The next morning, the alarm clock blared. It was 7:30 and Aya just decided he'd stay in bed for the rest of the day. He was going to let the alarm sound off until it got sick of itself hollering. He did not care. Last night was a disaster. The limo ride had been a long one. When it was over, Mrs. Hayakawa just removed herself from the car and marched straight to her husband's office without so much as a word. Her mother, on the other hand, took the dog from Omi and told them 'Thank you for a wonderful time. God speed!,' in her usual joyous self, although, Aya had detected a bit of nervousness in her voice. Then, she went up. The boys were ordered out of the car. Once out, they all noticed Mr.John Sloan standing at the entrance of the building with a menacing stare. There was something about this man's stare that really set Aya off. It was very…frightening.
A loud knock on the door brought Aya out of his reverie. "If it's Yoji, GO AWAY!"
The door opened. It was Yoji. "Aren't you going to turn that damn thing off?!," he said rather annoyed.
"No," was Aya's answer.
Yoji let himself in, heading straight to the alarm clock and turning it off. He looked at Aya who had his eyes closed in thought. He sat at the edge of Abyssian's bed, staring at him, trying to see how to start a conversation…mainly about last night.
"I know what you want to say, Yoji, but honestly, I don't want to hear it," Aya declared.
"I know you don't but you're going to hear it, anyway. Aya, you were very rude with our client," Yoji stated. There was silence between them.
"What? Is that it?," Aya asked, expecting Aya to say more.
"What? You want more?," Yoji retaliated with the same attitude Aya threw at him.
"Well, if you don't have anything else to say, you can show yourself out the door. I'm sleeping here."
Yoji stared at him, seriously. The next moment, he cracked a smile fresh enough to set off a snowstorm. "The guys and me were talking last night. You were asleep, though."
"You're point? If you have one?"
"Well, we agreed that she's a rich pretentious brat," Yoji pointed out.
"Your sense of scrutinity outdoes you, Yoji, even if it comes too late."
Yoten's smile widened even more, to set off a forest fire, "We also agreed she's quite pretty."
"Really? I haven't noticed that. If you find her heart and brain, please notify me, immediately."
"The point to all this is that the three of us have decided that we have a huge crush on her," Yoji said half joking.
"What's your angle?"
"Me and the guys would like to know if you'd be joining us in our journey to pursue platonic love? Hey, if two is company, three is a crowd, then four plus one is a full blown orgy," Yoji bluntly said.
Aya stared at him.
Yoji closed the door behind him. Ken and Omi were waiting outside with anticipation. "Well, well, what did he say?," urged Ken.
"Don't leave out any details," begged Omi.
"F. U.," answered Yoji, laughing a bit. "That's what he said.
"Oooo," Omi and Ken said in unison, "the 'F' word."
"He also said while we're at it, to F ourselves REAL good. OH, and he's not going to work."
Ken and Omi looked at each other. Then Yoji continued, "I told you he wouldn't like the orgy idea."
***
At the flower shop, there were myriads and myriads of girls crowding around the guys. It was rather strange without Aya there. Yoji, as usual, flirted with the highschool girls who, in turn, found themselves buying flowers which they had not intended on buying in the first place. Ken, as usual, was busy at the cash register and making some new female friends of his own. And Omi was busy just being cute.
"Where's Aya-kun?," asked one girl.
"He's running some errands, today," Yoji would answer.
"Is Aya sick?," asked another one.
Ken would say, "Nah, he's just ordering more flowers for tomorrow."
"What happened to Aya? Why is he not here?," wondered a few more.
Omi would just tell them, "Aya had an emergency."
"Aya-kun, where's Aya-kun?," asked several more.
Yoji finally answered, "Aya-kun is DEAD."
There was silence and many blank expressions. With that, Yoji bowed to the girls and retired to the back of the store quicker than he could say manage-a-trois. Both Omi and Ken could not believe what they had just heard but figured Yoji was sick of being asked about Aya. Both guys had to sympathize with him since they themselves were getting tired of answering everybody's questions.
"Omi," said Ken, "you attend the customers. I'll see what's up with Yoten."
Omi nodded in agreement.
Yoji busied himself with inventory. Ken popped in casually to see what was up. Yoji looked up and forced a smile, "Hey."
"Hey…soooo, what was THAT all about?"
"Nothing…I suppose just the real me trying to resurface. Kind of like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde."
Ken nodded.
Then Yoji bursted out, "This is like our chance for great pay and Aya's botched it up! I mean, if he doesn't like the woman then fine but at least he could try to act professional!"
"You know how it is with Aya? But you also know when he has a hunch about things, he is usually right." Ken looked at Yoji seriously, trying to prove a point.
"Alright, so I admit she's a bit high strung. But after what happened last night, I'm sure she complained to Hayakawa. And Hayakawa complained to the agency. Which means we are going to be repremanded and surely we're out of the job."
"You think so? I'm sure Persia will do all he can to convince Hayakawa to give us another chance, if Hayakawa complains at all," Ken said, picking up another list and looking it over.
"I'm depressed all of a sudden. It's not only the pay that's got me worried, it's also all those office chicks I'll miss out on," Yoji replied, whining.
There was this only blank expression on Ken's face. Enough said.
Upstairs, Omi was doing all he could by himself as the mob of girls continued harassing him. It was not until a tall dark woman walked in that all the girls had quieted down. She strutted her stuff. All the women present stared at her in awe. She smiled, they smiled back. They all looked so tiny standing around this Amazon Goddess.
"She's huge!," said a girl in awe of Miss Zimbula's height.
"Good Morning," she saluted the tiny ladies. They bowed in response. "Good Morning...good morning." she kept saluting until standing in front of Omi. "Good Morning."
Omi stared up at her feeling quite overwhelmed with her towering size. He stuttered, "G-g-g-good Morning, Miss Zimbura. H-h-h-h-how can I help you?"
She smiled, "Mr. Tsukiyono, why aren't you at work?"
"What?"
" Why aren't you at work?"
Omi did not know what to say. Were they supposed to be at work today? Technically, yes, but after last night, he did not expect them to be called again. "I don't know," was the only thing he could answer.
There was muttering going on. She was aware what they were muttering about. It was nothing out of the usual. Since being in this country, she had been the victim of idle curiosity. The Japanese were curious people especially when it came to different things. At first, it had bothered her to be constantly pointed at on the streets and the victim of mockery by many school girls who laughed at her in public. However, after some time here, she had grown somewhat accustomed to their jeering. And after her employer had explained to her, she had realized that it was just a normal reaction of theirs upon seeing a foreigner.
"Don't let it bother you, Nefertiti," Hayakawa had said to her one day in his office, "It's a normal reaction. If they stare and mock at you, you just laugh right back. Just think of it, it's not everyday we see an African woman in our country. To see someone different is quite the event for us...look around what do you see? A lot of short people with the same faces."
She remembered them laughing afterwards. She figured that if Hayakawa could laugh at himself, so could she. "Mr. Hayakawa is expecting you and your friends at work today."
"He's not mad?"
She tilted her head to one side. It looked like she did not know what he was talking about. "Mad?," she said with curiosity, "why would he be mad?"
"Well, last night...."
"Last night he went home a pleased man. He's very grateful that you four looked after Mrs. Hayakawa and Miss Edna."
"What?"
"She could not stop talking about the Ginza store all night long. So, I would assume you showed her a good time," she said excitedly.
"She said we showed her a good time?," Omi was surprised.
"Of course!," she replied.
Then, a girl asked, "Omi-kun was with a girl last night?"
Omi's eyes widened. He had forgotten where they were.
"No, Keiko, just delivering flowers."
"Yes, I was almost jealous," she said pouting her lips. She grabbed Omi's arm. He was flushed all over. Miss Zimbula just smiled. Her exotic yellow eyes glistened with pleasure to see such a cute display before her. "Omi-kun is mine and no one else's, right?"
"You trully adore him, don't you?," she inquired. "Well, I'll be waiting for in the car. Mr. Hayakawa needs MORE flowers for his party tonight," she winked at Omi.
"YOU want us to come, now?"
"Of course. It would be rude to keep your client waiting."
"I'll tell Ken and Yoji, then," Omi answered, still being held by Keiko.
"Mr. Hidaka and Kudou are here? I don't see them."
"They're in the back with inventory."
"I see, and how about Mr. Fujimiya?"
"Er...uhhhhh...," the look on Omi's face was worth a thousand words.
Silence and peace filled the room. It would give him time to compose himself. Aya slept without a care in the world. It would be busy as usual at the flower shop. There would be a rabble of girls suffocating him. A few would get in his way. If it were up to him, he would do away with ALL of them with one single swipe of his katana. Away with the weaker sex!, he thought.
On occasion, girls were nice, as long as they kept quiet. To hear Mrs. Hayakawa talk silly talk with her mother, drove him towards the point of actually wanting to commit harikiri. Their conversation, their way of getting excited over little things like bobbles and make-up, made him sick.
Crawford's presence last night caught him off guard. He was checking her out like predator to prey. They were being watched. It was a good thing he was there to intercept Crawford when he did. Who knows what he would have done to Hayakawa's wife and Mother-in-law. Such a sweet old lady, despite her having a spoiled daughter. They would have to be careful.
Yoji bursted in. Aya got up with a start. "What the f...."
"Get up," Yoji ordered.
"What?"
"Dammit, where are your clothes?! Get dressed!," he said, finding Aya's attire and throwing it at him, which Aya caught with his face.
Aya, jumping out of bed, "What the hell is going on, Yoten! You come in here without knocking and expect me to dress?!," Aya demanded.
Yoji caught him by the shirt collar, bringing Aya close to his face, threatening him "Mrs. Zimbura is outside waiting for us. Get dressed or do I have to do it for ya?"
"It's passed five minutes," said Nefertiti looking down on her wristwatch. "Mr. Hayakawa doesn't appreciate tardiness." She was in the limo with Ken and Omi, who could not stop staring at her. "Where I come from, it's rude to stare."
They blushed in embarrassment.
Nefertiti smiled, her voice became soft, "However, I bet it's not everyday you see a black woman in Tokyo."
Ken spoke,"Honestly, Miss Zimbura, it's the first time we see a black woman, ever."
She looked at Ken with wonder. Omi adds in, to excuse his friend, "What he means is that it's the first time we see a black woman up close."
"Really?"
"If you count National Geographic," Ken added in more.
"I see," she answered as if in thought.
Ken,
blushing, then said, "We think you're pretty."
Suddenly, unexpectedly,
Nefertiti bursted into laughter. The
hue of her eyes turned a lighter yellow as she laughed some more. Omi and Ken looked at her in marvel like two
kittens at a petshop window. "Oh,
I haven't laughed this hard in days," she said, her laughter dissipating,
barely. "I'm sorry."
Ken, still blushing, asked her, "Where are you from and where did you learn your japanese?"
Her smile widened, exposing ALL her teeth, "Well, you're a curious one. For starters, I'm originally from Egypt but I was raised in Nigeria. I come from a prominent family so, I received the best education. As to how I learned Japanese? I was lured to come here. It wasn't my first intention but as soon as I stepped on Japanese soil, I fell in love with the people and the culture."
"So," Omi began, " you learned our language becuase of your interest in our culture?"
"Well, NO! I learned it out of utter necessity since I was assigned to work here. My love for Japan came afterwards as I started interacting with my work collegues."
"How long have you been here, then?," Ken urged on.
"Five years. Before that, I was in Germany helping the agency work on , you know, the experimental drug," her voice lowered, as if trying to not let the driver hear their conversation despite there being a window dividing them.
"The drug was being developed in Germany?," prodded Ken.
Nefertiti hesitated before speaking, then, "Yes. It was being developed...partly."
"Partly?," both guys repeated in unison.
The limo door opened. Aya entered without saying a word but the look on his face said it all. Then, Yoji popped in with a huge grin on his face, "Missed me?," he said to Nefertiti.
There was a wry smile on her lips, she answered rather flirtatiously, "Mr. Kudou, you haven't been gone long enough to be missed."
He looked at her seductively before getting into the car and taking his seat next to her. Aya was next to Ken with the baddest and meanest big ass attitude on his face. Until Nefertiti directed her attention to him with her soothing, rich voice, "Good morning, Mr. Fujimiya! I trust you slept well?"
For a moment there, it seemed Aya had let down his guard a bit and smiled at Nefertiti in response to her question. Ken, Omi, and Yoji could not keep their jaws from plummeting in shock. Aya, to further surprise them, dropped his head like that of a child, and answered Nefertiti's inquiry, "I slept good."
"Hmmm? So that's why you didn't come to work, I suppose?," her gaze penetrated him. Aya did not dare look up at her for fear that she might dig up his deepest and darkest secrets from the pit of his soul.
It would be rude not to reply, like that had ever stopped him from speaking his mind before. But, this woman was different. He had to answer her. He wanted to stop her staring. He wanted to stop the pain. "I was ...I didn't...I overslept. It won't happen again."
She hesitated again to scrutiny, "Don't worry, it's alright. We all have our bad days."
They sat waiting in Hayakawa's office Nefertiti had gone to fetch the refreshments as they waited for Hayakawa to return from his board meeting. There was silence between them. Omi started kicking his legs to shake off the tension in the room. It was Ken who shattered the silence.
"Are you sure she didn't tell cause I think she did."
"I feel we were lured here to be slaughtered," Aya replied to Ken.
"Stop being such a pessimist! We're here, that's it!," Yoji scolded Aya.
"Lambs to be slaughtered...Aya could be right," Ken concurred with the red- head.
"It doesn't matter, I'm just here for the cake and ice cream," said Omi, kicking his feet up some more.
Yoji turned to Omi and shushed him, "Shhhhh!"
"Cake and ice cream?," Aya looked at them both. "What's going on here?"
Yoji laughed sheepishly, saying apologetically, "It's really nothing. Miss Zimbura just promised Omi some cake and ice cream. That's all."
"Don't lie, Yoten, you came here for the same thing!"
"Yeah, if we persuaded Aya to come," added Ken.
"Ken," Yoji tried shushing him but the cat was already out of the bag. Ken put his hands to his mouth upon realizing that he had blown the secret.
"I can't believe you guys," said Aya, shaking his head slowly in disbelief.
"Hey, I got bribed with babes. Of course, she didn't exactly call them like that," Yoji corrected. Aya was not amused.
Omi, on the other hand, said, "I don't care! I'm going to enjoy the ice cream."
"You're such a kid, little, Omi," Yoji said.
"And Yoji is a lech," answered Omi, giggling.
The door opened, ushering in Nefertiti wheeling in a cart full of treats. She served Omi first who was jumpy with anticipation. "Strawberry! How do you know I like strawberry!," he asked excitedly.
Nefertiti gave him a warm smile. "You look like you like strawberry looking as sweet as you do."
Omi flushed as he stared straight into her warm, yellow eyes. She giggled, slightly. Then she went to the cart again and gave Ken his bowl with Melon flavored ice cream. He accepted graciously.
"Here's yours, Mr. Fujimiya. Vanilla…please enjoy," she smiled. Aya's violet orbs doubled in size as he stared at her and then, into the bowl. It was vanilla ice cream, alright, with little hints of cinnamon sprinkled on. "Here you go, Mr. Kudou. Chocolate, as you like it." As she bent to serve him his dessert, Yoji could not help but stare down her cleavage. "Divert your eyes elsewhere if you know what's good for you, Mr. Kudou," she was stern. At the same time, there was a bit of mischief gleaming in her eyes as she placed the spoon in his bowl.
"My friends call me Yoji but you can call me Yo-kun," he invited, confidently.
She smiled again. Without saying anything else, she retired from the room. Three out of four watched her leave. Yoji finally said, demonstrating the pride of a peacock, "Heh, she wants me."
Aya said nothing. He just stared dumbfoundedly into the bowl. It had three cherries. Exactly the way he liked it. How did they know it was his favorite? They had certainly done their homework in order to go through great lengths to please them. They went as far as to serve Ken his favorite melon flavored ice cream.
"Aya, anything wrong?," asked Omi, concerned.
"No,", he replied.
"In that case, eat up. This is Good!"
The sliding doors opened. Like before, Sloan was the first one to enter, Hayakawa followed him in with a smile of great pleasure. "Good day, gentlemen! Please, please enjoy yourselves. John, you can be at ease, now. These men have made me quite happy since yesterday."
John nodded and sat in a chair close to the desk, next to the sliding doors. He smiled, Aya saw this, but his eyes said different. He threw a piercing glance at Aya as if it were known only to him what Aya was thinking about. The feeling was eerie, Aya thought to himself as he stared back, taking his first spoonful of ice cream.
"Well, gentlemen, it's an honor to have you here. Abigail couldn't stop talking about yesterday. Now, I'm convinced more than ever that you are the ones. I don't regret paying you the advance. Persia was right to recommend you four for this job."
Their eyes were wide in disbelief.
John then spoke, "In fact, Mrs. Hayakawa was so pleased that she insisted that Mr. Hayakawa invite you to tonight's welcoming party."
Yoji then replied, "But we thought with what happened yesterday…"
"With what happened?," Hayakawa stared at him rather strangely.
Ken and Omi looked at him, using their eyes to beg him not to say anymore. "I mean, since it was boring and stuff, we thought your wife was bored out of her mind," he recovered, sitting back and spooning in more ice cream to keep in own big mouth shut.
"Schwartz was there," said Aya, finally. John and Hayakawa looked at each other, seriously. "Your wife and I got into a little disagreement since she thought I was trying to keep her away from a conversation with Brad Crawford."
Both employer and his bodyguard listened to Aya attentively.
"I mentioned nothing to her about the nature of this man. I didn't want to alarm her."
"I see," said Hayakawa.
"My colleague, here, informed me they've made a threat to harm her and the rest of your family."
"Well, Aya, they didn't exactly say it that way. It's more of an insinuation than an actual threat."
"Yoten, a threat is a threat! Anyhow, your wife proved difficult and I cannot work like this," Aya pointed out to the older man.
There was silence from Hayakawa and from Sloan. Aya awaited for their response, impatiently. Yoji and the others looked at Aya then at the two men in front of them, and back again, and continuously like they were watching a ping-pong tournament. Then, suddenly, Hayakawa broke out in laughter, which blew the boys back, Aya, especially.
John sat there eyeing Aya. Hayakawa still chuckled and then said, "Don't mind my darling wife, Mr. Fujimiya. She's accustomed to getting her way and I must admit she's rather spoiled in a sense, but deep down she's a good woman, so don't mind her. Once in a while, I allow myself to indulge her," he ended saying with a bit of laughter.
"Basically, you are telling us to indulge her, too, is that right?," asked Aya, feeling rather annoyed that his ice cream started to melt.
"No, I'm just saying make her feel she is in the driver's seat without ACTUALLY giving her the steering wheel. You must understand, gentlemen, that girls like her are quite whimsical at that age. She's young," Hayakawa started listing.
"Very young," Aya emphasized in return.
"She's beautiful," added the older man.
"Very beautiful," said Yoji under his breath.
"And she's my wife, she looks after me and has been looking after me since my first wife , well, you know the rest," he finished. "Anyhow, I've only got my two sons, my daughter, her, and my dear Edna. They are my family and I will turn heaven and hell to see they are protected. I've given so much of my life to Kritiker, at least, they owe me this much after 30 years working for them, developing their drugs and weapons," his manner turned grave, all of a sudden.
***
"Hayakawa's a Kritiker agent?," Youji said, still wondering if what he heard just moments ago was really what he heard.
"Wow! Now, that explains how he knows Persia," added Omi, analytically.
They stood right outside the office in disbelief. Nefertiti appeared, smiling as usual. "So,"she began, "how did it go in there? I'm sure Mr. Hayakawa was thrilled to see you, was he not?"
Aya broke the tender moment by asking, "Where's Mrs. Hayakawa?"
"Oh, well, she is in her office. Why you want to know?," she asked out of curiousity.
"He wants to apologize for being a big butt," Yoji chimed in wearing this only big ass grin. The other two snickered among themselves.
Aya turned to Yoji with a scowl on his face, "Yoten, if I want someone talking for me, I'll hire a dummy."
"Why hire a dummy if he hasYoten for free," Ken whispered to Omi, who instantly giggled. Yoji heard what Ken said and answered his smart-ass remark with a bonk to his head. Ken stifled a cry. Nefertiti giggled.
"Come this way," she said, still giggling. They followed her away from Hayakawa's office and down a corridor passed many offices. The employees could not help but stop working to look up at the passing boys parading after Nefertiti in casual attire. Omi noticed that most of them were foreigners and nudged Ken in the arm to look. Yoji could not help but catch an eyeful of attractive office women and winked at them as he passed by leaving them smiling and giggling. Aya's mood was the only one that did not shift as he dutifully walked behind the Egyptian born Nigerian. "Here we are," she finally said. She tapped on the door.
"Come in!," a female voice was heard from within. Nefertiti opened the door, slightly enough for her head to fit, and popped a look inside.
"Abigail?," Nefertiti reverted to English, "Are you busy?" She found Mrs. Hayakawa arranging her desktop. Her computer was on. She looked up, surprised to see Nefertiti at her door.
"No, I'm not busy…well, at least, I was busy but now I'm not. Is there anything I can do for you, Nef?," she asked, stopping what she was doing.
"The new boys are here to see you, Maam," she announced in her British type English, amusing Ken even more.
Mrs. Hayakawa straightened to her full height, not letting go of the folder she clutched to her breasts. "Very well, they may come in but they must make it quick. I have mountains and mountains of work to do for me to be wasting any valuable time," she finally answered. Her disposition was calm but formal.
Nefertiti opened the door wide, ushering the boys in. About to close the door behind them, Abigail motioned to the woman to leave it open. "They won't be here long," she said. Nefertiti, despite of what Abigail had said, decided to slightly leave the door ajar for a bit more privacy. "I swear, you give them an order and they do what they want," she muttered to herself. She quickly placed the folder she held, on top of her desk and turned to the computer to hit "Save", which she did. While it did that, Omi could not help but catch a glimpse of the document on screen. Then, after that was done, she closed the program and put the computer on IDLE. "Alright, so what is it you boys wanted to see me about?," she said, picking the folder up again and going through the papers inside. They looked at each other. They did not know who should speak first. Then, realizing the problem, she turned her attention to Ken.
"Eto," Ken, blushing like a ripe tomato, started, "Um…Hayakawa-sama…Gomenasai!," he quickly bowed apologetically to her for lack of words. Seeing this display, Omi and Yoji bowed, too, apologetically, each saying they were sorry. Aya was the only one not bowing.
Yoji, staring down on the floor, begged, "Aya, please bow!," he said behind gritted teeth.
With that, Aya dipped his head in reverence and repeated, "Gomenasai, Hayakawa-sama."
"Please don't do that," she ordered sternly.
Ken, continued, without looking up at her, "Hayakawa-sama, all of us aporogize for yesterday. We aru sorry if we have angered Hayakawa-sama and we aru gurateful for the second chancu. Please acceptu our deepest aporogies."
She stared at them with their heads bowed. She said nothing as she sat down on her swivel chair, not once letting the folder go. She finally spoke, "It's not me who you have to thank, gentlemen." Her voice was soft but stern. "Thank, Mother. If it weren't for her, you can be sure my husband would have been told of the whole incident." There was silence between the four. None dared say a word, although, three out of four thought that only one of them was really to blame for the entire thing. With nothing else but background noises coming from without the office, Abigail decided that this would be enough. "Is that all?"
Aya detected the arrogance in her tone but said nothing. He did not want to win Hayakawa's displeasure so he kept his mouth shut as he kept staring at the floor. Ken, on the other hand, brought his head up to her eye level. He could tell that she wanted them to leave by the way she had her hand on the mouse.
"Again, we aporogize, Hayakawa-sama! Aya, especiary, is sorry for his bad behavior," he said, bowing again.
"Mr. Fujimiya is sorry? Mr. Hidaka, it's very admirable that you've decided to stand up for your friend, however, I feel that Mr. Fujimiya can speak for himself. But, if he doesn't want to that is fine by me. At least, I'm well with my own conscience," she replied, then stood up and walked towards the door, opening it wide. "Now, if you four will excuse me, I have a lot of work to do. I can't afford to lose more time."
They straightened up, looking at each other with perplexity. There was no other choice. Yoji took the iniciative to walk out first, followed by Ken, then by Omi, and last, Aya. Before Aya crossed the threshold, he glimpsed at her for a moment. She saw no expression in his face, at least, that is what he wanted to project. But she saw it in his violet eyes. They burned with fury. They burned angrily from humiliation. Then, he left her sights. She closed the door after them.
There was the sound of a sliding door opening, then it slid right back. "He's proud," said a masculine voice.
"He's Japanese," she answered, still facing the door.
"You think he can be broken?," asked the voice again.
She turned to face the man who now sat at her desk and replied, "Anything can be broken."
The man smiled his reply, then took out a folded sheet of paper from his breast pocket. "What is that?," she asked him out of curiosity.
"Their first mission," he placed the paper her desk.
She reached out to read the contents. A large frivolous smile brightened her face. Without further ado, she pressed the intercom. "Nefertiti, I need you to do me a favour."
"Right away, Maam."
***
"What do we do, now, Aya?," asked Yoji, as the four of them waited for the elevator.
Aya did not answer.
"Aren't we supposed to stay here?," questioned Omi.
"Miss Zimbura said we could go home until further notice," answered Ken.
"I don't know but this's weird!," Yoji pointed out, staring up at the numbers. "What's taking so long?!"
"We are all upset, Yoten. This's weird," confirmed Ken.
"What I don't understand is that we're supposed to guard this guy and his family, namely Mrs. Hayakawa, and what are we doing, we're going home!," Yoji protested. "I don't like getting paid to do nothing!"
"It's here," Aya broke his silence by announcing the elevator's arrival. The doors slid open and they walked in. Omi pressed for the first floor. The doors closed once more.
At the bottom, they walked out without so much as a word. The receptionist bade them farewell. Yoji, as usual, did not fail to bid her off with his charming wink. She giggled as they went out the main entrance and to the parking lot. They looked for their car. It was nowhere to be seen.
"Um, Yoten, where did you park the car?," asked Ken.
Yoji scratched his head in thought, then replied, "I don't know. Do you know, Omi? Aya?" They both shook their heads in denial.
"Of all the lame-brained things you can do, Yoten," Aya insulted in his robotic manner.
"Oh, damn," Omi started. "Oh, DAMN! I FORGOT!" He yelled, pulling his bangs.
"Forgot what? Spit it out!," Yoji demanded, shaking Omi by the shirt collar.
The realization had finally dawned upon Aya. He sighed depressingly, "We didn't bring the car."
Yoten stopped hammocking poor Omi to see Aya's point. "Oh, right, the limo brought us." He gently let Omi go. "Now what'll we do? We have no ride."
They sighed.
"Mr. Hidaka!," cried a familiar female voice from a distance. They turned towards the sound of high-heels clacking against the pavement. Miss Zimbula came running, in what seemed an effortless task to catch up to them in her three inched heels and her tight white mini skirt. It amazed them to the point of wanting to applaud her for not falling off balance from those dangerous pumps. To Ken, she looked like Florence Griffeth Joyner, both beautiful and athletic with a flair of regal elegance. "Mr. Hidaka!," she cried, finally caught up to them. She took a deep breath and smiled. "Here. Mrs. Hayakawa forgot to give this to you," she said, handing Ken a piece of paper in her hand.
Ken took it, opened it, and began to read it. His eyes widened, then his face twisted in interesting ways. He appeared perplexed. Aya took the note away from him to read it himself. Aya's face, like Ken's, showed perplexity. As if enlightened, his confusion summed up into a scowl when he glanced at Miss Zimbula standing motionless awaiting their reply.
"What is the meaning of this?," Aya asked. Yoji looked over his shoulder.
"Your first mission," she answered as a matter of fact.
"First mission? First mission my ass! This looks more like a," before Aya could complete his sentence, Nefertiti finished his thought for him.
"A shopping list? Yes, I know," she stated, confirming his suspicions.
Yoji jumped in, "Is this Hayakawa's idea of a joke?"
"Mr. Hayakawa is not aware of this."
"What you mean, Mr. Hayakawa's not aware of this?," blurted Omi.
"This is all Mrs. Hayakawa's idea. She wants to surprise him for tonight's welcoming party. It's been thirteen years since he's been in Japan so she wants to make sure everything is perfect for tonight's party. And, naturally, you four are invited. Here," she handed Aya an envelope, "that is the advance for the delivery. I suggest you gentlemen come two hours early to help with the preparations. The moment Mrs. Hayakawa learned you four worked in a flower shop, she was thrilled and couldn't resist the temptation to order a lot of them for the party."
Silence. Surprise. Utter shock. This was clearly written across their faces. Miss Nefertiti continued smiling. Yoji looked at Aya. Aya looked back at Yoji. As if defeated, Aya sighed. Yoji knew what this meant and said to Aya, "Clearly, we have no choice."
"Yes, we do. But, against my better judgement, I'm not going to risk losing money we've been promised to babysit this woman."
Nefertiti, with concern in her eyes, commented, "Don't look at this as a babysitting job, Mr. Fujimiya. Look at this as a new adventure. She's not that difficult once you get to know her." Her frown, once again, transformed into a smile. "Anyway, I was wondering why you were out here if the limo is parked over there," she turned back, pointing towards the car.
Four faces went blank.