“Hi. I’m Allegra.”
We both turn.
I say, “McQueen and Sons, this is Allegra. She’s an alchemist and my medical specialist.”
Allegra frowns at me and turns to McQueen.
“If you don’t tell him your regular name soon, I guarantee he’s going to call you McQueen and Sons for the rest of all our lives.”
“Tracy.”
“Hi, Tracy,” says Allegra.
Tracy focuses back on me.
“So, you’re really that Sandman guy people talk about.”
“I don’t know. I don’t talk to that many people.”
“Did you really come all the way back from Hell for a woman?”
“Wouldn’t you?”
“Shit, man. I do it every day.”
TRACY LOCKS THE office and walks us around the corner to an apartment building a couple of blocks away. It’s one of those peculiar L.A. complexes supported on a series of metal legs, with an open parking area underneath and the apartments above. It’s like Hannibal Lecter hired an architect to design something guaranteed to turn into a human trash compactor in any quake higher than a 3.0.
She has a corner place on the top floor. It was probably the old owner or manager’s place because it looks like someone knocked down a wall and made two small apartments into one decent-size one.
A small blond woman lets us in.
“That’s him? I thought it was just going to be one person coming.”
“It’s okay, baby. The chick’s a doctor and she brought the candy.”
Tracy ushers us in and closes the door behind us.
“This is Fiona,” she says, going over to the blonde. “Fiona, this is Stark and Allegra.”
“Hi.”
“Thanks for letting us in on such short notice,” says Allegra.
Fiona gives her a nervous smile.
“It’s just that Johnny doesn’t get a lot of visitors and we know most of the people who come to see him.”
“So, why are you here to see Johnny?” asks Tracy.
I say, “Because Johnny may be top of his class, but his friends cut school and they’re hungry.”
She stiffens.
“There’s going to be an outbreak?” asks Tracy.
“There already is, but it’s early. Maybe Johnny can help us stop it from getting out of control.”
“We haven’t heard anything about rogue zeds and we know some important Sub Rosas,” says Fiona.