A Night in the Life Of…

Techrat & Clash

First Date

By Nick Maro

"So after all her trying, my little cousin Constance is finally a Misfit," the young blonde woman, Video said opening her door. She looked down at her younger cousin carrying a heavy box up the stairs.

Clash looked around the box and glared at her cousin. "Ha-friggin'-ha. Help me out here! This box weighs a damn ton," she said with a strained breath. Video propped the door open wide and took one end of the box. "Thanks, Vivian. I have a very good feeling about this, y'know."

Slowly backing up the few remaining stairs and into the house, Clash and Video rested the box in the living room. "Okay I admit it, Clash," Video said breathing heavy. "You're better than me. You didn't have to go to such extreme measures to prove it. How did you lift that box on your own?"

"Leverage and I lifted with my knees," Clash explained opening the box. "As I was saying though Cuz, I have a good feeling about moving in with you. Now I can steal your spotlight daily." Clash laughed softly at her little joke. Video rolled her eyes and sighed. "Oh lighten up, Viv. I'm kidding."

Video sat next to Clash and helped her unpack the box of electronics. "I know you are. Just still bugs me that you're not as serious about your work as you should be," she told her cousin point-blank.

Clash stopped pulling out some equipment and looked at her cousin dead in the eye. "That's such bullshit! I'm a very hard worker! You don't know what you're talking about, Vivian. Ever since David gave me a chance, I've been busting my ass off. This is one of the few times I've had off by choice. All the other times David or Techrat had to tell me to take a break. I'm happy, I'm dedicated and I'm working hard." She snapped at her older cousin while repacking her equipment.

"That was the reaction I was hoping for. It tells me that you are dedicated and proud of what you're doing. Sorry that I had to test you like that," Video apologized.

Slowly, Clash started taking everything back out. She looked at her cousin, confused. "Are you sure you're not somehow related to David? That was something he would've done to test a person. Infuriating as hell, but effective. Guess I'm still not used to people treating me with respect. Sorry I snapped like I did, it's just how passionate I am about my job. I'm really damn good at it," Clash said in a softer tone.

Now helping her cousin, Video took out the electronic equipment and stacked it where she told her. "I, for one, am glad that you're happy. You always were a very good sound and video technician. I would've asked you much sooner to move in, but I wanted to make sure that you were serious. After that whole fiasco with the sale of Gabor Industries, I knew you were. There is one thing I forgot all about though." Video had a sideways grin.

"What's that?" Clash asked pulling out a few bundles of wires.

"Your sense of humor. God, I'm gonna hear bad jokes everyday now," Video said starting to laugh.

Clash stared at her, and then smirked. "And I have to deal with you being so serious and a tightass," she countered. Video stopped laughing and looked at Clash. She looked at her cousin and felt her herself staring to break into a wide smile. They each shared a laugh together.

"So this is the infamous Rat's Lair, huh Techrat-luv," a young British woman said as she walked through the door.

"Cyberia, I bid you welcome," Techrat greeted her.

Cyberia snorted. "Techrat, I told you in me email. Call me Stevie. Cyberia is just my web design name. I feel weird bein' called that in person. I still don't know your real name, luv," she told him looking around his workshop. "Cor, the computers I could build 'ere," she said in a quiet, amazed whisper.

"Sorry, force of habit to call you that. As for my name, I'd rather not say for personal reasons. My parents and I don't get along. So you don't need to hear it," he told her quietly. "We better go pick up Clash. Don't want to miss all of the expo."

"Can't poke I around a little longer? You always said that you're workplace was amazin'. I just thought you were braggin'. Now I see why you were. Where do you get all of your stuff?" Stevie asked looking but not touching anything as Techrat had requested.

Techrat sat on his workstation stool. "I get all of my equipment from this junkyard. It's owned by some technology firm; Arbco or something like that. Anyway, this is where they throw all of their broken or unused equipment. To be honest only a fraction of it is broken. Who am I to complain? They allow me to stay here and build my gadgets. The guy who runs this place, Fred, is an alright guy. So, that's my big secret. I rebuild junk into working devices." He mindlessly fiddled with a gizmo.

"I noticed there was an awful lot of unused pieces here. I might have to stay a few extra days and see what I can build here. That is, if you don't mind," she asked looking at a monitor.

"Not at all, the next few days I'm going to be busy at Misfits Music. We're starting on the new album soon and I have to begin the plans for their tour. Just don't mess with the stuff I've built. They're very fragile," Techrat said starting to lead her out the door. "Now, let's go pick up my friend Clash and get to that expo." Stevie finally followed Techrat out the door. They drove off and waved to Fred as they passed him.

Clash poked her head out of her doorway. She didn't see Video anywhere. "Video! I have a slight problem," she yelled.

"What is it?" Video asked coming to Clash's new room.

"Ummm, no place for my bed," Clash said slightly embarrassed. "I have too much stereo and electronics parts in here. Could I store some of it in the basement or maybe make a sound lab down there?"

Video slowly shook her head. "Alright, you can make a sound lab down there. Been meaning to do something with it anyway. Maybe you can help me with Jem's new sound. Aja called me the other day and said they're going to see how Kimber's songs sound without keyboards," Video said thoughtfully. She started to walk away then stopped. Video turned back to her cousin with a glint in her eye. "I just had a great idea! I feel so stupid for not thinking of it before. How would you like to form a recording and production studio?"

Clash looked at her cousin confused for a moment, realization set in a few seconds later. "Y'know, I love that idea. Would you mind if I ask Techrat join?"

"I don't mind. He can design our audio and video equipment. He may be creepy, but I can't deny his genius," Video told Clash. The doorbell rang and she went to answer it. "Speak of the devil, hi Techrat. Clash and I were just talking about you." She led Techrat and Stevie into the living room. "Have a seat. Anything I can get you two anything to drink?" Video offered. They declined the offer and sat down. "I'll tell Clash you're here." She started turning around, then turned back to Stevie. "Where are my manners? I'm Vivian Montgomery, Clash's cousin."

Stevie shook Video hand. "I'm Stevie Blackwell. Nice to meet you, Vivian," Stevie said with a smile. "Hey, I know that name. You're Video, aren'cha? Yeah, I've seen your work. Amazin' stuff it is."

"Why thank you, Stevie. I'll go get Clash." Video said leaving the room. She returned a few minutes later with Clash following close behind.

Clash smiled at Techrat and made a confused face at Stevie. "Hi, Techie I thought it was just you and me going to the expo," she asked with a hint of jealousy.

"Hi, I'm Stevie Blackwell a friend of Techrat's. I'm sorry if I'm intruding on a date or anythin'. Techrat invited me along when he knew I was goin' to be in town," she apologized.

"Oh sorry, he didn't tell me. No big deal, I'd be happy if you joined us," Clash said with an embarrassed smile. "Wait, you're Cyberia, aren't you? Argh! He did tell me you would be joining us." She turned towards Techrat an annoyed look in her eye. "Why didn't you say her name was Stevie?"

Techrat stood and started walking to the door. "I was so used to calling her Cyberia that I just simply didn't think about it. Are you ready Clash?" he asked impatiently.

"Yeah, I'm ready. You're awfully impatient today, Techie. Let me grab my stuff first," Clash said running to her room and grabbing her money, then rejoining her friends. "'Kay, I'm set. I'll be home late, Viv. Don't wait up."

"Okay, Clash. Have fun and be careful. Bring some flyers on some of the new video cameras." Video waved as Clash and Techrat got into Stevie's rental car. She watched them drive off.

Inside the car, Clash leaned forward a bit from the backseat. "Techrat, Video and I are starting up a sound and video production company. We were wondering if you'd like to be a part of it. I'm sure you could design some wonderful gadgets for us. What do you say?" she asked hoping he'd say yes.

Techrat thought about it and replied almost right away. "Yes. I think I would like that, an outside project from Misfits Music." He turned to Stevie. "You're a top web designer. How would you like to design the web site?" As an afterthought, he turned back to Clash. "That is, if you don't mind her doing that."

"I don't mind if she does. I've seen her work. It's great! We just have to get Video to agree to this," Clash told him. "Stevie, what do you say?"

Stevie looked at Clash in the rearview mirror. "I'm sure I can squeeze you into me already hectic schedule. I'll also throw in me special discount, half off me usual fee. How's that sound?" she asked in her pleasant English accent.

"Great," Clash said with a smile. "Now we just need a name. I'm open to suggestions here."

"That's something we figure out later, Clash," Techrat said rolling his window down a crack. "Stevie, we're meeting up with Katja at the expo, right?"

Stevie pulled into her hotel parking lot and found a space. "Yeah, I'm just glad we booked a hotel near the center. It's a nice day to walk anyway. I just want to pop into me room and grab me laptop." She led them into the air conditioned building. "Katja should still be in the room. She gets up late all the bloody time," Stevie said in the elevator. The doors opened and they walked to Stevie's room. She invited them in and she grabbed her personal laptop computer. Katja left a note saying what time to meet her at. "Alright let's go, mates."

"So who's Katja, Stevie?" Clash asked exiting the elevator after riding it down to the lobby.

"Katja is my girlfriend."

Clash missed a step but kept walking. "Oh, I didn't know you were a lesbian."

Stevie lightly giggled. "I'm not a lesbian, luv. I'm bisexual. I just happened to have fallen in love with a woman. Life is strange at times," she said obviously unoffended, but very amused.

"That's very true, Stevie." Clash glanced over at Techrat. "Life is strange at times." She moved next to Techrat and took his hand in hers. She smiled when he didn't reject her hand. They walked hand in hand to the expo center.

They each paid their own way and entered. The hall was packed with electronics and computer goods. Techrat smiled wide as he looked around. Clash started to feel a touch claustrophobic. Stevie smiled at both Clash and Techrat. "Okay, here's what Katja and I usually do at conventions and expos. If we get separated, we set a time and place to meet at. I think we should do that ourselves."

"Sounds like a good idea to me. How about we meet at two by the wax guard near the main doors?" Clash proposed. Techrat and Stevie nodded their agreement. Clash took Techrat's hand again and started pushing their way through the crowd. "Feel like a damn sardine in here."

About ten minutes into the convention Clash got separated from Techrat and lost sight of Stevie. She slowly walked from booth to booth, looking at the products the various companies had on display. Clash reached for a pamphlet and grazed the hand of a young woman. "Excuse me," Clash said quietly letting the other woman get one first.

"It's all right," a familiar light German accented voice came from next to her.

Clash slowly looked up at the young woman. She recognized her instantly. "Oh. It's you," Clash said coolly. The ravishing blonde woman turned to face her. "I'll leave this booth to you, Minx." Clash started pushing her way to the next booth.

"Wait up," Minx called to her. "I'm here on my own, Clash." She caught up to her and put her hand on her shoulder to slow Clash down. "Wait a minute. I'm not here to start any trouble. It's just a coincidence that we've run into each other. I'm here to see what new instruments I can build for the Stingers. That's all. Please, I'd like it if you joined me."

Clash stood in the middle of the aisle thinking. She wasn't sure if she could trust Minx. "damn you, david." she said under her breath. She shook her head in disbelief in what she was going to say next. "Oh, all right. David always says to accept the hand of friendship. But you stab me in the back; I'll make you regret you ever did. Got that?" she warned the German blonde.

Minx nodded her head. "Don't worry. I won't. I come to this show every year. It's my personal time away from the Stingers and time to myself. Now, will you join me?"

"Yeah sure, I kinda got separated from Techrat and our friend Stevie. Not used to this kind of environment. How do you handle it?" Clash asked as they walked from booth to booth.

"You grow used to it. Just be polite and others will return it," Minx explained while keeping close to Clash. "So how are you finding Techrat and your friend?"

"I'm meeting them at two near the front of the building."

Minx and Clash walked in silence for awhile. "I'm getting hungry, Clash. Join me in the food court?"

Clash's stomach was growling its agreement. "Okay, I haven't eaten since breakfast." Together they made their way to the cafeteria. Clash walked to the vending machines. "What do you want? My treat."

After getting their food, Clash and Minx found a table and sat down. "Oooh, feels good to sit," Minx purred. "This is the one thing about expo's that I hate. Sore feet and back pain. Anyway, how are the Misfits doing? I couldn't believe that stunt Kevin Ross pulled. I'm not innocent or anything, but I still wouldn't ever do something like that."

"What about the false Evelyn Gabor stunt? Like that wasn't the same thing?" Clash asked after swallowing her bite of sandwich.

"Not really. Riot just wanted to punish David for breaking his nose. And Eric just wanted to break the Misfits up. I really don't know why though," Minx explained. "If it means anything to you, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you. I just wanted to help hurt David."

Clash thought about what Minx had just said. She finished her sandwich. "I can't accept your apology. David is my friend who's put his life on the line more than once for the Misfits. If you can't apologize for what you've done to him also, then I can't accept the one to me. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to meet my friends," Clash said feeling her temper rising at the thought of the pain she went through the past few months.

"Minx, I do think you mean well today. You've been very nice to me. I like you, but I can't be your friend. Not now. I hope you enjoy the rest of the expo and find what you need. Take care of yourself." Before Minx could answer she turned and left the room. She climbed the stairs to the main floor and smiled when she saw Techrat standing there waiting.

"Enjoying yourself?" he asked in his quiet way.

"For the most part yes, I ran into Minx. She was actually very pleasant to be around. Anyway, where's Stevie?" Clash asked joining him near the wax guard.

"Lost sight of her inside. It's easy to get lost in there. But I did get a lot of brochures," Techrat said and adjusted the bag in his hand. "Free computer disks too. So where is Minx at?"

"I kind of went off on her in the cafeteria. God, I feel like such a bitch now. She tries being my friend and I yell at her." Clash slumped her shoulders. Techrat slowly put his arm around her shoulders to comfort her. She leaned into him and kept an eye out for Stevie.

Stevie came running up to them. "There you two are! You're missin' all of the fun!" she said with a big smile. She then noticed the look on Clash's face. "What's the matter, luv? Not havin' any fun?"

"No, just don't feel good. I'm going to head home, Techrat. Spend some time with Stevie. I'll see you tonight, okay?" Clash said giving him a small hug. She turned to Stevie. "Sorry to rain on the party. But I just don't feel like being here. But it was wonderful to meet you. Techrat can give you my email address. Talk to you soon." She hugged Stevie and left the expo center. She got on the bus and headed back to her new home.

Clash was moving some of her sound equipment to the basement when David called. He wanted her and Techrat to show up for a meeting at Misfits Music. Clash texted Techrat and left a voice message. Stevie dropped Techrat off at Clash's place after the expo. Techrat and Clash drove to Misfits Music together in Clash's car. The weather was on the radio. "…and thunderstorms are expected to be moving in from the southwest later this evening or early tomorrow morning." Clash turned off the radio.

"Sounds like Stormer and Kimber will get hit first with that storm," Clash casually commented. "So how was the expo?"

Techrat put Clash's laptop on his lap. "It was pretty nice. I wish you would've stayed. Katja was asking about you." He watched the city lights streak by.

"What do you say after the meeting we go head down to the beach and start a fire? Just sit and talk. I can tell you about Mulberry and you can tell me a little about yourself," she suggested. Techrat agreed and Clash pulled into the parking garage.

Once parked, they got out and started across the newly erected skywalk. Techrat suggested they take the stairs up rather than the elevator. They climbed up the flights of stairs to David's floor and walked to his office. "We're not late are we?" Clash asked.

The meeting began and Stormer handed Clash a flash drive. Techrat gave Clash her laptop after pulling it out of its carrying case. She booted up her system and viewed the contents on the drive. It was new sheet music. "No notes for saxophones on here," Techrat said quietly. "But it looks like the notes for drums have replaced them." Clash nodded and opened another file.

"Okay, this has notes for drums again but no keyboards," she said confused. Clash looked up at Stormer and motioned her over. "Okay, what's going on here?" she whispered.

"A whole new sound," Stormer said as equally as quiet. "If things go right, I'll be taking up guitar and dropping keyboards. Pizzazz wants a harder edge to our sound. So I'm giving her that."

Clash heard David asking her opinion on Jetta switching instruments. "We should lay down a few test tracks first and see if it sounds good. I can't judge it on theory. Sorry," Clash said shrugging and started shutting down her computer. Once it was shut down Techrat took it and put its carrying case.

David asked Roxy what she thought. For a woman who was just daydreaming, she caught on pretty fast. She said roughly the same thing Clash just had. David then called the meeting to a close. Clash and Techrat made their way down the stairs to the skywalk. They were walking to Clash's car when someone honked at them, startling Techrat. It was Pizzazz in her van. Clash and Techrat waved as she drove past. They both climbed into Clash's car and headed to the beach discussing the new music ideas Stormer had.

Techrat listened to Clash tell him about her childhood. It was so much different from his. "So, now that I've told you about my childhood, it's your turn," Clash said with a big smile.

Techrat poked at the small fire they had built. "My name is Terry Peters. I was born in a small village a few miles outside of Naga on the isle of Luzon in the Philippines. I was adopted by a rich American family days after I was born. I grew up in Beverly Hills. When I was two years old I was reading preschool books. It wasn't until I was five when my true genius started to show. I was reading at a fourth grade level then. The doctors my parents took me to see called me a child prodigy. All I knew was that I was a smart five year old. I wanted to play with other kids my age.

"I was put into home tutoring until I was ten years old. I was then allowed into a local high school. I was in every honors class. It was at this age I got interested in electronics and building things. I graduated high school very quickly. My parents were thrilled that they could raise such a smart third world child. I never knew they said that until later, part of the reason why I don't talk to them.

"At fifteen I graduated from MIT with honors. My parents wanted me to take an IQ test. I refused. I knew I was a genius and didn't need a number to prove it. Besides, it would have only given my parents one more thing to brag about. When I turned eighteen, I left home. I didn't need my parents anymore. I never cared for their money. I just wanted to create new gizmos and gadgets. I may have lost my childhood, but I gained a love for technology. The friends I had were few and far in-between. In fact, the Misfits are the longest I've had a friend. I'm still adjusting to it," he said watching the fire dance.

Clash watched at Techrat for a moment and then sat closer to him. "How'd you meet Eric anyway?" she asked putting an arm around him.

He put his around her and looked up. "Oh, in an internet ad. He needed an engineer and I responded. No big deal," he said quietly.

"Do you still talk with your parents?"

Techrat tensed at that. "No. I was just another object for them to show off to their rich friends. They didn't even try to stop me when I left."

Clash kissed him on the cheek. "I'm sorry to hear that. At least you have friends like the Misfits and me. We all care about you, Terry. Especially me," she said with a little smile.

A clap of thunder sounded over head and they both looked up as drops of rain started falling. "Thank you, Constance. Do me a favor and don't tell anyone about my name or anything. It's my past that I want buried," he asked quietly.

"Okay. And thank you for letting me in just a little," she told him standing up and brushing the sand off her bottom. "We should get going."

Techrat stood and hugged Clash close. "No hurry. The rain won't kill us." They walked back in the rain to Clash's car. Once there, Clash open Techrat's door for him. She gave him a hug. After a moment she turned and kissed him on the lips. She melted when he returned it.

CONTINUED IN

A NIGHT IN THE LIFE OF… ROXY

A NIGHT IN THE LIFE OF… DAVID & KIMBER

A NIGHT IN THE LIFE OF… PIZZAZZ & STORMER

A NIGHT IN THE LIFE OF… JETTA

STORIES CAN BE READ IN ANY ORDER!