Date: Fri, 8 Apr 1994 16:45:51 -0400 The S.A.S.S. (or Where's Janette?) by L.D. Steele Alma was lounging casually at the bar when Nick came in. As always, he didn't quite fit into the decor and stood out easily. He was looking around for Janette, and appeared a bit hassled that she wasn't in her usual spot. After a bit he headed towards Alma. "Where's Janette?" "Not here,"Alma replied. She absently adjusted her dress so that more cleavage showed. Ordinarily she wouldn't bother; Nick was cute but definitely on the boring side. For once though the Raven was quiet, and even a dull companion was better than nothing. And of course, Janette wasn't there to warn her off. "Obviously she's not here." I want to know she is," Nick was getting even more annoyed than when he first entered the club. He was used to Janette being there, with her choker and black dresses on, smoking a cigarette. Even more he was her being around when he wanted to talk, and finding out that she wasn't was making a bad mood even worse. "I suppose she wouldn't mind," Alma looked significantly at the bartender and he handed her a wine glass full of a red liquid with a pink umbrella in it. "She went to a convention in New York." "A convention?" Nick was trying to be patient. It had never been one of his strong suits, but definitely a needed trait when dealing with Alma. "Yeah, the SASS" "What the hell is that?" "You know, the Society for the Absurdly Skin-Sensitive," she said, "or it is Astoundingly. I can never remember." Alma had given up on Nick noticing her cleavage and had started to pay less attention to him. Surely there was interesting in the club tonight. Maybe that man who was standing by the door, he looked faintly familiar and she had always liked sideburns. "The what?" "Mmm? You must know what I mean. She's a charter members." Alma watched Skanke as he crossed the room. Even the few club members present rapidly got out of his way, and when he got close enough she realized why. He positively of garlic. No longer even vaguely interested in either of the two men present, Alma finished off her drink and stood up to leave. Maybe she could catch an Incredible Hulk rerun on TV, or watch some of Janettes' secret stash of taped Animaniacs cartoons. "Wait a minute Alma," Nick grabbed her arm, "could you just explain this a better?". Nick finally smelled Skanke. After almost three hours trapped in the Cadillac with him, his nose had almost shut down in protest. "Hey Nick," Skanke was eyeing Alma distrustfully. Normally he'd be delighted to see such a revealing dress. However he could still remember how close he'd come to breaking one of the ten Commandments and possibly catching the dreaded A word. "We gotta get going. No rest for the weary. The early bird catches the worm." He would have kept going, but Nick shot him one of those . "Coffee break is over pal, and Stonetree is probably just waiting to ask us how the case is going." "Go back to the car. I'll be there in a minute," Nick answered. "Okay, but I'm going to have that last sausage I brought for you. I still can't believe Myra wanted to throw them out after she discovered she had mixed up the number of cloves with the number of bulbs." "Go right ahead, it's going to take weeks for the Cadillac to air out anyway." Nick looked back at the plainly uncomfortable Alma. "Alma has to explain something to me." Skanke shrugged, and after grabbing a handful of peanuts from a bowl at the bar, headed back outside. "Come off it Nick, the society has been around for . Almost is a member." Alma was wishing she had hit the town like everyone else instead of looking after the club as Janette had asked. Usually she could count on a present from Janette if the place wasn't a disaster area when she came back from a trip, but some things were just not worth the hassle. "Well, since it's the reason Janette isn't here, perhaps you could be so as to tell me about it?" Nick was smiling his persuasive best in the hopes that it would lead to a quick explanation. Alma however, was thinking longingly of huge green muscles clothed only in ripped pants and didn't even notice. Alma sighed, and ordered a refill from the bartender "it's that society that keeps information on the best places for tinted windows, and the best hotels to stay in if you're in a strange city. It even keeps lists of who's where these days if you want to get in touch with anybody." "And what do they do at these conventions" "Well, I think Janette went mainly because it's elections time again and she didn't want to be 'volunteered' to be the president for the next 20 years. Of course if she hadn't asked me to stay, I'd have loved to have gone. Sometimes you can meet the most interesting men at conventions" "When do you expect her back?", Nick was starting to wonder why Janette had never mentioned the society. He could sure use some tinted car windows to put on his other car. It would make those dreaded overtime day shifts a bit more tolerable. Somewhere at the back of his mind, the words 'interesting men' was circling a small jealousy loop. "She said she'd be doing some shopping while she was up there, maybe check out some new blood supplies. She'll be back before the end of the month" Alma was looking a bit envious. Toronto was a decent enough city with some delicious men, but she wished the government didn't have all those laws about how late stores could be open. Sunday shopping between twelve and five in the afternoon wasn't really an option. "You can always leave a message with me", she continued, "If she's in a good mood when she gets back I'll even give it to her." Nick thought of the next couple of weeks without Janette. With LaCroix gone he no longer had to avoid Janette, and he had gotten used to being able to see her whenever he wanted to. Her comments about his diet and lifestyle were usually acidic, but every once in a while she would use that mankiller smile on him. Half the time he came to the Raven just to see her, the information he got was sometimes just an excuse. It was going to be a long couple of weeks. Without saying goodbye to Alma, he headed back out to Skanke and his garlic filled car. ---------------------------------------------------------------------