3

It's late in the day. It's time for Jessica Jones to close Alias Investigations for the night.

Much paperwork clutters her desk. She's been making phone calls and sending emails to some contacts of hers who think they know of someone who's related to Kilgrave. Jones has been searching relentlessly for that person since hearing that Kilgrave didn't die childless. She might not be as bad as Kilgrave...then again, Jones doesn't think so...

Whoever this person is, she probably wants revenge for her father. And naturally, a lot of people saw Jones kill Kilgrave on the wharf that night...

Tonight, Jones visits a pub. Johnson's watching Matt at her apartment. She's sure there a lot. Sister Maggie seems to have way too many qualms about leaving the church, especially after Bullseye killed Father Lantom.

At the pub, there's a man sitting at a table near the back room. He's surfing on a laptop. He's that same man who was seeing Owlsley that day Jones went to see him. And from Jones's perspective, he's starting to get annoying.

The barkeep brings Jones a White Russian. Jones has no memory of ordering it. She says so, of course. The barkeep acknowledges this, and tells her that Lieberman ordered it for her.

Her gaze meets Lieberman's of course. Lieberman only grins, winks, and returns to his computer.

Jones lets it slide. Some men give up, after all, after she doesn't reciprocate their efforts after a while. Besides, Jones is happily committed to a great Latino landlord named Oscar Arocho. Alas, it seems that ever since Jones burned the bridge with Walker, and got another bridge burned by Ducasse, Arocho and his son have been around less often...

Thank Jim Beam for Murdock's problem, though. If not for that, Jones would be unraveling these days.

Jones sorts through the many Beyonce photos, who Owlsley's burglar keeps leaving. Their history is just as much a mystery as the prints on them. Anyone could've left these. They could've been bought anywhere...or printed on any printer...

She visits all the paper depots, of course. It seems, to their cashiers, that all the people who go into them are just as weird and indistinguishable as the others. And if the Beyonce were in New York, Jones is pretty sure she'd know about it. It's not that Jones likes R&B, or even Beyonce, it's more like... How about Jim Beam? Does anyone know what ever happened to Mila Kunis?

Jones's apartment has maintenance issues. In an average night, she's lucky to get any sleep without having it crashed by another leak coming undone in the ceiling. So, this has become a pre-bedtime ritual for her. And she must go to bed at some time at nights; she has a steady job, in her apartment, that she needs to be awake to do.

In her bed, Murdock flinches every time her work gets rough. A blind man, his hearing and smell are supernatural. And when ceiling falls, he reacts as if there's an earthquake. Jones has NO idea how he lives like he does...and hope she never finds out.

In the kitchen, Johnson mixes her herbs. If she still feels guilty about her matricidal act against the infamous Black Mariah, she's not showing it. But no one ever knew Black Mariah like she did...not even Cage. And ESPECIALLY not Shades Alvarez, her white cougar bait with the sunglasses. May he rot in peace. He may not know it, but Johnson's the reason why he's in jail.

With her nightshade herbs, Johnson treats Murdock's injuries. Murdock usually heals faster than this. What's more, Johnson's herbs usually work better than this. They sure turned John McIver into a Jamaican juggernaut...

Ordinarily, of course, Karen Page would attend to Murdock more often than Sister Maggie or Johnson. Alas, she's in Amsterdam with a man named Frank Castle. It seems that Castle's been unexpectedly attacked by a racist man named John Pilgrim, who called himself the Mennonite. And therefore, Castle MUST scour Amsterdam, the heart of the Mennonite homeland, and become absoultely certain there are no more weapon-toting white supremacists pretending to be Mennonites in Amsterdam, in New York, or anywhere where he can't afford to get in any more trouble than he's already been...

Don't get him started on that, by the way. And ESPECIALLY don't get DHS agent Dinah Madani started on it, either...

Outside, she sees a man jogging on the sidewalk. He passes her apartment building several times. She notices. There's something familiar about the shape of that jogger...

She creeps to the window, and takes a closer look-but tries to stay out of sight. He passes again. This time, she's pretty sure the jogger is who she thinks. It's Lieberman...from the pub...and the library. He's stalking her. Either that, or he's trying to contact her and doesn't know how...

The sun rises. Jones sleeps on the floor.

Someone pounds on the door. Jones grumbles, rolls over, and nods back off.

Johnson sneaks in, and leaves her a parcel. Jones hears...but doesn't dare react. She appreciates Johnson for not being half as noisy as Walker would if she were still welcome around here. Johnson sure is polite, for a matricidal nightshade-mixing bitch.

At last, Jones rises. She opens the parcel.

It's a mug. It looks like a wild turkey. Its eyes look weird. The turkey's shape reminds Jones strangely of the Wild Turkey wild turkey. She smiles. Someone out there knows what she like...

Jones holds that thought. All at once, exploiting this mug feels too good to do right away...

Be that as it may, it's a nice mug. Jones puts it on display just above the rest of her booze. She's very sure she'll use it soon. Secretly, she would admit that she can't wait to have her first drink from it.

There are a pair of nano-cams in the mug's "eyes." They turn around in the sockets freely, like chameleon's eyes, and monitor activity in Jones's apartment...

The day continues. At work, Jones gets a message saying that Kilgrave's illegitimate daughter is crossing the border in Buffalo. She smiles. As much as she hates to leave Johnson and Murdock alone-or Lieberman, if he's still here-she can't afford to let Kilgrave Jr pass from her knowledge.

It's a long drive to Buffalo. But with luck, it'll be worth it.

En route, Jones looks in her rearview mirror. She's being followed. He's on a motorcycle. She can't tell, because he's in a helmet and visor...but the rider seems to have Lieberman's body type.

There's something about that visor... There's something about that motorcycle...

Ah, the Niagara River. Jones has heard of a lot of people who'd love to be able to swim across it without getting caught. Alas, these are two different countries. And they both hate unregistered visitors.

Jones waits behind a pillar, and watches. Her eagle has landed. And yes, she is VERY over the Canadian border. She's at a ticket window.

Inside the window, Jones watches as the cashier stands, flips, and does tricks inside the booth. Jones frowns, and nods. This is Kilgrave's spawn, alright. Question is, what is she doing in the United States, and how soon can she go back to Canada-assuming, that is, she doesn't hijack the Mounties and declare war on the United States.

She's approached...by a man. He's dressed strangely. He's black, and seems cordial. He kisses Kilgrave Jr's hand when they meet.

The man wears a strange pair of boots. They sure aren't spring-loaded-but they sure look like they ought to be...

Jones narrows her eyes more. If only she had an ID on that man...

Alas, he leads her away. They go into a bookstore, and vanish.

Jones feels alone, and looks around. There's an Internet cafe nearby. She grins. She gets an idea...

Inside the cafe, Lieberman surfs the Internet. Alas, there's a power outage, and the cafe's clientele buzz. And, of course, Lieberman is knocked offline. He grunts, and packs his computer.

As a hacker, he offers the owner his skills. The owner accepts, and Lieberman goes out back to find the source of the outage.

In the alley, Jones intercepts him. She pins him against a brick wall, and demands what matter has been so crucial all this time that he'd stalk her all the way across New York state.

Lieberman reminds her that she's looking for a book thief who goes by Beyonce. He knows some things that might make her search easier-and not to mention more possible.

Jones eases up on him, and asks him to elaborate. Lieberman fixes the Internet, and takes her back inside.

Lieberman shows her some videos that he's recorded. They're in Owlsley's library. It's at night. Jones can see all the bookshelves lined up here and there.

Clear spots appear on the screen, and expand. At first Jones thinks it's the film. But then she sees something. A pair of arms slides through them, grabs a book from one of the shelves, and vanishes. Behind them, the spot vanishes too. In other places throughout the library, as Lieberman's edited videos surf them, the same arms do the same thing to different books. The spots-which are apparently portals-vanish as soon as the books are stolen. It seems Beyonce is more than just a book thief; he's a sorcerer.

Lieberman explains that while he did want Owlsley to give him a job, that's not why he was there that day. He's been spying on Owlsley.

Jones asks him why. Lieberman smiles sadly, and reminds her that's not part of why he's been following her. He's here to help her, and whatever illegal activities Owlsley might be involved in-and he does NOT mean to confirm that he is-are strictly between him and another party. As of now, he doesn't have enough data to yet tell Jones whether or not Owlsley is a threat to her.

Jones remembers that Murdock once expressed concern when she told him her most recent client's name was Owlsley, and that Wilson Fisk once had an accountant by the same name. Lieberman's recent hints make her wonder...

Lieberman's put tracers on some of the books. Two have been stolen-and he's got video footage to prove it. The tracers were somewhat strained by the extremely sudden relocation of their teleportation, but they soon started working again. And now he's pretty sure where the stolen books are being taken to...although the place seems implausible.

Lieberman writes down the address, and slips it to Jones. It's a warehouse at the Newark docks.

Lieberman and Jones thank each other, and part ways. He says something about having to get back to his family, who're still adjusting to the reality that he's not really dead. He's also concerned that his lovely wife is still in love with a man named Frank Castle. They sure got friendly while he was "dead," and he's kept some video footage to prove it...that he still has trouble re-watching...

He and Jones part ways. Jones returns to the hunt for Kilgrave Jr...

Ah, she's probably gotten away by now. What's more, she's finally got another lead on the Owlsley case. And she's much rather begin the commute back to New York ASAP, rather than pay for a hotel room. So, with the Lieberman matter finally behind her, and with the eye-scorching sunset in her rearview mirror, she begins the long drive back to the Big Apple.

It's about time, after all, that someone relieved Johnson of having to care for Murdock. Not that she needs it; she's one of the least-active women Jones has ever met. And that disgusts Jones...somewhat. Jones STILL isn't sure about a woman-or a person in general-who's happily committed matricide...