He brought the hoverbike down the street outside an electronics supply store; the place was dark, hadn't obviously been broken into. He scanned for power sources and found light and electricity in an inner room. He picked the locks with no difficulty and went in. The energy signatures were coming from behind a wall, in which after some searching he detected a hidden door. He listened for a moment and heard only a faint hum of computers and fluorescent lights. Opened the door, which slid silently aside just far enough to admit a person. Someone had gone to great trouble to create this secret workroom. Inside was a large table with welding table and bits of wiring scattered along it, along with larger pieces that to his eyes fell well outside the purview of standard ordinance; someone was building energy weapons in here. There was also an open safe and a well-stocked first aid station. And a large black cat.
    She saw him, and changed form. "Purrfect. I was wondering when you would get here. I kept waiting, and waiting, and waiting... I am not a patient woman."
    "I came as soon as I heard."
    "I hope I made the invitation clear?"
    "The silent alarm?"
    "I knew you'd show up." She leaned in close. Thunderbolt wisely refrained from any movement that might be construed as an attack.
    "And how did you know I'd be the one on patrol?"
    "Let's just call it a lucky guess. I'm just taking a small reward for pointing out to you the fact that there's a League of Nations weapons lab right here in town, and if you want to do some checking you might find out who owns it," she purred. "Now, we could get into a fight, and I could humiliate you again, or you could just thank me."
    "Thank you."
    Her lips curved slightly. "That wasn't that hard, now was it? I spend my days and nights wondering what you see in the women I constantly see you with."
    "There's nothing going on there."
    "Really?"
    "There's nothing going on anywhere," he vowed.
    "That's a crying shame. Would you like there to be something going on?" she asked from about an inch away.
    "Uh...."
    "You are looking for a woman who will just hang off of you like a layer of paint, right?"
    "Thank you for pointing out the weapons facility, Cait Sidhe," he said gently. "I appreciate it."
    "That's all the thanks I get? Fine." She turned and sauntered out. Looked back once. "I'll see you later." She closed the door behind her, and the lights went out. So did the power.
    Standing there in the dark, he wondered if his situation could be considered a metaphor for something, and if so, if he wanted to know for what.
    Rather than try to blast his way out of the room and risk blowing up one or more of the esoteric weapons lying half-assembled on the table, or of setting off something more dangerous than a silent alarm, he called the base.

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