Chapter 5

Young Doctor Frankensteen

Logan was engrossed in his computer, the blue light casting shadows on his focused face. Ruth, the cat, circled the wheels of his wheelchair, rubbing up against his ankles.

Max entered, her eyes immediately drawn to Ruth. She knelt and snapped her fingers, calling the cat. “Ruth, come here, girl. Come on.”

Logan didn’t look away from the screen. “She's a cat -- not a pooch.”

Max stood, hands on her hips. “It would take a real man like yourself to know a real kitty-cat when he sees it.”

Logan gave her a dirty look but couldn’t suppress a smile. “Now that we’ve visited the gutter...let’s talk shop.”

He pressed a button, and Fiona’s picture appeared on the computer screen. “Fiona Tysdale, age twenty-two, the proverbial rebel. Former special friend to none other than Original Cindy, last seen with this guy --”

Another button pressed signaled the arrival of a man’s picture. “Meet Flex Bell, member of the Crimson Chaos, a motorcycle gang --”

Max interrupted, leaning over to stroke a red Harley Davidson picture on the screen. “Oh, I love their bikes --”

Logan rolled his eyes. “Holds the position of Lieutenant. Involved with the usual vices... drugs, prostitution, armed robbery, attempted murder --”

Max stood upright, folding her arms. “Sounds like someone you'd love to take home to meet mom --”

“If mom was a three-time loser,” Logan quipped.

“So we got no case -- this guy's a sociopath, not a kidnapper.”

Logan held up a finger. “Au contraire --” He clicked the mouse, and another picture appeared. “Mr. Flex has been seen with this guy, Doctor Kreggs, who had his license revoked for shooting athletes up with a bio-synthetic hormone to boost their strength. Doc Kreggs is a young Dr. Frankenstein in the making.”

“You mean, Franken-steen!” Max couldn’t resist.

Logan rolled his eyes again. “Word on the street is Kreggs is part of an underground neophyte gladiator tournament. Invitation only.”

“So how do we infiltrate?”

“Let's just say you've got a blind date...with a kidnapper!”