Chapter 3: Eiji's Quills

Shunichi-

When they arrived at Cape Cod, they went to a pawn shop. After the ugly scene at the diner with Ash's father, they had made themselves as comfortable as possible at the house where Ash had grown up with his big brother. Then, as everyone started to hunt around the house, Ash announced that he was going into town and that he was taking Shunichi with him.

Frankly, Shunichi guessed that Ash was uncomfortable in the house with so many memories and needed to get out for a little while. Understandable.

"We need some money," Ash told Shunichi when they were in the truck heading towards town. "Cold, hard cash is what we need and I can get us some." He pulled out a pocket watch from his jeans pocket and handed it to Shunichi. "It'll look weird if I try to sell it; I'm just a kid, after all. You do it. Just take whatever they'll give you."

"How much is it worth?"

"Enough. I don't really care. It was gift from Dino and I don't want it, but he always gave expensive presents. We need the money more than I need that thing."

They did need money as they'd spent a good deal of what they had on a few cheap burner phones that would let them access the internet as well as make emergency calls.

The pawn shop was surprisingly respectable. It was clean and orderly with a middle-aged woman who was just a bit chubby standing behind the counter. "Good afternoon. Welcome to Juliet's Pawn Shop. Looking for anything in particular? We've got electronics over to the left and a few antiques in the back. Jewelry, maybe?"

"Looking to sell, actually." Shunichi handed her the watch. "Can you give me anything?"

Ash stood next to Shunichi and watched, but didn't make any comments and when the woman behind the counter opened the watch to look inside, he wandered a few feet away and started to poke around at some of the things offered for sale.

The woman looked up at Shunichi with wide eyes. "You want to sell or pawn?"

"Sell."

She pursued her lips and looked back at the watch. "In the interest of honesty, I can't afford to give you what this is worth. This is gold and there are diamond chips decorating the face. There are some more upscale places in town you may want to try. I'm afraid I couldn't give you more than three hundred for it."

Shunichi chanced a look at Ash out of the corner of his eye and saw that Ash seemed entirely unconcerned with the quoted number. He also guessed that Ash simply wanted to be rid of anything that would remind him of Golzine. Well, Shunichi could help with that. So he smiled at the woman and said, "That's just fine. Thank you very much."

"Hey, uncle," Ash called out. He gave Shunichi one of those rare sweet smiles of his. "Can we get a camera, too?" He held up a small, digital camera. There was a price tag of twenty-five dollars on it. He recognized it as a decent brand and it would be good to have a camera, again.

"Sure you can that," the sales woman said. "I feel guilty enough taking this watch for so little money, so if you want the camera, it's yours."

Ash thanked her, softly, and handed the camera to Shunichi. "You like it, don't you, uncle? Who knows, we might come across something important we need to take a photo of."

Obviously, Ash's thoughts had run to the idea that they may need to take photos of something as evidence in the future when they found out the whole mystery behind Banana Fish. It was smart and one could expect nothing less from clever young Ash. Shunichi felt a warm glow in his chest when Ash called him 'uncle'. He'd felt that same glow when Ash had called him 'uncle' back at the gas station where Shorter had been so badly hurt. Of course, it meant nothing to Ash. He was play acting. A family traveling together wasn't suspicious, after all. Still, even if it didn't mean anything to Ash, Shunichi was rather flattered. How could one not be pleased to be chosen as an uncle, to be considered family?

Lottie-

Lottie made it to Cape Cod and didn't immediately find Shunichi. Of course it wouldn't be so simple as to find him strolling down the sidewalk. She drove up and down every street, carefully looking for the shabby truck she'd seen Max carry Shunichi away in. She looked not only on the streets, but parked in driveways and in parking lots and everywhere else. She didn't lose hope. She would find him and according to the clerks at the gas station she had only been a little behind them.

She stopped at little corner markets, at a clam shack, at three gas stations, and everywhere else she could think of that they might have stopped at. There were a great many little inns and bed and breakfast type places along with motels and hotels and Lottie stopped at every single one of them. No one had seen anyone fitting Shunichi's description or Max's.

It was nearly dinner time when Lottie saw the truck. It was distinctive. She hadn't seen another one like it all the time she'd been driving from New York and there it sat in the parking lot of a pawn shop. She slowed her car and saw just the moment when Shunichi and the blonde boy walked out and headed towards the truck.

Lottie pulled her car over as quickly as she could and looked over her shoulder at the truck. She watched it pull out of its parking spot and start down the street. She waited only a moment before she began to follow it. She kept to a distance and followed them to the outskirts of town where there were wide expanses of tall grass and, in the distance, the sea. They kept driving until there was hardly anything around but the road and the tall grass. She watched as the truck pulled further and further ahead and she saw it heading to a tiny, white house in the distance. If she went any further she would be discovered, surely, so she pulled into the dirt parking lot of a diner sadly in need of a paint job. From there, she could see the tiny, white house and she saw the trail of dust the truck kicked up as it drove. She saw the truck come to a stop outside the house and Shunichi got out. A smile spread across her face.

Finally.

She had him.

She had to decide what to do next. She knew where Shunichi was, but Max was undoubtedly with him and she couldn't fight Max. She was small and he was huge. She'd heard rumors that he'd been some sort of soldier and knew how to fight. She would have to think in order to save her Shunichi. He needed her. He couldn't live without her.

In the distance she could see the Atlantic Ocean and, to the left, a tall lighthouse keeping watch on the shore. Cape Cod was beautiful and just as romantic as Lottie had imagined it. The sunset painted the sky red and orange, the colors reflected off the sea.

Lottie stepped out of her little car and went into the diner. Her thoughts were almost entirely consumed with Shunichi and how close he was. She could practically hear his voice. With a dreamy smile, she sat at an empty table, completely willing to bide her time as she knew where he was.

"Good morning. What can I get you?" The waitress was a mousy little thing with dull brown hair and a tired expression that was entirely inappropriate for a service position. Her employer ought to reprimand her. She had wrinkles around her eyes and at the corners of her mouth and wore drab clothes that were too big and completed the image of a frumpy housewife.

Lottie forced a smile. "Ham sandwich, please."

The woman nodded and walked off into the kitchen.

Lottie was the only customer and the diner was quiet as a grave. She tapped her fingers on the table, trying to think of what to do next.

"Woman!" The shout caught Lottie's attention before the man walked in. He was tall and very broad with a thick beard and moustache. He wasn't at all as refined as her dearest Shunichi, but not every man could be perfect. The man didn't so much as look at Lottie as he walked in and shouted, again, "Jennifer, where are you?"

"In the kitchen, Jim." The woman, even when calling out, was so soft spoken that she might as well have been whispering.

"Has the boy been by?"

The waitress, Jennifer, came out of the kitchen and gave Lottie the sandwich with a little smile before she went to the man and said, "Please, Jim, not so loud. We have a customer. No, Ash hasn't been by yet."

"His name is Aslan, damn it. His mother gave him that name."

"If she was so concerned about it, she should have stayed around long enough to teach him his name. Besides, he prefers 'Ash' and I think he's old enough to decide what he wants to be called. His friend, Max, said he'd stop by later and get some dinner for all of them."

Lottie froze with her sandwich halfway to her mouth. Max. She took a bite of the sandwich but watched Jim and Jennifer out of the corner of her eye on the off chance that they might say more.

"Well, keep them all out of my hair, woman," Jim snapped, stomping into the back room.

Jennifer said nothing, but sighed and went back into the kitchen.

There was a television sitting on the counter, an old-fashioned type that was a large box with dials on the front and rabbit ear antennas. The news had been turned on and the news anchor said,

"And in breaking news, we have an Amber Alert out for a seventeen-year-old Caucasian boy, Ash Lynx. He's five-foot ten-inches tall and weighs approximately one hundred twenty pounds. He has blonde hair and green eyes.

Ash Lynx is a homeless child and a suspected gang member, but has recently come to the attention of the renowned philanthropist, Dino Golzine, who is well-known for his charitable donations and works benefiting the disadvantaged youth of New York. Mister Golzine took an interest in Ash Lynx when they met by chance and has since been offering the boy mentorship and has been attempting to get him off the streets and into a safe situation. Mister Golzine became gravely concerned when Ash didn't turn up at a meeting they had planned to discuss him sending Ash back to school. That same day a savage attack on Mister Golzine was committed when a truck driven by persons unknown barreled through the city streets and nearly ran down several people. Someone shot and wounded Mister Golzine and several of his friends. We now have a few words from Mister Golzine's legal counsel."

The news reporter paused and the image on screen changed to that of a man with a moustache and curly brown hair. Below him, the words scrolled across the bottom of the screen, LEGAL REPRESENTATIVE OF DINO GOLZINE. He said, "Mister Golzine would like to express his deep desire to have Mister Lynx returned safely. He fears that the same people who attacked him may have something to do with Mister Lynx's disappearance; perhaps someone saw them together and thought they might be able to ransom Mister Lynx. Mister Golzine is offering a ten thousand dollar reward for anyone with information about Mister Lynx's whereabouts. If he has been kidnapped and his abductors are listening, please know that Mister Golzine is willing to listen to ransom demands. Please, if you have any information call the number listed below." A telephone number appeared on the screen and Lottie took note of it.

The lawyer's face was replaced with that of a man somewhere between fifty and sixty-years-old with a completely bald head and a well-trimmed moustache. Under him, the name DINO GOLZINE appeared. He spoke with a steady, deep voice. "My only concern is for the boy's welfare. If this was an abduction, call the number provided and we will listen seriously to whatever you have to say. However, if Ash has run away on his own accord, I hope he's listening now." Mister Golzine leaned forward, as if to convey his heartfelt emotions directly to the boy. "Ash, whatever has happened, we can deal with it. I'm not angry with you. You know I'll always be here. Come back to me and all the problems you face will be dealt with. I just want you back where you belong."

The news reporter's image reappeared on screen and she said, "Such an emotional plea from this kind-hearted man! We can only hope that the boy will return safe and sound. This is a photograph of Ash Lynx and we ask that the public take notice and report any sighting of him at once."

The photograph that was shown made Lottie sit up and take notice. It was him! It was the boy who'd been with Shunichi and Max. Thin and fair with fine features. Ash Lynx was dressed casually, jeans and a white t-shirt, like so many other teenage boys. He stared at the camera with a serious expression.

Lottie thought, 'They can come and they'll take the boy and Max. Max must have kidnapped the boy along with Shunichi. With Max gone, I can have Shunichi.'

Lottie left payment for her dinner on the table with a generous tip before she walked outside. Standing next to her car, she pulled out her phone and dialed. "Hello? I have some information about the missing boy, Ash Lynx." She gave them all the information she had, answered every question she was able to, and felt very pleased with herself. When she hung up her phone, she lit a cigarette and looked at the little, white house where her Shunichi was staying. She decided to take a quiet walk up there. She wouldn't confront anyone, but she'd just take a peek in the window. Just to make sure Shunichi was alright.

Shunichi-

Eiji had been restless and it worried Shunichi. He watched all day as Eiji prowled around the home Ash had grown up in, poking in closets and looking in every little nook and cranny he could find. Ash hadn't protested and didn't seem to care about the house at all except for a small photograph of a boy in a baseball uniform while a young man knelt next to him. Both smile proudly at the camera. Ash didn't speak about it and everyone was tactful enough not to ask, but it seemed clear as crystal that it was a very young Ash – no more than six – and his big brother. How lovely to see Ash smile so freely.

"Ibe-san," Eiji came into the living room wearing a pair of shorts that were just a bit too big, the drawstring on the waist was pulled very tight. "I'm going out running for a bit."

"Where did you get the shorts?"

"Ash said we could use any clothes we find so I borrowed these." Then he frowned. "They must have been his brother's. Do you think it's really okay? I don't want to upset him."

Shunichi didn't bother to hide his smile. How like Eiji to be worried about other people's feelings. "I think Ash is a very generous, honest boy and if he said it was alright, then it's alright. If you're going running, please don't go far. We don't know the area or what danger's around."

"I'm only going to run around the house. I just feel… soft, lately." He grimaced and looked around as if he were afraid of being overheard. "I haven't exercised in ages, considering everything that's going on, and since I can't be as strong as Shorter or as smart as Ash, I want to make sure I'm fast enough to keep up with them." He put on a determined face. "I need to practice and get my speed back up to competition level." It made sense. Eiji was very fast. As a pole vaulter, Eiji had competed with the best in the world and part of his training had been running.

Eiji left and Shunichi was alone in the quiet living room. Everyone was around doing something. He was fairly certain Ash was napping in some sunny nook and Shorter and Max were probably getting dinner from Jennifer. That left little for Shunichi to do, so he leaned back on the couch and closed his eyes, ready to follow Ash's example and take a nap.

A scream of pain broke the air and Shunichi jumped to his feet. He was out the door and circling the house before he realized what was happening. There Eiji was, at the back of the house, on the ground and half-concealed by the overgrown grass. His face was twisted in pain. For one terrible, horrible moment, Shunichi feared that Eiji had reinjured his ankle. But when he got to Eiji and saw what had happened, his breath caught in his throat.

"Oh… Eiji…"

"It hurts!" He had his leg stretched out and his face was pale, but his whole body was tense, as if he was terrified of moving. Considering the state of his leg, Shunichi didn't blame him. "Be careful! I stepped on something and it might still be around!"

At just that moment, Shorter and Max came barreling around the corner. They had obviously just returned and had heard Eiji scream. As soon as he saw what had happened to Eiji, Max handed bags of what must have been food to Shorter and told him, "Go wake Ash." He went right to Eiji and bent down to examine the damage. "Damn, kid… you really got it, didn't you?"

From Eiji's ankle to his knee, thick quills were impaled in his leg. It looked like he'd been turned into a pin cushion. Eiji curled up as best as he could without moving his leg. "I stepped on something and it attacked me!"

"Yeah," Ash was with them and looked over Max's shoulder with Shorter at his side. "You stepped on a porcupine and I think you upset it. God. That looks awful." His face was pale, but he kept his voice steady and his expression still. As always, he was in complete control of himself in an emergency.

Max put an arm around Eiji's back, then started to put an arm under his legs.

Eiji squawked. "Hey! I don't need to be carried!"

Max gave him a stern look. "You'd have to walk around the house and up about eight steps to get into the house. You really want to move your leg that much?"

Eiji looked like he might cry, but stopped arguing. Max picked him up with ease, moving as carefully as possible. Not for the first time, Shunichi wished he was as strong as his friend. Max could have carried even Shorter without breaking a sweat. "Right then. Ash, we need some kind of pain killer. Any drugstores in the area?"

"No, but I'll go over to the diner. Jennifer will give me something." Ash ran off without another word.

"Shorter," Max continued. "Look for some soap and get a water bottle out of the truck so we can wash him up when we're done." Once Shorter had gone to do as he was told, Max gave Eiji a pitying look. "Sorry, kid, but these are going to have to come out and it's going to hurt. Let's get you ready."

Inside, Shunichi laid a blanket on the floor along with several towels to put under Eiji's leg in case the blood ran freely.

Eiji made little, pained noises with every step that Max took, no matter how cautious Max tried to be. He didn't cry, though. He kept one arm around Max's shoulder and didn't complain or fuss even when Max had to put him on the floor so they could deal with the porcupine quills. Eiji held himself stiffly and his eyes were shiny with threatening tears. Max gently rolled Eiji onto his side to take as much pressure off the wounded leg as possible and to give himself better access to the quills.

"I didn't think there would be anything dangerous out there," Eiji said though gritted teeth. "I'm sorry. Sorry. Didn't mean to cause trouble, Max."

Max chuckled. "Nothing to be sorry about. From what Ash said, no one's lived here in about ten years so the wildlife has started to move back in. All that tall grass must have hid the porcupine very nicely. Look on the bright side – you might have stepped on a skunk."

They waited patiently until Ash returned and, when he did, he brought more than a painkiller. He carried a bag with clean towels, extra water, antiseptic soap, and every kind of bandage one could hope for including sterile gauze pads and a roll of elastic bandage. "Jennifer said we'd need these things and to make sure we get him to the hospital if anything looks really bad." He sat on the floor next to Eiji, close but not touching. He set all his things on the floor and carefully unpacked them before he pulled out an unmarked bottle and uncorked it. "Eiji, take a drink."

Eiji took the bottle from Ash and sniffed it, but recoiled. "What is it? It smells awful." His hands were shaking enough that Ash put his hands around Eiji's to hold the bottle steady.

"Something to make you feel better. Drink."

Eiji took a sip, then spit it out. "It's alcohol!"

Ash rolled his eyes. "My father had some stuff and Jennifer said I could take it for you. It's strong stuff – my father makes it himself. He said the stuff sold in stores isn't strong enough. Drink it and you won't care about the porcupine quills."

"But…" Eiji sulked at the bottle. "I don't like alcohol."

Max gave him a firm look. "Normally, I don't approve of underage drinking, but we haven't any other painkillers and I think you'll want to be a little loopy when I have to pull all these out. Boy, you have dozens of quills poking out of you. God help us if any of them break off under the skin; I might have to go digging for them with a sharp knife and I don't like the idea of doing surgery."

With a pat on Eiji's shoulder, Shunichi gently told him, "Max is right, Ei-chan. Drink. I know you don't like the taste, but I think being at least a little tipsy might be good in this one instance. Even if you get roaring drunk, we're all here to look after you and we won't let anything bad happen."

So, Eiji drank. He made faces at each tiny, little sip he took and moaned about the taste, but he kept drinking until he couldn't hold the bottle. Unfortunately, he didn't pass out as Shunichi had hoped.

"I don't feel good." Eiji lay his head down on Shunichi's lap and closed his eyes. "I don't like this. The nasty prickly-pine stabbed me with his needles and he's mean!"

Shunichi had never seen Eiji drunk and it was an experience.

Max wasn't prepared to wait any longer. "Right, then. Shorter, I'm going to need you to hold Eiji's leg still. He's going to wiggle and twitch. In the state he's in, he might not feel so much pain, but he won't have much control to keep himself still. Ash, you're going to hold his hip down. We'll get this done as soon as possible."

"Do you know what you're doing?" Shunichi whispered to Max.

"No clue, but we can leave them in."

Eiji blinked up at Max. "What are we getting done?"

"Don't worry. You put your head down and I'll be right back." Max went out to the truck and returned a moment later with a pair of pliers.

Ash winced. "This isn't going to be fun."

Ash, of course, was right.

With a steady grip and a grim expression, Max used the pliers to grab hold of the first quill. He pulled quickly and Eiji let out a choked scream. On and on it went. Shorter and Ash did an admirable job keeping Eiji steady and Shunichi held both of his hands, but each quill that was pulled out was terrible. Eiji still tried to thrash about, his strong legs fighting against Shorter and Ash. Eventually, Eiji seemed to lose his strength. He still tried to kick, but mostly he made pitiful little noises and kept his face buried in Shunichi's lap.

"There, the last one." Max set the last quill down on the awful pile of quills at his side. "Forty-one quills. Eiji, my lad, this is going to be something to remember."

With a pitiful sniffle, Eiji turned his head enough to look at Max. He glowered. "I don't like you. Mean." Then he looked up at Shunichi. His bottom lip wobbled. "Done?"

"Yes, the quills are all out, Ei-chan. We just need to get you washed up and bandaged." And that was important. His leg looked horrible. "Just hold still a little longer. Can I help Max fix your leg?"

Eiji nodded, then reached out both hands, one to Ash and one to Shorter. They were happy to abandon their duty of pinning Eiji in place to give a little comfort. They were an excellent distraction. Max wiped Eiji's leg down with soapy water and then with the antiseptic Jennifer had sent over. Shunichi used a clean, dry towel to dry Eiji's leg. When the leg seemed to be as clean as it could be, they carefully wrapped Eiji's leg in bandages. All the while, Ash and Shorter kept Eiji nicely preoccupied. Shorter told silly stories and Ash made fun of Shorter, both of which made Eiji smile.

When all was done, they lifted Eiji off the floor and helped him lie on the couch and covered him with a blanket. Blinking sleepily, Eiji looked up at Max who tucked a pillow under his head. "Sorry, Max. I do like you. You're my friend."

Max shook his head and smiled. "I know you do, kid. Don't worry about it. Try to sleep."

"I think you're really great 'cause you take care of Ash and he's really hard to take care of." Eiji hesitated. "All done now?"

"Yeah."

"No more nasty pricky-pines?"

"No more porcupines."

"No more pulling and washing and band aids?"

"No more anything. You just need to sleep."

Eiji took a deep breath then promptly burst into tears. He hadn't cried once since the whole ordeal had begun, but it seemed he couldn't hold it in any longer. He sobbed messily and noisily without any care at all to who might hear. He put his hands over his face to hide himself then took another breath and sobbed, again.

Poor Ash didn't look like he had any idea what was going on and Shorter scratched the back of his head awkwardly. Max just chuckled. "Poor kid. He'll be fine when he sobers up." He ruffled Eiji's hair.

Within minutes, Eiji had fallen fast asleep and snored noisily.

The stress began to fade with Eiji calm and safe. Ash stayed close by his side and Shorter only went a little further away. Max worked at cleaning up the mess while Shunichi took the bundle of dreadful quills outside to dump somewhere that no one would step on them. The minute he stepped outside, he froze. Shunichi sniffed the air.

Cigarette smoke.

He sniffed, again. The smell was faint. None of them were smokers. Maybe Ash's father had come over and heard all the noise and decided to leave. Maybe. Whoever it had been, had been right at the front door of the house, apparently. They'd been busy enough with Eiji to give whoever it had been plenty of time to get away. He was certain that none of the youngsters smoked, he would surely have smelled it on them. Max had given up the habit several years earlier. He looked carefully around, but there was no one in sight. No danger at all. So, he tried to push the worry aside and disposed of the quills.

Still…

Back inside, Shunichi asked, "Has anyone else been around the house?"

Shorter sat up from where he reclined in a chair at once. "Why? What's wrong?"

"I thought I smelled cigarette smoke outside, but… maybe I was wrong."

Ash was on his feet with his pistol in hand in a flash and Shorter had his knife out before Shunichi could blink. They both went to the front door and peered out. Cautiously, Ash stepped outside and was followed by Shorter. They both inhaled deeply.

"That's cigarette smoke, alright," Shorter said. He looked over his shoulder at Shunichi. "Go get Max." Then he and Ash crept out into the yard and began a slow patrol around the house.

Shunichi nearly yelled for them to look out for porcupines, but he was fairly certain neither of them would appreciate it, given the circumstances. Max waited with Shunichi and Eiji for nearly twenty minutes before Shorter and Ash returned.

"No sign of anyone around that I can see," Shorter told them. "We'll just keep an eye out for now. It's weird, though. Something about the smell puts me on edge. I don't know why, but something about it makes me think of something and I can't get a hold of exactly what I'm trying to think of."

Several days later, the relative peace of Cape Cod was shattered when Golzine's men turned up. Jennifer was murdered and Ash's dad terribly wounded. It was likely, Shunichi knew, that Ash would never voluntarily return to his childhood home. He was far too kind-hearted to put people he cared for at unnecessary risk.

"How did they know we'd come here?" Ash later asked. They had stopped at yet another gas station for food and gas and a bathroom break. The rest of them stayed outside while Max paid for things inside.

"I think I know the answer to that." Max was suddenly back with them. He grabbed Ash by the arm and began hauling him into the truck. "Get in, quick. Now!"

Ash, for once, did as he was told. Everyone, in fact, climbed in the back of the truck with him. Max was the last and he only sat on the tailgate. He pulled out one of the cheap telephones they'd bought and used it to get onto the internet where he pulled up a news story and handed it to Ash. "That story was on the television in the gas station."

Everyone crowded around to look over Ash's shoulder. Dino Golzine had an Amber Alert out on Ash and made it sound as if he were a concerned, well-meaning adult trying to look out for the best interests of a troubled child. Ash watched the story in silence and when Golzine appeared on screen, asking that Ash return to him, Ash actually turned pale for a moment. He handed the cell phone back to Max and looked at him with deep furrows in his brow. "I think I'm gonna be sick. That's how everyone sees him. They think he's this nice guy trying to help kids. They call him a humanitarian and a philanthropist. God, if they knew what he was really like…"

"Well, we do." Max put the phone in his pocket. "Someone must have seen you around town and alerted Golzine and that's how his men found us. We have to get moving before anyone else comes looking. Sorry, kid, but you're going to have to stay well out of sight for a while. Everyone get comfy. We're headed to California and that's a long ride."

To be continued…