"Speech"

[Phone/Muffled Speech/TV/Radio/Electronics/Robots]

Labels/Writing/Electronic Messages

Thoughts

A/N: A bit heavy on the gun stuff but I wanted to write this chapter.

Schli-chk

Click

Schli-chk

Click

There was a pause for a moment where I stopped toying with the handgun's slide.

"Okay, slide and hammer still works, trigger pull still kind of sucks..."

Generally as a gun owner, you'll at least want to do some maintenance to your own goods once in awhile...

Testing out some things once or twice never hurts...

Of course ammunition was safely stashed away, so having the gun go off in the middle of the suburban neighborhood in my backyard is the least of my problems.

Although if I keep dry firing this handgun, by racking back the slide then pulling the trigger, the firing pin might snap earlier in its lifespan.

There was a different intention to this.

"Um... Sir...", A random young construction worker asked, and he received a menacing glare from me...

"Could you stop doing that sir? You're scaring the other workers..." the young construction worker hesitantly asked.

Here was my response to him.

Schli-chk

Click

Cruz household - backyard
Day 1 3:00PM

So I remember thinking that this day couldn't get any worse?

Funny that you mention that...

While I understood that the home-stay actually does need furniture, the contract that Agent Wesson 'sold me' with a shining set of shark-teeth allowed for renovations to be done for suitable housing...

"Careful with the bath, union can't cover us for something THIS expensive."

Enlarging bathrooms were pretty standard for most liminal housing projects made sense to me.

"WHAT IN TARTARUS NAME ARE YOU DOING? THAT'S FOR MY ROOM YOU IMBECILES!" Kyu's voice rang in the depths of the house.

Moving in furniture and a couple pieces of gym equipment made sense. Not exactly sure why they didn't hire professional movers, and language barriers for some of those movers can only go so far.

Now why in the world did the concrete lot in the backyard ended up turning into a roofed combat sport gym that rivaled the Wildcard gym back in L.A. , complete with punching/speed bags, that same gym equipment Kyu was yelling about, and floor padding in the middle for 'sparring'...

There's more reasons to be stressed, thanks to that.

Schli-chk

Click

Relax... just relax... I can just use the garage and the rest of the house for family and drinking sessions.

While I was observing the workers, I sat on a cheap mass produced white-lawn chair next to the backdoor entrance. and I was still nitpicking an unloaded handgun for reasons...

Taking a glance at the etchings of my 10 round capacity black polymer pistol (1) to try to keep my mind off the situation,

it read :

XD-9

SPRINGFIELD ARMORY, U.S.A.

MADE IN CROATIA

Where is Croatia anyways?

BEEP BEEP

My thoughts casted aside, I placed the gun back on my lap and fished about for my phone.

An email from Agent Wesson... his game show host voice/salesman voice rang in my head to my utter dismay.

Hey there! You should be receiving a couple of packages today and tomorrow...

1 X Official Documents

1 X Travel Documents

1 X Minotaur Livelihood and Culture: A Detailed Analysis Second Edition

1 X Minotaur General Psychology Eleventh Edition

1 X Minotaur Healthcare First Edition

1 X Interspecies Exhange Act : Laws and Regulations

1 X house warming gift from Kyu's family.

….

1 X pneumatic tranquilizer

1 X box of 15 elephant tranquilizer darts

2 X box of 50 9mm cartridges HST HP 124gr.

Your favorite Agent!

p.s. You're also getting the original host's vehicle for Kyu.

Can't be babysitting you two all the time, especially Kyu!

Okay, I don't know if this supposed to be a shipping manifest, a college syllabus , or my purchase history. Or who the hell writes emails like this.

I don't even know where to start which part of email message to start at...

But a box of those bullets in laymans terms are practically more than a dollar per bullet, whereas the "crap" that I use are 22 cents per bullet... then to add more confusion these handgun cartridges are purely "defensive" loads that are way too expensive for target shooting.

What kind of person would give me that much expensive ammunition? From an law enforcement officer to a civilian like me?

Then there's that tranquilizer gun that also just confuses me...

Same Day

6:00PM

The workers finished their jobs in record time, although it may be argued that it was an influence of a relatively pissed gun-owner host, and an equally infamous liminal that just recently got away with hospitalizing a human.

This left the both of us sitting inside a front-side open garage waiting for a couple of packages with me sitting on another plastic white lawn chair, and Kyu preferred to stand in the during this wait.

"So uh... What's in the housewarming gift from your parents?", I lazily asked Kyu as I slouched back in my chair.

"Oh um... j-just some things", her face tinted a slight pink as she stuttered.

"Really? Like what?", I pressed a little further.

A moment of silence randomly filled the gap but then Kyu broke that silence.

"Do you want me to give you more than those broken ribs... Wife?" with her deathly glare aimed at me.

"Fine, fine, fine... fucking shit sorry for asking." the last part was lowly mumbled to avoid her from recognizing.

"It would still help, if you actually talk to me instead of threatening me." my lips continued on...

Suddenly, a quick inhale and exhale through Kyu's nose was heard, as if she was intentionally holding back...

"What do you want to know?"

"Lets start off with a little game... It's called two truths and a lie..."

"More LYING?" Kyu's voice raised a little.

My hands raised up in reaction

"It's just a fun game nothing foul!" my voice trying to calm Kyu down.

"Whatever... you start..." as her arms crossed and acted as she didn't pay attention.

"Let's see... you'll have to guess which one of these is the lie"

"Whatever." with that same level of not giving a shit for me...

"Okay I uh..."

Common Antonio...Maybe she'll care a little.

"My parent's don't care for me..." as I said for the first line...

"I have 'some background' with a gang" for the second line... she'll probably ignore that.

"And... I think you're really cool."

Her face suddenly received a similar pinkish tint again, to my own surprise...

Score one for cheesiness, see you in Wisconsin.

She really looks easier to get along with if she wasn't out to kick my ass all the time.

Way more cuter in addition to those stubby horns of her... God dammit why am I doing that again?

"Y-you really think so?" her voice staggered with a harder emphasis.

"Iunno, maybe that was the lie..."

Before she was about to respond, a delivery truck came by and got my attention...

"Hey that's the truck... and..." , I called out.

I gave an exasperated sigh as I stared towards the ceiling of the garage. Luckily that package wasn't for our house.

"And hes just throwing a package without regard again, so Kyu, the lie really was..."

Tunnel vision is a bad thing, maybe everyone sneaks too well or I'm just this easy to sneak around.

"Kyu?" In panic, I was looking around the garage to see where she went all of a sudden.

THUD

My head turned to the direction the sound came from.

A fist-sized gaping hole was violently placed at the side of the delivery truck by her's truly.

"PLEASE, M'AM I'VE HAD A LONG DAY, PLEASE DON'T HURT ME!" a cowering delivery-man in the driver's seat of his vehicle pleaded.

"YOU THINK YOU CAN JUST DO THAT TO OTHER PEOPLE'S PACKAGES, WHAT IF THAT WAS MY PACKAGE, WOULD YOU STILL DO THAT!?"

I broke out of my sitting position in full sprint over to the situation that took place in the middle of the suburban asphalt street.

Not the way I kind of way wanted her to deal with that that but, she really does have some good intentions...

A/N: (1) California legal mag capacity, 10 rounds... Oh well. 2 Chapter Update!

REVIEWS

Hazmat Dude : I'm always okay with improving. Always thankful for your support

Some guy: Glad you enjoyed it.

Zulu Cthulhu : Not all government agents are to be trusted, but at the same time they have the personnel, just not the equipment of the Japanese branch. You know what they say... bureaucracy.

Natron77 : I'm pretty eager to see where this goes too!

More reviews are always appreciated. If something feels off, be sure to give a shout. I'm still just a humble writer learning a style.