As I flopped down into the chair in front of the computer in her room of the Hotel, I sipped at the hot tea that had been brought up only moments earlier by room service and booted up the machine.  One of the most attractive features about the computer amenities at the Hotel was the lightning fast T-1 line for connecting to the Internet.  As soon as the day's mail loaded up for viewing, much of which came from the wandering but ever entertaining conversations of my fellow CrowsNest members, I began scanning the memos, seeking out the fiction and pics ravenously.  And as always, I was not disappointed.

I noticed that a new member had just joined the group.  Sydney had never entered a story before, to my recollection, but as I opened the file to read the story, the computer beeped a sound I had never heard before.  Suddenlythe screen darkened, then flashed with a white light.  Slowly a picture resolved itself in the center of the screen, and HE appeared.  Briefly amused, I remembered the part in Virtuosity where Sid had admonished Parker Barnes when he had tried to disarm the bomb.  The sound of his voice, his very words - "Uh uh uh" - rang through my head as I pushed at the keys of the keyboard in front of me.  A computer generated grin lit up Sid's face and like the Carrollian Cheshire Cat, his face slowly faded, leaving that damn smile until last to disappear.

Troubleshooting the problem, I first attempted to restart the program, but found that to be to no avail.  Not only could I not access my saved files, many of which I knew had to be corrupted by whatever Sid did to the machine, Windows wouldn't even load.  Everything I tried didn't work, and now all of my files, graphics, email addresses - every important piece of information I had was saved on the computer's hard drive.

"You son of a bitch."  I swore as I stood up, the chair falling over backwards with a loud thump.  The last thing I had heard was his not-so-happy agreement to stay out of the way until after 12:00 noon today.  So when he wasn't busy tormenting Laura, he was hiding out and making other people's lives miserable.  Maybe this was payback for the beating he took at the hand of me and Laura in the Tavern.  However, by the time I was through with Sid, the rest of the Hotel would be lucky to see him a week from now, much less at 12:00 today.

Dressed in a slinky red dress with a mandarin collar and chinese embroidery woven throughout the silk, I slipped down the long hallway of the third story of the hotel. It was so cliché to play the dominatrix in all black, and bright colors seemed to capture Sid's attention so much more effectively. I briefly glimpsed out of the window at the end of the corridor and noticed the enormous earth-moving equipment outside, making all sorts of clatter. With all the new visitors, an entire new wing was being built to accommodate the traffic.  I rode in the elevator to the first floor and went into the dining room in search of her pray.

I nodded briefly to Bud who was on his way out to the rink where everyone else seemed to be gathering this morning.  Great - that would make things so much easier without any unneeded distractions. A thought flitted through her mind.  The prefix dis- meaning not or negative effect like in distractions, disarray, and discord ---- spell dis backward and what do you get?  SID.  Oh, how appropriate.

"Didn't know they let whores in the hotel?  Is that some new form of entertainment?"  A low accented voice grated against my ears.  I turned around slowly, intent on not letting my pique show as I knew the inquisitor was simply trying to get a flare of temper from me.  I cast my obsidian gaze upon the figure that lingered against the bar, allowing a bit of snobbish disdain to appear upon my face.

"I wouldn't know.  I haven't seen any around here.  Of course, they let you in, so I guess they couldn't be too choosy."  His cerulean eyes narrowed in ire as he regarded me silently.   I refused to stare at the motley collection of body that covered his handsome frame.

"Listen, lady, you don't even know me."

"Nor do you know me, yet you were more than willing to pass judgment."

"I got enough of those Asian bastards at home, I didn't plan on seeing any of their bitches here."  He stood up and pulled himself to his full height, seeing eye to eye with me.  Too bad I hadn't worn my spike heels today.  His piercing gaze attempted to intimidate, but I simply gazed back at him serenely.  Which in all honesty, I think made him a bit angry.

"Well, you still haven't seen any," I replied quietly.  He reached outone decorated hand to run his fingers up and down the bare skin of my arm.  The warmth of his hand wasn't distasteful, and could have probably capturedmy attention on any other day.  However, I would not be swayed frommy mission, even if by Bud, John or Max.  Of course I'd welcome anyand all of them later.  I could tell by the confused look on his face that he didn't quite get the gist of my reply.

"Some sort of spic then?"  he growled.  He reached up and gently touched my dark hair, a incongruity to his normal aggressive manner.  He brought his face within inches of mine, curious but not quite in the kissing position.  The hand that so deftly caressed my hair now made its way down to trace the delicate skin of my slightly almond shaped eyes, then lingered over my cheekbones.

I shook my head no.  "Not hardly.  Wanna make another guess?  Third time's the charm." Hando's aqua gaze narrowed, the color of eyes morphing to a steely blue, that of a stormy sea.  A violent thought flickered across his handsome face, his iron will kept him from acting on it.  I ducked away from him, creating a couple feet of space between us.  "Listen, I'd love to sit and discuss with you my colorful ethnic background, but I have something else to do right now."

"You want to know where Sid is, don't ya?"  Hando grinned at me and I had to wonder to myself if I was becoming that transparent.

"Yes, but I doubt you will be very helpful on that score."

"You never know what I'm capable of.  I'll tell ya on one condition."

"What's that?" I was almost afraid to ask what Hando had up his sleeve.

"You come back here afterwards and have a drink with me."  A slight grin appeared around the edges of his mouth, as if he had just hatched some nefarious plan and was quite pleased with himself.  But his proposition didn't sound so bad, so I agreed.  "He's out back playing with the construction machines."

"You mean he was the one making all that racket this morning."

"Yeah, I was ready to kill him myself.  I had one bitch of a hangover this morning."  Hando turned his attention back to his drink and mumbled, "See ya tonight."

I wallked out one of the side doors and made my way around to where the construction on the hotel was going on.  As I walked around a pallet of bricks waiting to be laid, I almost tripped over a body.  Thank God it was still breathing.  There before me was the foreman of construction trussed up like a Thanksgiving turkey.  I looked up and there was Sid, standing on a stack of crates and shouting directions to a very frightened and confused work crew.  I released the foreman, who surriptiously directed his workers to flee their machines and Sid's maniacal directives.  Angry he glared around, petulant like a child who had his playtime inexplicably cancelled.  Suddenly his brilliant blue eyes alit upon me where I was still standing next to the building materials.  He jumped down and stomped over to me.   I noticed his usually immaculatre purple suit was spotted by random flecks of clay from the excavation.

"What in the hell do you think you're doing?"  he screamed at me.  I didn't even flinch, having seen several of his immature tirades and even been the recipient of a few.  I also knew with his mercurial nature, that this would blow over in a matter of minutes.

"I could ask the same question, Sydney."

"Oh, you read the story.  I didn't think you be like all those other crazy women, slavering over whatever little juicy tidbit of smut comes out next."

"Sorry to disappoint you then, Sid, but as far as slavering, who better to do it over than Russell Crowe," Sid held his hands over his ears at the name.  "and as far as crazy, I don't believe you to be the most proficient diagnostician."

"How'd you find me?"

"I just used my God-given abilities: my intellect and..."

"You flirted with Hando."  I smiled, knowing full well that would only serve to irritate Sid even further.  "I'm surprised he even talked to you."

"Let's just say I intrigued him, I think."

"You flirted with Hando." I smiled, knowing full well that would only serve to irritate Sid even further. "I'm surprised he even talked to you."

"Let's just say I intrigued him, I think." I took a step forwards, moving slowly in Sid's direction. He cautiously watched me, even took a couple of steps backwards until his backside came into contact with the stack of building materials behind him. Thrilling was not the word I would use for the bliss I felt at being able to physically corner him, and make him realized that trapped prey feeling he so liked to generate in everyone else. Too bad Bud and John weren't here, maybe they might learn a thing or two from little ole me. "What's the matter, Sid? You're not scared of me, are you?"

He straightened his tie awkwardly and swallowed, the brilliant blue of his eyes shining with desire and something akin to fear, although he would never in a million years admit it. "Well, after what you did to me last time..."

"What did I ever do to you, Sid, except give you one of the best nights in your miserable existence?" He grunted, I wasn't too certain about its intention. "Oh, you aren't still fretting about that little show of pique in the bar?"

"Pique? You and Laura beat me up!" Sid's voice was almost a squeal in his discontent. I smiled serenely, enjoying every minute of his discomfiture. For a person who did many rash and stupid things, Sid was right to be hesitant about my ulterior motives. I glided up until I was within a few inches of his face.

"Now, now, Sid. You're exaggerating what happened at the Tavern. We would not have even thought about such a course of action if it hadn't been for your big mouth." To emphasize the statement, I traced his warm lips with a manicured fingertip. He closed his eyes, his face growing slack as if hypnotized. I leaned far enough up to whisper in his ear. "But unlike you, I can feel remorse and I feel sorry about setting you up like that."

"Even after I trashed your computer this morning?" he asked warily.

I swallowed down my ire and smiled sweetly. "It's already forgotten. Maybe you could help me undo the damage later?"

"What do you have in mind to keep us occupied in the meantime?" Sid was almost too eager to be forgiven. He thought me a simple-minded fool who couldn't fathom the psyche from which he operated.

"I didn't think I had to explain it to a genius like you," I purred. Sometimes I could almost make myself wretch from the saccharine sweetness I exuded in tricking him. One of his frisky hands reached out daringly, waiting for me to either shy away from it or bite it off. It glided over the satin of my dress, never quite lighting long enough to exert any pressure upon my skin. I drew closer to him.

Sid raised his nose in the air and delicately sniffed. A true Hannibal the Cannibal gesture. How trite, I thought. "Sorry, I don't even closely resemble Jody Foster." My brusque comment slipped out before I could stop it. A distinct expression of childish displeasure bloomed upon Sid's face. This wasn't quite how I intended our repartee but any insult in a pinch. He studied me hatefully for a moment, then as his mercurial temperament dictated, he grinned and pulled me by the arm towards the hotel. I was quite certain he was about to yank it from its socket if I didn't keep up with his frenetic pace, a difficulty in itself in dress shoes.

Once we reached Sid's room, or should I say ... his domain, he finally released his iron grip on my arm. I knew I would definitely have bruises upon my wrists after that joy ride. Sid slammed the door behind us. He turned to lock it, but I posed an interesting distraction to turn his attentions elsewhere. I bit him on the ear. Not enough to draw blue goo but enough to capture his attention.

"Damn it, waddya do that for?" He swung me around and guided me towards the bed. I gave him a sly grin and shrugged coquettishly. He pulled me flush against him. As silly as it sounds, he exuded some sort of intense heat, even though he was not ...quite human. He leaned in close, an intense concentration rarely seen in his manic expression. He bent down as if to kiss me, and for a brief second my mind's eye thought of the last minute scene in Hannibal when he almost bit Clarice, but then thought better of it. My eyes flew open and Sid read my expression, realizing that I knew what he was about to do. But since he was already focused upon my nose, he licked it instead.. A gentle stroke right on the tip before crushing his lips against mine and forcing that self-same tongue into my surprised mouth.

For a computer, the man can kiss. I mean, not the wet, slobbery high school tonsil hockey kiss...a truly passionate kiss that felt as though he honestly meant something by it. That was what made Sid the most dangerous...not his childish pranks or devious conniving but his guile, the ability to sweep a woman off her feet, even size 11's, and forget what he actually was. No wonder Laura had so much difficulty with him.