Disclaimer: If I had a million dollars… it still wouldn't be enough to make
them mine. So until I have enough, I've only borrowed. Don't sue me.
Comments: Yay! It's Black Gold Chapter 4. And there is much rejoicing. At least… I hope that there is. I have a confession to make… this was mostly done like… almost four weeks ago *dodges rotten fruit and stuff*. But…!! But it wasn't quite right, so I had to fix it. It just took me a while to get there. Sorry. See I actually wrote this chapter before I wrote chapters 2 and 3, I don't know why… that's just how it happened. So yeah. Anway, again this isn't a very plotful chapter, just some stuff happening. Trudging out of the desert and all that. So, enjoy for what it's worth. Review, please!! *brandishes vile looking halibut harpoon* You don't want this lodged between your eyes….
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Another car whizzes by. Aya drops his arm at his side and keeps on walking. I trudge after him, watching his backside in the nearly pitch black night. Good thing he's wearing white. Although with all we've been through in the past few hours he'd be hard pressed to prove it.
"Ayan!?" I call despondently.
"Don't call me that," he growls over his shoulder.
I roll my eyes and curl my lip. "Fine, -Aya-kun- ?"
"Hn?"
"What do you think she slipped us?"
He shrugs and rattles off some chemical compound sounding thing.
"In a language I understand…?"
"A drug, Ken. A knockout pill. Most likely in our drinks. Trust Youji to pick out the good ones," he hisses under his breath.
I shuffle closer to him. "Aya wait a second," I call, reaching out and catching his shoulder. He halts, feet crunching on the roadside gravel as he pivots to look at me. His face is streaked with dust and dirt and I know mine looks much the same. Getting untied from on another took feats of assassin like agility I didn't even know I had. My wrists are raw from the effort and my ribs hurt. Aya-kun wasn't exactly mister encouraging either. 'Ken, would you stop squirming… try to use what little grace you possess here and help me get us out of this!' was the best he could manage.
He looks down at me, narrow, indigo eyes glaring at me with hostile intent. "What?" he snaps.
Trying not to balk at his sharp tone I reach out and take his wrist in my hands, gently working over the raw rope burns with my thumbs. I look up at him and then lower my eyes slightly. "Are you mad at me?"
His posture changes, his shoulder angling forward, hips relaxing, muscles loosening. He sighs. "Why would I be mad at you?" he mumbles.
"I don't know, but you seem angry…."
"Of course I'm angry!" he cries, body tensing again. "I just woke up in the desert, tied to my boyfriend after being drugged by a psychopathic, Texan bitch, and then had to trudge through the desert in the freezing cold for two hours until we found this damn road… which we don't even know to be the one that leads back to Middle of Fuckin' Nowhere, Texas. I'm far from home, far from my country, in a place that doesn't speak my language, on a mission that has no merit whatsoever, and now you're all covered in dirt and bruises. So yeah, I'm a little pissed in general."
I look up at him and raise an eyebrow. "So you aren't mad at me?"
"No!"
"You're sure?"
"Yes, but I'm gonna be if you don't quit asking," he snaps jerking his hand away and turning back around, continuing his trek into the darkness.
I don't move. "You can be such an ass. You don't care how I feel, do you? You don't care that we could have been fucked up, or fucked with, or just plain fucked, do you?!" I shout at his back as it fades into the blackness of the night. He stops and looks up at the stars. Then he looks over at me.
"Of course I care, Kenken, but there isn't much we can do about it now except get our asses back to town, and hope to God that Youji and Omi haven't met the same fate in some desert elsewhere," he says throwing his hands up and sighing.
"I'm not too worried about Youji, it's probably a wet dream as far as he's concerned," I grumble.
Aya turns and keeps on walking. "Most likely."
I hear a car coming. "Car coming," I call.
Aya sticks his thumb out again.
"This is so stupid!" I cry. I rub my wrists where they were bound earlier. I try to remember exactly how we got ourselves into this and how we ended up in the desert, but I don't really remember much after the line dancing. It's all just a bunch of blurred images, the lingering feel of truck bed, ropes…. That's probably a good thing. I'd hate to be scarred for life.
"Yeah, well. Not much we can do about it. Stupid as it may be, that girl must have one fucked up psyche. She probably believes that by humiliating us she is somehow exercising her feminine libido and 'getting back' at all the men who have sexually oppressed her, where in actuality all she has accomplished is to further degrade herself. The best thing we can do is to act like it never happened. She wants us to be cowed," he says a length. "Too bad that we're gay."
"Yeah, for sure. How do we know it was just the one? What if the other femme fatales were in on this too? Maybe they always hang around sleazy motels just looking to pick up guys, drug them, and dump them in the desert. Maybe they're lesbians… maybe they get off on it. If that's the case I guess Youji alone probably makes up for us and Omi too for that matter."
Aya grins at me over his shoulder. He reaches out his hand and beckons me to catch up. I jog to his side, taking his hand in mine. There is something so indescribably wonderful about holding the hand of the person you love… his warm fingers close around mine, and he draws my hand up to his face, kissing it lightly. I smile at him in the darkness. It's not so bad. We've been in situations a million times worse than this. If we're lucky we'll get a ride sooner or later, if we're not we'll have to walk all night. No big deal. At least we're together. Yeah I know… no clichés, but sometimes I can't help myself.
That car I heard passes us by. I sigh and grumble audibly. I hope Omi didn't get raped by those girls… that would be truly scaring for the poor kid.
Time slips away. Aya and I take turns trying to flag down a ride. It's going on mind morning when a busted up pick-up truck comes roaring towards us. It screeches to a halt and Youji sticks his head out the diver side window. "There you guys are. I've been tearing down every highway out of this town looking for you since I woke up this morning! Quick get it!"
Aya and I exchange glances, we know that pickup truck. I'm pretty sure I spent a small portion of the previous evening tied up in its truck bed.
"Youji where did you get that truck? And where is our rental car?" Aya asks skeptically.
"Huh? Blaise let me borrow it, the car is in the shop… I think that guy Ken punched in the face during the line dance slashed our tires," he answers motioning for us to hurry up.
We exchange another glance. "Blaise?" I ask raising an eyebrow.
"Yeah, we only spent the evening with her and her friends," Youji answers.
"Oh, would those be the same friends that drugged us and dropped us in the desert?" I ask flatly.
"Yeah… that would be them, well… one of them. Look just get in the car. Blaise is really sorry about the whole thing, so just get in the truck and I'll explain on the way back to the hotel. We've gotten a tape from Manx," Youji says in exasperation.
Tape from Manx? Maybe we get to go home! We book it for the truck. We squeeze in besides Youji and he does a U-y, tearing down the flat, empty highway. That's gonna leave tire marks….
"Ok, first explain about Blaise and then tell us about this tape," I say hurriedly.
"Ok, fine. Well the way Blaise explained it this isn't the first time her friend… er… Charlotte has done this. Seems she's a bit unbalanced and watched 'Thelma and Louise' a few too many times when she was a little kid, just be glad she didn't dive you guys off a cliff or something. She didn't take her meds last night, of course they didn't know that till this morning, but yeah she drugged your drinks and then drove you into the desert and left you there. And if you were worried about it… she didn't rape you or anything. She just has this thing with abducting guys and… ditching them weird places, I guess. Blaise said she won't remember any of it, so… yeah. Sorry guys."
I roll my eyes. "Just great. And I thought they were –all- unbalanced. What a relief it was just the one chick," I say sarcastically. "Where's Omi?"
Youji looks over at us a bit sheepishly. "Uh… to tell you the truth I was a little surprised he wasn't trudging along with you two. I got a little…er… preoccupied with Blaise. In short… I haven't seen him since you two disappeared from the honky-tonk."
"What?!" Aya shouts. "You lost track of Omi-kun? With the 'unbalanced' Charlotte still at large?"
"She isn't at large any more. Blaise gave her her meds this morning. She's fine. He's probably with the other one… Brandy… or whatever," Youji says, covering his tracks.
"This is just great," I mumble. "Well at least we weren't used for sex after all. I can stop feeling dirty now."
There is an awkward silence that ensues until Youji flicks on the radio. Nothin' but country for miles around.
"My woooman left meee! My dog done up and ran awaaaaay! I got the bluuuues, baby, come home to staaaay!"
I lean forward and turn it back off with a savage twist of my wrist. "I can't take any more of that sappy, whiney crap."
Youji raises his hands. "Excuuse me."
"Tell us about this tape from Manx," Aya interjects.
Youji takes a deep breath and rubs his nose. "Well I don't really know. It isn't postmarked; it was just kinda under the door when I stumbled back in early this morning. It just said, 'Kritiker Business: attn Wei(' I didn't think I should open it without everybody being there. Then Blaise and Charlotte came in with their little, 'your friends are probably wandering down the highway right now' confession. So I asked to borrow the truck and came to get you guys. If we're lucky Omi will be back when we get there."
"Right."
We're not lucky. Omi is nowhere in sight.
We try to act normal. There is nothing left to do but sit awkwardly around the room. Looks like the mission plan is postponed….
I'm seriously worried. Aya tries to comfort me, but that's my best friend out there in the clutches of some potential Texan madwoman, if the company she keeps is any indicator.
Another morning waiting to see if Omi has been raped. I hate Texas.
I stand by the window and press my brow to the cool glass. Aya stands beside me and pats my back before going to flop on the bed. Suffice to say we didn't get much sleep last night.
Then there he is. Wandering up the road carrying something in his arms. It looks suspiciously like what he was carrying in them yesterday. "He's coming," I say flatly.
Aya shifts on the bed and Youji only snorts, but the tension level has dropped dramatically. I sigh.
I open the door and wait for Omi in the door frame. He smiles at me dreamily and walk past me. "Ohayou, Kenken," he chirps. "The donut place was on the way so I stopped to get breakfast again. Hope you guys don't mind."
He walks into the room, a wistful smile plastered on his face, and sets the box of donuts and the coffee cups down on the table.
"Mind? I'm starving," Youji pipes up.
"Youji!" I snap and then turn to Omi. "Are you okay, Omittchi. After what happened to Aya and me we were worried that you'd been abducted and raped or something by one of those psycho chicks!"
Omi looks over at me a bit dazedly and giggles behind his hand. "Oh, no it wasn't anything like that, Ken. After all rape is nonconsensual."
Say what?! Exsqueeze me? Three pairs of eyes fix on him intently and there is much gaping. We wait for him to elaborate, to clear up exactly what he might be getting at, but he doesn't. He just flips open the donut box and grabs one. "Oh, crème filled."
I shake my head and mutter, "I don't want to know. I just don't want to know."
Youji starts to laugh out loud and Aya just grumbles and turns over on the bed, pulling a pillow up over his head. I grab a donut and then join him. Some serious naptime is in order. But it's so frickin' hot in here! How can people live like this? I want Kyoto… air-conditioning… bleh.
Amazingly enough Youji and Omi let us sleep. I have a really weird dream about living on a ship. Ugh. I don't like boats. I don't like Texas even more.
It's late afternoon when I finally wake up. I'm the last to do so. Aya is munching on a rather stale looking apple fritter in a chair by the table. Omi is simply lying on his back staring at the ceiling, smiling. I don't want to know.
I stretch and rub at my eyes with the back of my hand. I get up off the bed and walk over to Aya, sitting down on his lap and wrapping my arms around his neck. "Ooh, you've showered," I say softly, smelling his hair.
"You haven't."
I take the hint and stand up, sniffing myself. "I don't smell that bad," I say defensively.
"Oh, no not that bad. Certainly nothing like a guy who spent the night in a bar and then tied up in the back of a Ford and then wandering around sweating in the desert."
"Shut up."
He grins at me. "Make me."
"Ooh, feisty…."
"Ok, stop it, both of you. I'm trying to keep my donuts down," Youji drawls from his perch on the bed beside Omi. He's flipping through magazines. Ten bucks says they're dirty. "I don't want to have to think about what clean Aya and stinky Ken can do to each other in the sack, so Ken go take a shower so we can watch that goddamned tape."
We glare at him for a moment and then I shrug my shoulders. "Fine, be that way."
I trudge into the bathroom and close the door soundly behind me. I don't smell bad… do I? Oh well. No use fighting it. All in all the shower is a welcome thing. It takes away some of the tension lying in the back of a Ford and walking uncounted miles has caused. I must shower for longer than I realize because when I walk back into the motel room I get looks from everyone.
"Jesus, Ken, we said that you stink, but you didn't have to disinfect yourself," Youji says sarcastically.
"Oh shut it!" I snap, "At least it's not our water bill I'm running up."
"Amen," Aya mutters as he gets up and begins to unwrap the tape shaped package. Out comes (big surprise) a tape and what appear to be four airline tickets.
My eyes light up. "Ohh! Do we get to go home?!" I cry, pouncing on Aya.
"I don't think so. Unless 'Alaska Airlines' is going to take us back to Japan," Aya growls holding up the tickets. I groan. "Let's just watch the tape."
He pops it into the player and after some initial confusion over whether the TV had to be on channel 3 or channel 4 we get it and the familiar silhouette of the man himself comes onto the screen in a blur of static. "Good evening, gentlemen."
Omi snickers, "It isn't even evening."
We all glare at him. He shrugs and goes back to watching.
"We've been monitoring your progress. Good job with the data collection on Global Oil. We have received a tip that all three of the targets, Shiro Ano, Abdul Al Sidiki, and Jerome Sanchez are gathering in their North Slope head quarters for a company review period. In light of this new information we've decided that it is imperative that Wei( follow this lead and destroy the targets immediately rather than stay in your current position and destroy facilities. A Kritiker demolition team will be sent in to finish the job you began in Texas. Included with this tape are four airline tickets to Fairbanks, Alaska. You will have a two day layover in Seattle, Washington. You will be contacted by another Kritiker agent there. He will give you the rest of your instructions and your remaining travel arrangements. Good luck. Hunters of the night…." *ZAP*
Youji brandishes the remote control. "If I have to hear him say that one more time, there's going to be a murder suicide… mine and his," he says curling a lip. I think we all pretty much feel the same way.
We stare at the now blank TV. Alaska?! The North Slope?!
"So wait, let me get this straight…," I begin. "We came all the way to Texas and went through all this crap for… nothing?! We've been here for three days of pure hell and now Kritiker doesn't even want us to complete the mission here?! Argh!!"
Omi looks over at me, "I wouldn't say it was for –nothing-. Good donuts anyway."
I glare at him. "You didn't get dumped in the desert by a psycho chick," I grumble.
He nods. "True."
Again we wait for him to expound on this, but he doesn't so we all go back to pissing and moaning. Finally Aya gets up and pats me on the head. "Well. I suggest we pack up our stuff and get our mission report in order. Looks like our plane leaves tomorrow morning at seven AM. And we still have to get the car and drive back to Austin."
Audible groans.
If I thought Texas was bad. If Aya called this place hell… we could never have been prepared for what was to come.
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Afterthoughts: Yay! The boys are headed towards –my- part of the country! So all you nose out of joint Texans can relax, cause now I'm gonna make fun of my own state, Alaska! Whoo hoo. Nothin' but trees and bears and bush men! Hehehe… bush men…. Ok, later!
Comments: Yay! It's Black Gold Chapter 4. And there is much rejoicing. At least… I hope that there is. I have a confession to make… this was mostly done like… almost four weeks ago *dodges rotten fruit and stuff*. But…!! But it wasn't quite right, so I had to fix it. It just took me a while to get there. Sorry. See I actually wrote this chapter before I wrote chapters 2 and 3, I don't know why… that's just how it happened. So yeah. Anway, again this isn't a very plotful chapter, just some stuff happening. Trudging out of the desert and all that. So, enjoy for what it's worth. Review, please!! *brandishes vile looking halibut harpoon* You don't want this lodged between your eyes….
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Another car whizzes by. Aya drops his arm at his side and keeps on walking. I trudge after him, watching his backside in the nearly pitch black night. Good thing he's wearing white. Although with all we've been through in the past few hours he'd be hard pressed to prove it.
"Ayan!?" I call despondently.
"Don't call me that," he growls over his shoulder.
I roll my eyes and curl my lip. "Fine, -Aya-kun- ?"
"Hn?"
"What do you think she slipped us?"
He shrugs and rattles off some chemical compound sounding thing.
"In a language I understand…?"
"A drug, Ken. A knockout pill. Most likely in our drinks. Trust Youji to pick out the good ones," he hisses under his breath.
I shuffle closer to him. "Aya wait a second," I call, reaching out and catching his shoulder. He halts, feet crunching on the roadside gravel as he pivots to look at me. His face is streaked with dust and dirt and I know mine looks much the same. Getting untied from on another took feats of assassin like agility I didn't even know I had. My wrists are raw from the effort and my ribs hurt. Aya-kun wasn't exactly mister encouraging either. 'Ken, would you stop squirming… try to use what little grace you possess here and help me get us out of this!' was the best he could manage.
He looks down at me, narrow, indigo eyes glaring at me with hostile intent. "What?" he snaps.
Trying not to balk at his sharp tone I reach out and take his wrist in my hands, gently working over the raw rope burns with my thumbs. I look up at him and then lower my eyes slightly. "Are you mad at me?"
His posture changes, his shoulder angling forward, hips relaxing, muscles loosening. He sighs. "Why would I be mad at you?" he mumbles.
"I don't know, but you seem angry…."
"Of course I'm angry!" he cries, body tensing again. "I just woke up in the desert, tied to my boyfriend after being drugged by a psychopathic, Texan bitch, and then had to trudge through the desert in the freezing cold for two hours until we found this damn road… which we don't even know to be the one that leads back to Middle of Fuckin' Nowhere, Texas. I'm far from home, far from my country, in a place that doesn't speak my language, on a mission that has no merit whatsoever, and now you're all covered in dirt and bruises. So yeah, I'm a little pissed in general."
I look up at him and raise an eyebrow. "So you aren't mad at me?"
"No!"
"You're sure?"
"Yes, but I'm gonna be if you don't quit asking," he snaps jerking his hand away and turning back around, continuing his trek into the darkness.
I don't move. "You can be such an ass. You don't care how I feel, do you? You don't care that we could have been fucked up, or fucked with, or just plain fucked, do you?!" I shout at his back as it fades into the blackness of the night. He stops and looks up at the stars. Then he looks over at me.
"Of course I care, Kenken, but there isn't much we can do about it now except get our asses back to town, and hope to God that Youji and Omi haven't met the same fate in some desert elsewhere," he says throwing his hands up and sighing.
"I'm not too worried about Youji, it's probably a wet dream as far as he's concerned," I grumble.
Aya turns and keeps on walking. "Most likely."
I hear a car coming. "Car coming," I call.
Aya sticks his thumb out again.
"This is so stupid!" I cry. I rub my wrists where they were bound earlier. I try to remember exactly how we got ourselves into this and how we ended up in the desert, but I don't really remember much after the line dancing. It's all just a bunch of blurred images, the lingering feel of truck bed, ropes…. That's probably a good thing. I'd hate to be scarred for life.
"Yeah, well. Not much we can do about it. Stupid as it may be, that girl must have one fucked up psyche. She probably believes that by humiliating us she is somehow exercising her feminine libido and 'getting back' at all the men who have sexually oppressed her, where in actuality all she has accomplished is to further degrade herself. The best thing we can do is to act like it never happened. She wants us to be cowed," he says a length. "Too bad that we're gay."
"Yeah, for sure. How do we know it was just the one? What if the other femme fatales were in on this too? Maybe they always hang around sleazy motels just looking to pick up guys, drug them, and dump them in the desert. Maybe they're lesbians… maybe they get off on it. If that's the case I guess Youji alone probably makes up for us and Omi too for that matter."
Aya grins at me over his shoulder. He reaches out his hand and beckons me to catch up. I jog to his side, taking his hand in mine. There is something so indescribably wonderful about holding the hand of the person you love… his warm fingers close around mine, and he draws my hand up to his face, kissing it lightly. I smile at him in the darkness. It's not so bad. We've been in situations a million times worse than this. If we're lucky we'll get a ride sooner or later, if we're not we'll have to walk all night. No big deal. At least we're together. Yeah I know… no clichés, but sometimes I can't help myself.
That car I heard passes us by. I sigh and grumble audibly. I hope Omi didn't get raped by those girls… that would be truly scaring for the poor kid.
Time slips away. Aya and I take turns trying to flag down a ride. It's going on mind morning when a busted up pick-up truck comes roaring towards us. It screeches to a halt and Youji sticks his head out the diver side window. "There you guys are. I've been tearing down every highway out of this town looking for you since I woke up this morning! Quick get it!"
Aya and I exchange glances, we know that pickup truck. I'm pretty sure I spent a small portion of the previous evening tied up in its truck bed.
"Youji where did you get that truck? And where is our rental car?" Aya asks skeptically.
"Huh? Blaise let me borrow it, the car is in the shop… I think that guy Ken punched in the face during the line dance slashed our tires," he answers motioning for us to hurry up.
We exchange another glance. "Blaise?" I ask raising an eyebrow.
"Yeah, we only spent the evening with her and her friends," Youji answers.
"Oh, would those be the same friends that drugged us and dropped us in the desert?" I ask flatly.
"Yeah… that would be them, well… one of them. Look just get in the car. Blaise is really sorry about the whole thing, so just get in the truck and I'll explain on the way back to the hotel. We've gotten a tape from Manx," Youji says in exasperation.
Tape from Manx? Maybe we get to go home! We book it for the truck. We squeeze in besides Youji and he does a U-y, tearing down the flat, empty highway. That's gonna leave tire marks….
"Ok, first explain about Blaise and then tell us about this tape," I say hurriedly.
"Ok, fine. Well the way Blaise explained it this isn't the first time her friend… er… Charlotte has done this. Seems she's a bit unbalanced and watched 'Thelma and Louise' a few too many times when she was a little kid, just be glad she didn't dive you guys off a cliff or something. She didn't take her meds last night, of course they didn't know that till this morning, but yeah she drugged your drinks and then drove you into the desert and left you there. And if you were worried about it… she didn't rape you or anything. She just has this thing with abducting guys and… ditching them weird places, I guess. Blaise said she won't remember any of it, so… yeah. Sorry guys."
I roll my eyes. "Just great. And I thought they were –all- unbalanced. What a relief it was just the one chick," I say sarcastically. "Where's Omi?"
Youji looks over at us a bit sheepishly. "Uh… to tell you the truth I was a little surprised he wasn't trudging along with you two. I got a little…er… preoccupied with Blaise. In short… I haven't seen him since you two disappeared from the honky-tonk."
"What?!" Aya shouts. "You lost track of Omi-kun? With the 'unbalanced' Charlotte still at large?"
"She isn't at large any more. Blaise gave her her meds this morning. She's fine. He's probably with the other one… Brandy… or whatever," Youji says, covering his tracks.
"This is just great," I mumble. "Well at least we weren't used for sex after all. I can stop feeling dirty now."
There is an awkward silence that ensues until Youji flicks on the radio. Nothin' but country for miles around.
"My woooman left meee! My dog done up and ran awaaaaay! I got the bluuuues, baby, come home to staaaay!"
I lean forward and turn it back off with a savage twist of my wrist. "I can't take any more of that sappy, whiney crap."
Youji raises his hands. "Excuuse me."
"Tell us about this tape from Manx," Aya interjects.
Youji takes a deep breath and rubs his nose. "Well I don't really know. It isn't postmarked; it was just kinda under the door when I stumbled back in early this morning. It just said, 'Kritiker Business: attn Wei(' I didn't think I should open it without everybody being there. Then Blaise and Charlotte came in with their little, 'your friends are probably wandering down the highway right now' confession. So I asked to borrow the truck and came to get you guys. If we're lucky Omi will be back when we get there."
"Right."
We're not lucky. Omi is nowhere in sight.
We try to act normal. There is nothing left to do but sit awkwardly around the room. Looks like the mission plan is postponed….
I'm seriously worried. Aya tries to comfort me, but that's my best friend out there in the clutches of some potential Texan madwoman, if the company she keeps is any indicator.
Another morning waiting to see if Omi has been raped. I hate Texas.
I stand by the window and press my brow to the cool glass. Aya stands beside me and pats my back before going to flop on the bed. Suffice to say we didn't get much sleep last night.
Then there he is. Wandering up the road carrying something in his arms. It looks suspiciously like what he was carrying in them yesterday. "He's coming," I say flatly.
Aya shifts on the bed and Youji only snorts, but the tension level has dropped dramatically. I sigh.
I open the door and wait for Omi in the door frame. He smiles at me dreamily and walk past me. "Ohayou, Kenken," he chirps. "The donut place was on the way so I stopped to get breakfast again. Hope you guys don't mind."
He walks into the room, a wistful smile plastered on his face, and sets the box of donuts and the coffee cups down on the table.
"Mind? I'm starving," Youji pipes up.
"Youji!" I snap and then turn to Omi. "Are you okay, Omittchi. After what happened to Aya and me we were worried that you'd been abducted and raped or something by one of those psycho chicks!"
Omi looks over at me a bit dazedly and giggles behind his hand. "Oh, no it wasn't anything like that, Ken. After all rape is nonconsensual."
Say what?! Exsqueeze me? Three pairs of eyes fix on him intently and there is much gaping. We wait for him to elaborate, to clear up exactly what he might be getting at, but he doesn't. He just flips open the donut box and grabs one. "Oh, crème filled."
I shake my head and mutter, "I don't want to know. I just don't want to know."
Youji starts to laugh out loud and Aya just grumbles and turns over on the bed, pulling a pillow up over his head. I grab a donut and then join him. Some serious naptime is in order. But it's so frickin' hot in here! How can people live like this? I want Kyoto… air-conditioning… bleh.
Amazingly enough Youji and Omi let us sleep. I have a really weird dream about living on a ship. Ugh. I don't like boats. I don't like Texas even more.
It's late afternoon when I finally wake up. I'm the last to do so. Aya is munching on a rather stale looking apple fritter in a chair by the table. Omi is simply lying on his back staring at the ceiling, smiling. I don't want to know.
I stretch and rub at my eyes with the back of my hand. I get up off the bed and walk over to Aya, sitting down on his lap and wrapping my arms around his neck. "Ooh, you've showered," I say softly, smelling his hair.
"You haven't."
I take the hint and stand up, sniffing myself. "I don't smell that bad," I say defensively.
"Oh, no not that bad. Certainly nothing like a guy who spent the night in a bar and then tied up in the back of a Ford and then wandering around sweating in the desert."
"Shut up."
He grins at me. "Make me."
"Ooh, feisty…."
"Ok, stop it, both of you. I'm trying to keep my donuts down," Youji drawls from his perch on the bed beside Omi. He's flipping through magazines. Ten bucks says they're dirty. "I don't want to have to think about what clean Aya and stinky Ken can do to each other in the sack, so Ken go take a shower so we can watch that goddamned tape."
We glare at him for a moment and then I shrug my shoulders. "Fine, be that way."
I trudge into the bathroom and close the door soundly behind me. I don't smell bad… do I? Oh well. No use fighting it. All in all the shower is a welcome thing. It takes away some of the tension lying in the back of a Ford and walking uncounted miles has caused. I must shower for longer than I realize because when I walk back into the motel room I get looks from everyone.
"Jesus, Ken, we said that you stink, but you didn't have to disinfect yourself," Youji says sarcastically.
"Oh shut it!" I snap, "At least it's not our water bill I'm running up."
"Amen," Aya mutters as he gets up and begins to unwrap the tape shaped package. Out comes (big surprise) a tape and what appear to be four airline tickets.
My eyes light up. "Ohh! Do we get to go home?!" I cry, pouncing on Aya.
"I don't think so. Unless 'Alaska Airlines' is going to take us back to Japan," Aya growls holding up the tickets. I groan. "Let's just watch the tape."
He pops it into the player and after some initial confusion over whether the TV had to be on channel 3 or channel 4 we get it and the familiar silhouette of the man himself comes onto the screen in a blur of static. "Good evening, gentlemen."
Omi snickers, "It isn't even evening."
We all glare at him. He shrugs and goes back to watching.
"We've been monitoring your progress. Good job with the data collection on Global Oil. We have received a tip that all three of the targets, Shiro Ano, Abdul Al Sidiki, and Jerome Sanchez are gathering in their North Slope head quarters for a company review period. In light of this new information we've decided that it is imperative that Wei( follow this lead and destroy the targets immediately rather than stay in your current position and destroy facilities. A Kritiker demolition team will be sent in to finish the job you began in Texas. Included with this tape are four airline tickets to Fairbanks, Alaska. You will have a two day layover in Seattle, Washington. You will be contacted by another Kritiker agent there. He will give you the rest of your instructions and your remaining travel arrangements. Good luck. Hunters of the night…." *ZAP*
Youji brandishes the remote control. "If I have to hear him say that one more time, there's going to be a murder suicide… mine and his," he says curling a lip. I think we all pretty much feel the same way.
We stare at the now blank TV. Alaska?! The North Slope?!
"So wait, let me get this straight…," I begin. "We came all the way to Texas and went through all this crap for… nothing?! We've been here for three days of pure hell and now Kritiker doesn't even want us to complete the mission here?! Argh!!"
Omi looks over at me, "I wouldn't say it was for –nothing-. Good donuts anyway."
I glare at him. "You didn't get dumped in the desert by a psycho chick," I grumble.
He nods. "True."
Again we wait for him to expound on this, but he doesn't so we all go back to pissing and moaning. Finally Aya gets up and pats me on the head. "Well. I suggest we pack up our stuff and get our mission report in order. Looks like our plane leaves tomorrow morning at seven AM. And we still have to get the car and drive back to Austin."
Audible groans.
If I thought Texas was bad. If Aya called this place hell… we could never have been prepared for what was to come.
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Afterthoughts: Yay! The boys are headed towards –my- part of the country! So all you nose out of joint Texans can relax, cause now I'm gonna make fun of my own state, Alaska! Whoo hoo. Nothin' but trees and bears and bush men! Hehehe… bush men…. Ok, later!