Handy Man
I ran someone over yesterday. Not only that, I was keeping him in my apartment against his will. Images of crimson marks, robed men, and menacing lizards flitted through my head. The mark that had been so impossible to hide before had not made another appearance, and the robed man and his lizard minion had long since disappeared from the scene. I knew so much, and I couldn't write an article about it. There was no proof, and yet, I was well aware that it did happen. The whole affair was maddening. I buried myself in the sheets trying to combat the steady rhythmic pulsing of my head. I had another five minutes before the alarm would go off again. I would savor the extra time, after yesterday I deserved it.
All too soon, the alarm rang again, and I shut if off and dragged myself out of bed. Most everything I have has belonged to someone else with the exception of my camera and laptop. The downside was nothing quite worked the way it should. The bed creaked with every move I made. The sheets had the musty smell that ancient fabric had when its been alive for far too long. My sea shell lamp took two to three tries to turn on. My alarm occasionally reset itself to the wee hours of the morning. I would sometimes have to fight to fully open the closet to take out my clothes. As a result, getting ready for work could be difficult on any given day, today, I simply had a lot to think about. Then again, it occurred to me that I might find the stranger gone. The guy was hell bent on saving Satellite himself. If that were the case, I would move on and get some other scoop or lead, preferably one that did not involve facing that spindly lizard thing.
"Morning Carly," Yusei greeted me casually, never mind that he tried to climb out my fire escape yesterday. While I prepared my morning brew, I tried to spot were he was exactly. I'd heard him so he shouldn't be two difficult to spot. My apartment was sparsely furnished. I had two sofas, one coffee table and a tv in the living room, not exactly the best place for hide and seek. I dropped a sugar packet on the floor. I take them from my workplace to save a few pennies. As I was getting up, I noticed that he sat next to the washing machine with a tool box.
"Oh hi, what are you doing?" I asked, dismayed by his lack of sense. He should be resting, yet here he was taking on projects.
"Fixing the washing machine," He replied as if it where the sane thing to do after plotting countless escape attempts.
"You shouldn't be over exerting yourself," I told him which led to eye rolling. I can see what's going to cause me difficulties today. Nothing goes well for poor little Carly, no scoop magically lands on my lap, and my hostage won't cooperate, but I suppose that's normal.
"I'm sitting down," he remarked as he started taking apart the washing machine, accruing several rusted nails and plastic pieces. He toyed with the rusted hinge and simply stared at it after it broke in half. Great, my apartments going to start resembling Satellite soon.
"Where did you even get a tool box?" I asked because I certainly did not have one lying around.
"You're neighbor, Miguel," he responded promptly. I swallowed the last of my coffee. The coffee maker was producing lukewarm results this week.
I couldn't really comprehend how he could ask a perfect stranger for things. No one in the city really bothered to get to know their neighbors, and in this neighborhood, there was good reason to keep to yourself.
"Who?" I asked curiously.
I categorized my neighbors by the sounds they made. There was too loud music guy, the feuding couple, and feet made of cement girl for starters.
"That's a shame. He likes you," Yusei said as he pulled out the washing machine's door.
"What? Never mind, you need to stay put," I ordered, even pointing my finger at him like I imagined you were supposed to do when scolding someone. He took out some mysteriously acquired parts probably from this Miguel person.
"I am," he said, poking at the black goo that had started to come out. He added a new screw nearby, making the goo retreat. The illogical physics of that caused me to pause for a moment.
"You obviously were busy this morning," I elaborated since he seemed bent on taking advantage of technicalities.
"I'm not hitting my foot with a hammer or hopping down stairs for kicks. I was careful," Yusei asserted, returning the washer to its former glory. I heard the magical swishing sound that working washers make. The long forgotten sound made me ridiculously happy. I guess I could let it go, just this once.
"Fine, I'll make," I announced and stopped mid sentence. He handed me a platter of pancakes drowned with thick syrup. The scary thing was I didn't have the ingredients for any of this.
"Breakfast,"I finished and took the plate hastily. I'd been eating cereal in the mornings for years. My mouth watered involuntarily. I wanted the pancakes as much as any scoop right now, and by the looks of the kitchen, he'd made them from scratch.
"Hope you like pancakes,"Yusei said. From his tone, I could tell he was well aware that I would love pancakes.
Damn, my reporter's instincts were kicking in. His behavior differed far too much from yesterday. If he had gone for ingredients for pancakes, why not home?
"I don't understand. Yesterday, you wanted to jump out of my car to get away," I said, and sadly, I was not exaggerating. He was a dedicated fellow. I'd give him that. Yusei shrugged, starting to make another batch of pancakes for himself.
"You're letting me stay here. It's the least I can do," he answered. Maybe, he had come to his senses. Good, he shouldn't face those creeps on a broken leg. I took the time to appreciate each of my pancakes which were crafted into a perfect circles. How could he even do that?
" Thank you," I said, ready to dig in. The rich aroma alone could feed me for a week.
"No problem. There is one thing you could do for me," he said after I first cut into the pancakes. So, there was a catch. I put the fork and knife down. Yusei frowned, seeing his ploy averted.
"What?" I asked although I did have an idea of the answer.
'Give me back my deck," he said. The hiding place was fairly obvious so I was surprised he hadn't thought to look in the cookie jar. Or is it just my mind that works that way?
"You couldn't find it, could you?" I asked. He flipped the pancake he was making and looked at me. His face wasn't frozen in a continual state of indifference for once. His mouth curved into a slight frown, but his eyes, that was what really got to me. They were huge, blue, and glistening.
"Carly, those cards mean a lot to me. I don't go anywhere without them," he admitted. I really hated to do this, but he'd get himself killed otherwise. As I reporter, I had fairly thick skin anyway.
"Exactly," I retorted, picking up my utensils. Yusei grabbed my plate of pancakes before I could take a bite.
"No pancakes for you," he decided, his features angular and antagonistic now. I was been coerced and saying no cost me breakfast.
"Yusei, you already made them. Let me eat some,"I insisted, extending my hand toward the plate. Walking away, he turned off the stove and added the newly made pancakes to the batch he had confiscated. He took a fork and knife from the drawer and sat down across from me.
"You had your chance," he replied reasonably. He took a bite afterward, taunting me.
"I'll just get something on my way to Satellite then," I decided, knowing a couple of cheap places I could stop by. They might have some issues with health inspectors, but I had yet to get sick at any of the places. Yusei stood abruptly and grabbed my shoulder.
"You can't," he said as if I were heading toward the grim reaper. This was ridiculous. He can't keep me from eating just because his stupid bribe didn't work.
"I don't care if you bash my head in with your crutches. I'm getting something to eat," I snapped at him. He shook his head.
"You can't go to Satellite by yourself," he repeated. I thought back to what he had said earlier. He knew something scoop worthy. If what he told me yesterday holds up, Satellite was the place to be.
"You said the next apocalypse might happen in Satellite. People like being informed on that sort of thing, and I still need a story," I said sincerely. I go where my leads take me, dangerous or not.
"I'll tell you anything you want to know. Don't go over there right now. It's not safe," he begged. I let a cheesy grin escape me, an interview with him was what I had wanted in the first place. Judging by the way he outran the others, this would be an exclusive scoop. I sat back down immediately. I worried about appearing too eager.
"Really? I wasn't trying to pressure you or anything," I said, quickly setting up my lap top. I took a snapshot of him. He blinked a few times afterwards and rubbed his eyes, caught off guard.
"I know. You're just insane enough to try," he muttered, eating another bite.
"Yusei, it's my job to snoop around. I do this sort of thing all the time," I reassured him. He didn't have the reaction I expected. Instead he looked worried, I wasn't sure what to do, most of the time people were angry when I didn't take risks to get the job done. My boss cared about results, not what I did to get them.
"Alone?" He asked. I'm starting to see why Miguel starting spouting off about his love life. This guy really cares about people. I was in his way for crying out loud, and here he was worried about my safety.
"Yeah, it's no big deal,"I said, in an attempt to steer clear of the subject. This was what I've always done. There was no need to rethink it now. I doubt that it would ever kill me to do what I do.
"Did you ever get hurt because of it?" Yusei pressed. I can't say that I've had serious injuries, a nick there, a bruise here, and a couple of close calls. With my innate clumsiness and all the things I meddled in, I took those sort of injuries and near death experiences as occupational hazards.
Still, it only took one bad day. Every day, I simply gamble that today won't be the day. I can't let him distract me. My ride into Satellite would only wait so long.
"That's not important. You're the one hurt right now," I argued. He didn't like my answer and kept a grip on my shoulder.
The amount pressure I felt from his grip made me realize just how much he had been humoring me the day before. He could have easily left anytime. I had no doubt he'd be long gone, once I returned his deck, or he managed to find it. I might as well get an interview while he was here.
"Promise me, you won't go to Satellite," he persisted. Since he offered me such a good alternative, I suppose I didn't need to camp out in Satellite.
"Don't worry. We have a deal," I promised. Hopefully, I could find out more about this whole signer business through him. I couldn't forget seeing a person's skin exude red mystical energy out of nowhere. I'd stumbled into the story of the century. Yusei thought of something else.
"I mean until this whole mess is settled," he pestered. There goes my one loop hole. Oh well, I have others ways of getting information. A reporter needs to be flexible. So long as you lived in the city, there were certain people who could tell you certain things about the other side of town, for a price.
"If it means that much to you, I can stick to town. So, what exactly is plaguing Satellite anyway?" I asked. The question caused him to enter a sort of reverie. I waited for him to collect his thoughts. He grabbed a sheet of paper on the table and drew a distinctive insignia. I recognized the symbol as one of the Nazca lines. There were reports about that particular symbol disappearing recently along with a few others.
"The Crimson Dragon showed me a premonition of Satellite being destroyed under the mark of the spider," Yusei explained.
Come to think of it, that robed guy had a spider mark. I doubt he could doom all of mankind if I managed to escape. Every thing wasn't fitting together yet. I needed more info, but what to ask? He would probably know more about that dragon considering he has its emblem.
"The Crimson Dragon?" I asked. He stared at the arm I had seen bare the red marking or as he said, crimson marking. So what, he's on the good team then? Or maybe he's on the bad team? He was from Satellite, although that wasn't particularly a good reason to suspect that. His mark had protected me. I would assume the former for now.
"It's a god that the people of the stars worshiped," Yusei said. Old relics wreaking havoc on today's society, definitely a page turner.
The problem with such a page turner was would I publish it as fact or would I be spreading a marvelous work of fiction? He had hit his head pretty hard yesterday. Except, I hadn't. That lizard had definitely planned to eat me, not to mention the glowing arm light show.
"After what I saw yesterday, I don't doubt there's mystical forces at work. Anything else?" I asked. His low tone indicated that he barely processed what he said as real. Something tells me he hasn't had much time to think about these things before now.
He's certainly calmer than yesterday. He wasn't running around like a caged animal anymore. I suppose it's difficult to relax when you know a bomb was waiting to go off, tick, tick, tick.
"That man I would have faced told me he was a dark signer. I think they're the ones brewing trouble. I don't know much else. I'd need to talk to the director to find out more. If you can get me there, I can," he suggested. I quickly cut him off. Once the director got involved, I'd be lucky to even stick around.
Perhaps, I was traveling a fine line. The people of Satellite needed him, but he wasn't in any condition to fight. It's almost selfish to keep him around when I'm benefiting quite a bit from his stay here. Cosmically, I'm positive it's the right thing like helping a row of duckling cross the street or saving a drowning puppy.
"No, you're on bed rest. I shouldn't print this without evidence, even if people would believe it coming from your mouth," I decided, even if I wasn't erasing what I had typed out from my hard drive. Who knows? The information might come in handy later.
He looked astonished for a moment, making his face look unexpectedly fresh and supple instead of hard and jagged. I stared as I comprehended his actual age. I was older than he was.
"They would?" he asked. He's kidding right? The title of king didn't come with actual power, but in this society, if you could duel, you were held with a certain amount of esteem. The poor boy probably doesn't even realize why all those reporters were hell bent on talking to him in the first place.
"Of course, you're the new king from Satellite. You have loads of credibility," I said honestly. As far as I knew, Jack was Satellite born too. The average city person had no idea what went on in Satellite and reacted negatively to any mention of it. So, if the new king said there was trouble brewing, they had no way to counter his claim.
"Carly, I will let you interview me if you take me to Saiga's," he offered. Hey, I just gave up my free access pass into Satellite so I could talk to him and he's asking me for more favors. I won't be conned so easily.
"No fair, you already said you'd answer any question I asked," I complained. He stood and went to wash his plate. I put a hand on my stomach to try an stifle the growling. Bye-bye pancakes, my stomach deeply regrets your passing.
"Yes, but I won't omit anything if you do," he replied. I gave up settling my stomach and let my head rest on the table. So, it was extra for the whole truth. I just needed to give him enough leeway to squeeze through the bars. As tempting as it was, I couldn't let him play hero while he was injured.
"I can't let you go,"I said. He turned to face me with that pitiful look he could turn off and on. His face rarely displayed much emotion and had greater impact when he chose to show them.
So sneaky, it makes me wonder what part of your look is manufactured. I can't really tell so I avoid looking at him. I'll give in if I don't. It triggers something. He knows he's seconds from being tuned out completely. It's the sort of thing he must have dealt with all his life.
"Please, I need to issue a warning to everyone in Satellite. Saiga should be able to take control of the communication device on each duelist's duel disks for at least a minute," he explained. I wavered, sparing him a glance. His expression was no less desperate than before, but there was tinge of hope since I raised my head.
Logically, there wasn't a reason to deny his request. He did have a plan and nothing about the plan seemed inherently dangerous. I could let him go, provided I chaperoned.
"And, we'll come right back?" I asked. There was a twinge of annoyance present at the insinuation that he would return to lock down right after. He glanced at the spider mark on the table. He put his hand on the paper and proceeded to crumple it. He must have a lot riding on this.
"Yes," he agreed. I gathered my things for our trip to Saiga's. I was looking forward to seeing him again. Unfortunately, I had lost contact with Saiga a number of years before. He was a very desired man. In more ways than one, he relocated often to keep away from security or disgruntled clients. He was the best info and tech guy I'd ever known.
My luck was beginning to pile up thanks to Yusei. I'd be reestablishing contact with a long lost associate. Saiga had promised me a new camera last time too, yet another perk. My enthusiasm increased considerably at the thought, provided the man even remembered me.
"Give me the directions," I said which came out more like a command than I intended. My guest had gotten side tracked in the kitchen. Wait, he was seriously stuffing more pancakes in his system? He came over to the table with another stack and sat it down where I was previously.
"Eat your pancakes first," Yusei said. He didn't have to tell me twice. I was starving.