take a genius to figure out the position of that little tryst. Hutch lifted an eyebrow at the sight.

Gives new meaning to the phrase 'get your hands on the wall and spread 'em.'

The sofa cushions were on the floor. He bent over to pick one up, but Mandrake rushed over and threw them back on the sofa… upside down.

Note to self… don't sit on the sofa.

"Maybe you ought to call the maid today, rather than waiting for Wednesday to come around," Hutch recommended. It was only Monday. He picked up a used bath towel by the corner and held it out to Mandrake. "You might want to request extra towels."

Mandrake snatched the towel out of Hutch's hand, although the man had a somewhat bewildered look on his face as he did so. Hutch gestured to the window with the small nod of his head.

"I hope she does windows."

His eyes fell on the sofa again.

"And I'm pretty sure that upholstery cleaning is not on Housekeeping's list of services."

Hutch returned his gaze to the floor and noticed a mix of men and women's clothing littered about. He cocked his head to the side. If the woman's clothes were here, then she probably still was too. He looked up through the half opened door into the bedroom. What he saw there was a real sight to see; a naked girl still lying on the bed. She was a looker and as she sat up, he recognized her face, her hair and definitely every curve of her body that he could see. And unlike Mandrake's housekeeping staff, Hutch knew exactly what her list of services entailed.

Lily.

She saw him and smiled widely. He couldn't help but smile back, but it was hidden very, very well.

Hutch sat down on the massive chair in the living room, stealthily turning it so he could take a gander Lily's way when he wanted when his foot hit something metal. Hutch looked down to see handcuffs attached to the leg of the chair. Mandrake had obviously become well versed on her services as well.

"Did you have a good time last night, Detective?" Hutch asked in his most official sounding, stern tone.

"Coop? Do you want me to stay or is this a private meeting?"

"Uhm. Yes?"

Mandrake's reply was non-committal as he turned to Hutch.

"We can talk here if you like Captain, though some matters might require a secure site. I think they have a conference room on this floor that foots the bill."

Hutch didn't want to go to a conference room. Conference rooms had that taste of a job interview. All practiced and rehearsed. He wanted to stay in Mandrake's room where the man was more comfortable. More like himself. Having Lily there too was a plus, but he knew she had to leave for the main part of their conversation.

"Say Captain, fix you a drink?"

"Whiskey be fine," Hutch said as he looked at Mandrake in mock disapproval before he got up and opened the bedroom door completely. He saw a room service cart with sweet delicacies, a couple of bottles of assorted alcoholic beverages and a most definitely completely naked Lily. Hutched sucked in a breath, smiled wide at her since Mandrake couldn't see his face from that angle and leered.

"Perhaps some other time… miss," Hutch said again in his official voice. "Detective Mandrake and I do have some business to handle."

She rose off the bed, her nakedness in full glory, grabbed a strawberry off the cart and took a seductive bite of it as she turned to pass by Hutch in the doorway. Her body brushed against his as she did, a deliberate action done to tease him since the doorway wasn't quite that narrow. Nonchalantly, she began to dress as she came across a piece of clothing that belonged to her.

Both Hutch and Mandrake watched her as she did and kept watching as she went over to the pile of coin on the corner of the table by the door. She sifted through it, gathering up the fee for services rendered and leaving his change there on the table.

"Oh right, almost forgot about that," Mandrake said. He turned to Hutch and jokingly continued. "Now I know why I was doing so well."

He turned back to Lily.

"Take it all, Lily. Call it a tip and retainer."

Lily gathered up all the coin from the table and slid it into a small purse she had brought with her.

"Well, Mr. Mandrake. I'm happy to know that the evening met your expectations," she said to him. She placed a card on top of the table. "This is my contact information. I will be expecting your call."

She opened the door and took one step outside before turning back to Hutch.

"See you at eight tonight, Hutch?"

"Most definitely," he answered without missing a beat. "Looking forward to it. Meet me at the regular place?"

She nodded in acknowledgement and left. Hutch turned to look at Mandrake.

"I'm not that uptight, the stern act earlier was just to mess with you," he chuckled. "You have good taste. Lily's the best rutt in the system. Whores are a dime a dozen, but Lily? She's creative, as you are well aware, and knows how to show a guy a good time. You get your money's worth.

"She should win some kind of award… Like 'Whore of the Year'."

Hutch plopped himself back down in the chair.

"I think we'll get along fine."

*****Lily continues to the Docks.*****

3/4/09

Mandrake wasn't sure if Hutchins was busting his balls for sport or some authoritative point that he might never actually get to. But he let up quick, he even knew the pro skirt; which right off the bat, he wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. A chippy like that, a real looker that probably took to the professional life due to a healthy fondness for all the obvious demands of the job; that was the kind of thing that would put the Companion's Guild out of business. It's a wonder there weren't more women like that. They liked sex didn't they?

Of course, he'd answered his own question, the Companion's Guild; of which he had a lot less respect for than a hard working girl on her; that was probably why there were more freelancers running around. But then, the headache reminded him; someone was talking.

" . . the stern act earlier was just to mess with you,"[/color he chuckled. [color=green]"You have good taste. Lily's the best rutt in the system. Whores are a dime a dozen, but Lily? She's creative, as you are well aware, and knows how to show a guy a good time. You get your money's worth.

"She should win some kind of award… Like 'Whore of the Year'."

Hutch plopped himself back down in the chair.

And Hitchens had taken the whiskey, so Cooper figured he was off the hook; though why he felt like he'd let himself get partway on he wasn't sure. He figured he'd skip over the contradiction of her not being a whore but winning whore of the year remark. Cooper made his way to the wet bar and opened up the chiller.

"I think we'll get along fine."

"Yeah." He started taking items out and dropping them in the blender: Onion, garlic, red pepper, celery, ice.; added in some Western Sauce and then the tomato juice and the vodka.

"Just sign her on Captain, I'd be willing to forfeit my Rim per diem." The blender roared to life for a couple seconds then he poured it into a highball glass. He stopped by the window and hit the button to change the shades to a much darker tint; then finally joined Hutchins in the sitting area. He took a long drink

"So how much you know of my little piece of our bold new venture?" he laughed, "and I don't mean Lily. Unless you want to get specific, I'm always looking for new angles."

True enough, he was getting itchy to get to the word processor. Cooper had moved on halfway through his next book, but he'd been unsatisfied with the beginning or rather, the end of the beginning. He now an inspiration on how to get Elwood out of Act One. A triple header of tequila, strawberries and hand cuffs could inspire a man. Lily's face flashed before him, biting her lip a little, her eyes closed.

3/4/09

Room 1408 - The Regent

"Just sign her on Captain, I'd be willing to forfeit my Rim per diem."

"I'm sure that any male member of the crew would agree with you," Hutch said with a smile. "Unless he was celibate or sly, but then again, we could always borrow money from him if we needed."

"So how much you know of my little piece of our bold new venture? And I don't mean Lily. Unless you want to get specific, I'm always looking for new angles."

"Well, I'll give you official party line then I want to hear the rest from you. We need to make sure we are on the same page with the complete package."

"I know Witness Protection bought into the project to try out the usefulness of a ship who could do emergency extractions or placements in a safer way and that we'd be fulfilling that role from time to time. I also understand that the identities of some of the folk we'll move along may be confidential, even to me," Hutch told him. He got really serious then, leaning forward a bit in the chair to give Coop the 'I'm-not-joking-now' look. "I'm not usually like this; I like to run my crews more relaxed that by an iron hand. Let me be abundantly clear on one thing. I will try not to get in your business, but if a decision has to be made regarding the ship, I will be the one making it. Just because you might be charge of a particular program does not make you in charge of my ship. Do we have an understanding?"

Hutch didn't give him a chance to respond. The tone in his voice should have been enough to know that there would be no discussion about that particular subject. Hutch relaxed a bit and moved on.

"I also know that when your time isn't being filled with that sort of work, you will be working as part of my investigative team. A man with good instincts and experience is always welcome," he told him. Hutch paused and flashed Coop a wide smile. "Oh and a massage. Definitely a massage."

Coop must have had a puzzled look on his face because Hutch clarified what he meant.

"You asked about new angles in regards to Lily? She gives the best massages. Uses those fancy oils and everything," Hutch explained. "I might just get one tonight."

Yep, he thought. I'll put massage on my list of things to do with Lily.

3/8/09

Cooper hoped his lack of interest was well masked by his hangover; he played it up just a little; which took very little in the way of acting. He sipped on his Bloody Mary without nodding along or giving any indication until the mention of the massage. That puzzled him, and the Captain clarified, perhaps in a way he didn't intend. Mandrake took note. Lily wasn't just a party girl one night, hire as you go to him.

Jeremiah Hutchins had a fondness for her, maybe not some love sick puppy fondness; but she was more to him than the good that always gave up the happy ending. The massage idea sounded good though. He'd call room service again after the Captain left.

"Don't worry about me, the boss is the boss." Of course finding a former boss of Mandrake's that could agree wholeheartedly with being Cooper's mindset; might involve some impossible detective work.

"As for the Witness Program, I'm getting a brief tomorrow. As I get it so far it's a double blind type of set up. Which suggests the idea is to keep folks hidden from people within as well as with out." He didn't say the government, but that was understood. "Which figures to be one entire enigma in the mystery wrapped up in dirty diaper. Don't take a strain to figure which layer of the onion we'll get to be."

He'd emptied his bloody Mary and stood up, "You want another whiskey?"

3/10/09

"You want another whiskey?"

"Nah," Hutch said as he finished downing the glass he had, then added with a devious smile. "I have plans tonight and I don't want to be three sheets to the wind before I even get there. I don't want to waste my hard earned cash sleeping when I could be doing more enjoyable things"

Hutch had listened to what Coop had said about being briefed by Witness Protection the next day. It struck him odd that the guy traveled to Persephone for a job on an experimental ship, but hadn't been briefed yet. What in the heck did they do during the job interview? Play charades?

Hutch knew there was something else going on, but he wasn't going to push it now. He'd just watch the guy for a while. Get to know him. It would give him a better idea of how to approach the subject again.

"The Constable landed here two days ago. They actually docked it down at Eavesdown, because they wanted to get the exposure with folks that traveled to the rim. Some word of mouth stuff to carry out to the furthest worlds.

"I don't mind it being there. It actually worked out good for me. Brought me closer to some appointments I had.

"You should grab your gear and go get settled in. Get acquainted with the place. It's a good ship.

"The place is stocked so you won't be worrying about food or such. And use this time for some R&R before we get out to the black. I won't be back for a day or more, but I am sure you can entertain yourself."

Hutch stood up and shook Coop's hand.

"I know you enjoyed your time with Lily last night," Hutch said as he took stock of the evidence supporting that statement in the room. "You could try waving Lily later to set up a time, but I'd do it soon. I don't want you interrupting our date at 8. Otherwise, you'll have to wait to wave her until I get back to the Constable.

"Someone of her calibur will be hard to find out on the rim. I'd take advantage of what time we do have here. I know I am."

Hutch looked almost sad as he opened the door.

"I would really clean up the place before you leave though. Don't want the crew to get a bad reputation already."

Hutch continues to here.

3/14/09

"You should grab your gear and go get settled in. Get acquainted with the place. It's a good ship.

"The place is stocked so you won't be worrying about food or such. And use this time for some R&R before we get out to the black. I won't be back for a day or more, but I am sure you can entertain yourself."

Hutch stood up and shook Coop's hand.

Cooper shook.

"Thanks Hutch. I'll get checked in. Per diem doesn't quite cover all the amenities here anyway."

Though his publishing house discount he'd got to upgrade more than made up for the actual hotel charges.

"I know you enjoyed your time with Lily last night," Hutch said as he took stock of the evidence supporting that statement in the room. "You could try waving Lily later to set up a time, but I'd do it soon. I don't want you interrupting our date at 8. Otherwise, you'll have to wait to wave her until I get back to the Constable.

"Someone of her calibur will be hard to find out on the rim. I'd take advantage of what time we do have here. I know I am."

It seemed strange how the Captain talked so openly, Mandrake was never one for the kiss'n'tell, but then laying down a nice chunk of his carrying cash for a prostitute wasn't too typical for him either.

Hutch looked almost sad as he opened the door.

"I would really clean up the place before you leave though. Don't want the crew to get a bad reputation already."

"What's the point of staying in a hotel then Captain?"

He saw Hutch out, mixed up another bloody Mary and sat down at his laptop. The words started flowing, an evening with the femme fatal by a mister Elwood Pawn took shape; he changed the story line a bit, he'd been struggling with finding a new element for the story. The hooker with the heart of gold seemed perfect for his foppish amateur detective. Elwood Pawn went against the typical hardboiled private eye genre. Elwood wasn't tough, nor terribly clever; he was mostly lucky. But he had a quality that seemed to have struck with a few dedicated fans. The not so capable do-gooder facing long odds and sticking to it; always eager to see justice done; even if it took fortuitous events and outlandish assists from an outrageous supporting cast.

By the time he'd finished with the shootout after the night of passion; the hooker with the heart of gold saving his life after he stood up to her pimp and his hoods. He went overboard then, she'd fall for him. The amazing Elwood Pawn would have a loyal dolly of his very own.

3/17/09

Room 1408 - Regent Hotel

The maid cleaned.

Cooper Mandrake slept.

A meal was delivered, Mandrake ate and packed.

He stopped by the Alliance Travel Directorate, which had an office that was a front for the very secret Relocation Department. With new instructions and procedures, none of which gave him any great comfort he departed for the docks.

(( Exit Copper Cooper Coop Mandrake ))