The whole group walked into the foggy early morning of Seattle’s waterfront and began to work their way back to Lexi’s apartment. The water was silent with the exception of some rope and tackle clanking against the wharf. The fog swallowed up their footsteps. Lexi was glad for Neo’s solid presence next to her and his warmth when he slung his arm over her shoulder.  Mr.von Engels and Yukina seemed to disappear in the fog until she and Neo were like two souls on a deserted island.<br/><br/>He leaned in close, his breath warm in her ear, moist with the scent of barley and hops.<br/><br/>: "Lexi ba'e, I gotta tell ya' somethin', just to clear some shit up, 'kay? I saw that nice wink ya' did a while ago, gurl. I wanna fuck yo' brains out just fo' that."<br/><br/>Lexi laughed,<br/>“Well, if a wink turned you on, think what a pole dance might do.” She rejoined.<br/><br/>They walked a long a minute and she said, in all seriousness, her voice deep and sexy,<br/><br/>“With all the crazy going on right now, there is nothing I would like better than to have you in my bed with a bottle of Crown for a few days. I bet between the two of us, we could be inventive enough to leave our brains behind. Just shut the fuckin world out for a while. Yeah, I would like that, sometime, maybe when all this shit is over.”<br/><br/>They walked on a little further,<br/><br/>“Or before. Wish it was now, but we all have work to do.” She said with a little sigh.<br/><br/>Calling over her shoulder, she said,<br/><br/>“Mr. von Engels, we are nearly there, to my flat, I mean. I hope we can find some answers quickly. “<br/><br/>They made their way across the multi lane underpass to the brick fronted shops with the apartments above. Lexi took them up three more blocks to the Ultilikilt shop and unlocked a gate that led to a narrow stairway with a single door at the top. She paused to relock the gate and they ascended.<br/><br/>There on the table was the thick, yellow paged book, but Lexi noticed a window open because the curtains were being blown by the breeze and fog was creeping in over the sill. She went to close it, but had a puzzled look on her face.<br/><br/>“Hmm, the bathroom is through there,” she pointed toward her bedroom where the bed was freshly made up with Egyptian cotton sheets and a thick eider down duvet both in soft yellow. “I don’t remember leaving the window open.” She said. “Let me see if anything is missing.”