3. Don't you ever do that again
"Where is Eddie?" Danny asked, carefully intonating each word to make sure the mysterious oriental man all dressed in black understood him.
The man just continued to quietly watch him closely, contempt shining in his eyes. They stood staring at each other on either side of the bar desk.
Ash, who was standing next to the man, was getting seriously pissed off. "My friend asked you a question, direct and polite" he said in a serious tone that most people would have found intimidating, while grabbing the oriental mans shirt at his shoulder. "Where is Eddie?"
He had barely asked his question when the man flipped Ash's head against the bar with a loud bang. He then continued to force Ash down on his knees by taking hold of his left hand and bending his wrist in a swift and powerful movement. Ash let out a groan of pain an he felt a sharp twang in his arm.
Everyone was surprised by the chain of events. Stacie felt her breath catch in her throat as the man hurt her dear friend. It felt like everything was passing in slow motion, the seconds dragged out to hours as all she could do was watch Ash get hurt.
The pain was taking its toll on Ash. He was starting to feel light headed. He was barely able to keep thinking straight. But one look at the obviously frightened Stacie gave him powers he didn't know he had inside him.
He could only hear part of the conversation going on around him, the wrist hurt like hell. Suddenly the man let go of him and Ash fell to the floor like a sack of potatoes. Stacie gave out a squeak and had to force herself to stay put on the other side of the bar. The need to help Ash was almost unbearably, but she new it wasn't safe to move.
Two minutes later, the five of them were sitting around a table in the middle of the bar. Ash was massaging his wrist to relieve the dull throbs that were shooting through it. Stacie made herself look away from him, it was the only way she could stay focused on what lay before them. She kept reminding herself that they needed to have their wits about them if they were to get out of this unharmed.
"Which one did this? Boss must eat first." the man said. He was looking at Ash, who was sitting at the far end of the table, as he opened the little box and took a few steps back.
Stacie eyed the contents of the little black box suspiciously, then casting a glance at first Alby and then Ash. She couldn't decipher their looks exactly, but knew that they were scared as well.
"Fugu." Ash commented. This wasn't good news, he knew what the seemingly innocent pieces of fish might be capable of.
"Fugu" the man repeated, still looking directly as Ash. He had obviously decided that Ash was the boss and gave him the evil eye. This made cold shivers run down Stacies back.
Danny had no idea why the others were glancing so hesitantly at the fish. Sushi was all right, wasn't it?
"It's a puffer fish. Parts of the puffer fish contain a neurotoxin potent enough to kill a man in less than a minute." Albert explained.
Ash continued "If it's wrongly prepared, wrongly cut by the chef, so accidentally, the toxin has leached into the flesh. " He was struggling to keep his mind clear. The physical pain and the mental press was making it hard to think. But he knew that it was vital for eveyone to keep calm and focused.
"You're telling me ... that one piece of this fish is poisonous?" he heard Stacie ask. Ash thought her voice was strained and cold, it lacked its usual softness.
"Boss will eat first." the man repeated and kept staring at Ash.
Suddenly Albert decided to bite the bullet. "No, I'm the boss here. And it is me who is responsible for any shame to your father."
"Albert" Stacie said warnigly. She wasn't going to let the teams father figure take any chances lying down. She wasn't going to let any of them take any chances with the fish. She had to think of something.
Ash's mind worked in the same way. He wasn't going to stand idly by while Albert, or any one else, took a risk. Ideally, no one would have to do it. But as they didn't seem to have much choice, he was the one who should make a sacrifice. Alby was the one who always looked out for the rest of them, and the boys and Stacie still had so much before them. He was never going to let anyone harm Stacie. And this way he could make sure she was safe. "He's lyin' I'm the boss."
When the man started swinging his sword, everyone jumped in their seats. They were certain that they were dealing with a crazy lunatic. The man got tired of Danny's nonsense and cut a piece of Stacie's hair before shoving the sword against her cheek and putting preassure on, ever so slightly.
Stacie had never been so scared in her life and Ash was raging inside. It took all his strenght to keep still in his chair, the ache in his arm seemed to suddenly die away. He felt hopeless and powerless. Never had he missed Mickey as much as right now. Mickey always knew what to do. But Mickey was in Australia, they had to figure this one out without him. They had to figure this out for themselves. He had to think of something. Something to save her and the rest of them.
The man took the sward away and Stacie wiped the blood of her pale cheek. Now she was terrified.
Ash was insisting on being next. He stood up from his chair. "We do have honour." he said, doing his best to keep his voice calm. He stared intently into the man's eyes.
"Then show me" came the reply.
Ash looked straight at the man. He looked back at the box on the table and back up at the man. He selected a piece and put it in his mouth. He chewed a few times before swalloing the raw fish.
Stacie watched him reach for his lips before he fell into a heap on the floor. She was paralysed. Next thing she knew, she was on the floor beside her fallen friend. She was sobbing. "My God! Do something!" She stroked his face and looked into his eyes. He was convulsing and shaking in front of her and she could do nothing. He would be dead within two minutes. Tears flooded from her eyes as she held his head and prayed.
Ash held on to her hand on his face. He calmed down and his whole body became limp. He could hear her crying out softly. "Ash. Oh, Ash." He could see in her eyes that she was about to give up. But he could see something else as well, something that she usually hid deep down inside. Love.
He wanted so badly to give her a wink and a smile. To let her know that he was fine. But he had to save them all. And in order to do that, he had to let them all believe he was dead. He knew that he hurt her, but he had to do it for all their sakes.
She kissed him softly on the cheek. He still didn't dare react to her actions, for fear that she might give him away and put them all in jeopardy again.
The man started applauding his performance. Stacie was beside herself with sorrow, but when she heard the clapping all her sadness turned into rage. "Your heartless little shit!" she bellowed at the man.
Ash knew it was game over. The man knew he hadn't died. And he couldn't bear to let Stacie believe he was dead any longer. The pain seething from her whole being was unbearable to him.
"No, it's all right, Stace. It's all right." he suddenly said and opened his eyes. The relief washing over her made her mute. He was alive! Suddenly, she felt very weak. He looked into her eyes and said "He knows."
Stacie helped him sit up on the floor in front of her. She didn't want to let go of him, she needed to feel his warm body against the palm of her hand so that she knew he was still there. With her.
He got up and sat down in one of the arm chairs. She patted him on the back before getting up herself, feeling cold and alone without him close by.
There was two fugu left and the man concentrated on Stacie and Albert. Now that she knew Ash was all right, Stacie became her rational self again. She was sure that they would be able to fight the man and his fish.
***
After a terrifying day, they had all had an early night. But none of them were able to sleep. They were tossing and turning in their beds until vary late in the night.
Stacie wasn't able to take the stillness of her dark room anymore. She felt she had to get out, so she threw the duvet to the end of her bed and climbed out. She put on the violet robe that hang over a chair by the door and tripped into the kitchen on her toes.
She poured some milk into a glass and went through the door to the living room. The dark form sat on the sofa startled her.
"Don't worry, it's only me." came the Ash's voice through the darkness as he moved slightly to make room for her beside him.
She sat down at the far end and put her glass on the table. She wasn't thirsty. She felt herself getting angry with him for the stunt he had played at the bar earlier in the evening.A few hot tears rolled down her pale cheeks and she said angrily "Don't you ever do that again, Ash!"
He moved closer to wipe away her tears and proceeded to draw her into a tight embrace. "I promise." he wispered into her hair. It made his heart heavy to see her like this. He felt that he needed to protect her.
She kept on sobbing quietly against his polo jumper. She couldn't imagine what it would have been like without him. What would they have done if he'd have died? She wasn't sure what she would have done without her friend. Without her Ash. This gave way for a new flood of tears.
He squeezed her more closely to himself and started rubbing her back in soft circles. Her shoulders slumped and she seemed to calm down a bit. "Schh." he said into her hair. "It's all right."
She broke loose from his tight grip just enough to be able to look him directly in the eye. Her red and puffy eyes met his sad, piercing blue ones. "I was so scared." she said, almost being able to control the crying by now.
"I'm sorry, darling." he said, his heart breaking under her gaze. "But I thought I might have a chance of fooling him. I had to try." he said, still rubbing her back.
She nodded. "I know. I would have done the same." she admitted. "But please, never do it again." She looked away from his eyes and down to the wet stain on his beige jumper where she had been crying. She moved away a bit, then curled up her feet under her and let her head rest on his shoulder. She needed to stay close to him, to feel his warmth and his heartbeat under her.
He draped an arm over her again and closed his eyes, happy that she was so close. He had to control his breath to stop his heart from racing. She leaned into him a bit more and took his other hand is both hers. "I need you." she wispered, loud enough for him to barely hear it.
She was soon asleep with his hand in hers and he found it hard to keep awake as well. He drifted on and off into sleep for a while, revelling in the feeling of her beside him.
After some time on the couch, his arm began to ache again. He didn't want to break contact with her, but he needed to get into a more comfortable position. He thought about shifting the pressure off his arm by laying down on the sofa with her beside him. But he didn't want Danny finding them there in the morning. So he had to wake her up.
He tried to get up from under her without her falling over on the sofa, but failed miserably. So he changed tactics and shook her slightly with his free hand. Her eyelids started to flutter and she looked tiredly up at him. "Hi" she said sleepily.
"Hi" he answered. "We can't sleep here all night." She seemed to agree, but then her eyes shut. As he moved her away slightly and stood up, she opened her eyes again. Still keeping hold of her hand, he said softly "Let's get you to bed."
She nodded and made an effort to stand up. He helped the shaky form get up from the couch and led her over the floor towards her bedroom. He gave her hand a quick squeeze and started to let go. "Night, Stace."
But she didn't want to let go of him yet so she held on to his hand. She looked into his eyes and said "You can sleep in my bed."
He had been dreaming about being beside her in bed, sleeping close to her. But he was sure that she was only saying that because she was sleepy and didn't know what to do. "Another night maybe."
She didn't answer, but didn't let him turn and go to his room either. She took a step closer to him and placed a kiss right on his lips. "Thanks." she said simply before letting go of his hand, opening the door and walking away.
He stood there outside her closed door, paralysed, for a few seconds. He suddenly felt cold. Then he smiled broadly as he walked over to his own room. He could still feel his hand tingling from where she had held on to him.
