Macster - The Missing Links

With a weary sigh, Tony sat down heavily on a barstool in the Ho Ho Ho Hotel and stared at his hands. "I don't understand how he could just vanish."

Beside him, Wendell hopped up on another stool and regarded him disparagingly. "And what is your plan now?"

Tony ignored his sardonic tone. "To get drunk." He turned to the bartender. "I'd like a beer for me, a saucer of beer for my friend."

The bartender continued wiping the glass he was holding as he shook his head. "We only serve cocktails, sir. Cupid's First Blush. Some Enchanted Evening. The Long, Slow Spell Against the Wall."

Tony stared at him incredulously and exchanged a long look with Prince. Then he ordered the last drink named; that sounded like it would fit his mood right about now.

As the bartender set a glass before him and a saucer before Wendell, both filled with a frothy pink concoction, Wolf entered the bar, dressed in a gorgeous red velvet suit that made him look as dashing and handsome as any prince. It also looked horribly expensive. Tony supposed it had to be a rental.

"Hello, guys," Wolf said amiably, slicking back his hair with his hands. "Anyone seen Virginia?"

"She'll be down in a bit." Tony was barely listening as he gulped down the first swallow of the drink. He felt it go to his head right away.

Prince Wendell was watching Wolf closely, and as he sat down beside them, the dog turned hurriedly to Tony. "Anthony, listen to me. On no condition allow this wolf to be alone with your daughter tonight!"

"Why not?" Tony mumbled. She deserved to have a little fun after their--no, his--failure.

Wendell snorted. "You need to ask? Think where you are: the love capital of the Kingdoms. She will come back completely disheveled."

Finally Tony focused on his words. Furrowing his brow, he turned and looked at Wolf. The guy was sitting there, wringing his hands, still fussing over his hair, murmuring to himself, licking his lips, drooling...

Drooling?

"I am ravenous!" Wolf cried suddenly, eyes agleam. "I've been fasting all day. I could eat a regimen of horses!"

Tony didn't like the sound of that. He slid down one barstool closer to Wolf. "You know, I need to have a few words with you."

Wolf looked at him, nonplussed. "About what, Ton'?"

As if he didn't know. "You know what I'm worried about."

Wolf sighed, nodded, and looked at him sympathetically. "Is it your hair? I know it's falling out--"

"Not my hair! My daughter!" Tony would have laughed if he hadn't been concentrating on Virginia's welfare, and if he hadn't been uncertain whether Wolf was making a joke to change the subject, or if he really was that naive. Wolf was staring at him as if he'd said a surprising thing. "Yes, I need to know if your intentions are honorable."

Wolf half-turned away abruptly, his expression distraught. He looked to be thinking furiously. Tony had the uncomfortable sensation he was thinking, Are they? At last he turned back, brows knit apologetically. "No."

"No?!?" Tony couldn't believe he'd actually said that.

Wolf whined. "Well, I can't deny it! They're bordering, hovering, teetering on the dishonorable."

Now he was talking semantics with a wolf. He turned back to Wendell in disgust, and the dog met his gaze implacably. "He'll have her on her back before you can say 'Happy Ever After'."

Tony braced himself for an argument and gripped the bar. "All right, now look. Virginia is a vulnerable girl, and she's very sensitive, so..."

And he was talking to thin air. As if on cue Virginia had entered the bar, and Wolf was already at her side so quickly Tony hadn't even seen him move. He sighed.

Virginia looked terrible, as if she hadn't gotten enough sleep because she'd been crying or worried or simply too wrung out by what had happened to close her eyes for more than a few minutes. But Wolf was as attentive and complimentary as ever. "Virginia, hi! You look so beautiful! Are you ready?"

She frowned and half-stumbled to the bar. "Oh, you know, Wolf? I really don't feel like going."

Tony smiled into his glass. Good for her.

But Wolf was suddenly frantic. "Oh no! It's all planned!"

Virginia shrugged. "I'm not hungry."

This seemed to upset Wolf even more. "No! I've gone to a lot of trouble creating this spontaneous evening." That sounded a bit illogical, but logic had never been one of Wolf's strong suits.

Tony waited to hear Virginia turn him down a third time, but she didn't. He turned and looked at her. She was standing as if in a daze, a beatific expression on her face as she gazed at Wolf.

"Okay...we won't be long." She smiled at him and took Wolf's arm.

Before Tony could protest, Wolf grinned and patted him on the back. "Don't worry, Tony. Your daughter's safe in my hands."

Yeah, right. Tony watched them leave sourly, then looked despondently at Wendell.

"You're kissing that girl's virginity good-bye, Anthony," he said simply.

And Tony found himself hard-pressed to disagree with him.

That deserved another drink.