Prologue
Time flies when you're having fun. That's how the saying goes, doesn't it?
Well, when you're a Phoenix, this is especially true. Kiara letting loose at B. Tubb's Pizzeria last night was something that I - and all of the Shrimps present there - would never forget. After a dozen pints of beer, it was a miracle that Kiara could party so hard and still keep her closest secrets safe - and remember the whole affair in vivid detail!
Perhaps I shouldn't be surprised. There was a kernel of truth to Kiara's act. Even though 'Erika' couldn't speak, Kiara's body and her smile spoke volumes for her. Not everything that she did that night was a lie. She truly was as free as a bird, just like Gura said.
I can tell why Gura was envious that night. Hell, I was envious too.
But if that's the case, then where does that leave me?
When I danced with Gawr Gura, Queenpin of the Shrimps gang, did I let the music and the atmosphere move my feet - or was I just doing that as part of my mission? Was there a kernel of truth peeking out from the abyss of my darkened heart?
A kernel of truth that I didn't know still existed?
One of these days, I'll be due for a rude awakening. One way or another.
But for now, the night was still young.
My evening with Gawr Gura had only just begun.
Signed - Amelia Watson
…
Ame pocketed her notepad and heaved a heavy sigh. She was in the backrooms of B. Tubb's Pizzeria, just outside the ladies' washroom, and leaned against the brick walls. Down the hall, she could hear the crowd of Shrimps cheering for 'Erika' to the tune of the brass band's swing. Kiara still had most of the pizzeria wrapped around her little finger.
Meanwhile, Ame could also hear the strains and groans of Bloop from the men's washroom nearby. Ame saw the many-armed man slip into the men's washroom and she overheard their conversation over the music. They were talking about 'Magging too hard' and 'Magging all over the place' among other things. Ame cringed. She did not want to know what they were talking about.
Ame was just about to bring out her notepad to distract herself again when she heard a flush from the women's bathroom this time. Moments later, Gawr Gura emerged from the women's bathroom and grinned at Ame.
"Sorry for keepin' ya waiting, Amelon!" Gura spoke cheerfully. She then pointed to the backdoor exit and asked, "Ready to jet?"
"Did you wash your hands first?" Ame teased.
"I did, stinky!" Gura bristled at Ame for a while. Then, a devilish smirk formed on her lips, "Wanna smell them?"
"I do." Ame answered, taking Gura by surprise.
The Queenpin froze in place while her new henchwoman 'Amelon' leaned forward and sniffed her fingers. Gura's cheeks flushed red and she grew self conscious.
"W-well?" Gura asked expectantly.
Ame then stuck out her tongue, "Smells like fish."
"Why you!" Gura growled and started jabbing Ame.
Then, the Queenpin and her henchwoman shared a hearty laugh. Once again, even in the midst of Kiara's hyped up crowd, the swing music and Bloop's muffled bathroom strains, Ame and Gura were in their own world once more - just like they did in the dance floor many heartbeats ago.
Stirred by that rhythm of their own, Ame took out the keys of her car and spun the keyring on her finger. Then she finally answered Gura's question.
"I'm ready to jet. Are you?"
Gura's tail wagged happily behind her and she nodded. Ame offered her arm to the shorter Gura and led her out the back door of the pizzeria.
A little while back, while Ame and Gura were dancing, Gura leaned over to Ame's ear and asked her if she wanted to get some fresh air. That - and Gura really had to go to a 'Queenpin meeting' in the women's washroom. Ame, without a second thought, offered to take Gura on a joyride in her car.
Kiara was keeping the crowds busy and Bloop was magged out of his mind, so Ame knew she had time. Plus, Ame thought, it was yet another chance to get closer to the Queenpin of the Shrimps herself.
Is that all I'm really after here, though?
Ame calmed her nerves and escorted Gura to her car: the reliable, brown, 1951-model convertible. Gura let go of Ame's shoulder and started pacing around the car, looking at every nook and cranny.
"Golly gee, this is a nice car!" Gura commented, laying a hand on the hood, "Must have cost you a pretty penny to get this baby!"
"It's a bit of a prize that Erika and I took." Ame made her story on the fly, "Some hawkers from the Owl Pals on Parliament Road stole this from a dealership in Central. Erika and I stole this while the owls were getting berry milkshakes."
"Sneaky." Gura praised, eyeing Ame with delighted approval, "I like your style, Amelon. You and Erika both!"
"Only the best for my Queenpin." Ame took off her fedora hat and gave Gura a curtsy. She went around the car and opened the passenger's seat door for the petite shark, "Shall we get going?"
Gura smiled and sauntered into her seat. Ame then got into the driver's seat and started the engine. The eight-cylinder beast roared to life and Gura's blue eyes sparkled.
"Holy cow…" Gura gasped, holding onto her seat to feel the rumble of the engine.
"You ain't seen nothing yet!" Ame beamed.
The undercover detective pulled out of the street parking and started driving down Ocean Street. Ame zipped between the few other vehicles still on the road and overtook them with incredible skill, causing a ruckus. She even beat a few red lights along the way. Eventually, a City PD patrol car became one of Ame's victims, left behind in the dust and smoke of her V8 monster.
Ame's heart stopped for a moment. She calmed down her showboating and glanced at her rear view mirror, but the patrol car never wound up its siren or turned up its flasher.
It was then that she realized just how deep in Shrimps gang territory she was. Not even the cops there would dare to push a speeding ticket on Ocean Street - especially when the Queenpin of the Shrimps herself was on board.
Gura stood up from her seat and clung onto the dashboard. The petite lady shouted with delight to the night sky and felt the wind combing through her pretty locks of white, blue-accented hair. Seeing how much fun Gura was having, though, Ame decided to aid and abet this illegal activity for just a little while longer.
Once the police patrol car was out of sight, Gura sat down and turned to Ame with a grin.
"I know a nice spot across the river by the sea, just past the dockyards." Gura explained. She tucked a lock of her now frizzy hair behind her ear and smiled, "I'll show you how to get there."
…
Ame followed Gura's instructions. That took them through a small bridge, a railroad crossing and a tunnel that flowed into a rough asphalt path. On that path, Ame and Gura left the bright lights of Ocean Street and the Northern District behind them. The foliage grew thicker and more unkempt and the terrain got rougher and rougher. They even passed by a graffiti-ridden sign that once read ' Enter at your own peril. City Port Authority. '
The convertible pressed through the jagged path until they finally found it: a small, sandy cove a few rifle shots away from the bustling Seaport.
"Whoa…" Ame's blue eyes sparkled. She switched off the engine of her car and soaked in the cove in all of its silver moon-and-starlit glory, "So this is what you meant by 'fresh air'."
"It's my secret spot." Gura proudly introduced, "I call it 'Strawberry Cove'. Not even Bloop knows about this place!" She leaned back into the passenger's seat and looked up to the starswept night sky, "You can go stargazing here, listen to the sea, dip your feet in the water, watch the boats come and go - just about anything you'd want, really!"
Ame leaned forward and rested her arms and chin on the steering wheel. From there, she gave Gura a sidelong glance and quipped.
"I never would have thought the ruthless Queenpin of the Shrimps had a place this pretty out here."
"Is that so?" Gura smiled weakly. She closed her eyes and felt the sea breeze blow as she spoke, "Well, this is where I go to forget that I'm a Queenpin in the first place. The place where I can be myself."
Ame turned to Gura and asked, "The Gura that Irys Hopewell knows about?"
"Heh, I guess you can say that." Gura joined her hands behind her back and faced the reflection of the moon on the ocean. She tried to grab the moon in her hands and sighed, "If I had a choice, I'd be singing there at the Nephilim Club beside Irys. And even Ca-"
Gura paused, stopping her train of thought in its tracks. She shook her head and turned back to Ame, "Are you disappointed in having someone like me as your Queenpin, Amelon?"
"Not at all." Ame answered immediately, "Erika and I wanted to join the badass Gawr Gura and her mighty Shrimps gang because it was powerful, of course - but that's not the only reason." She twirled a lock of her golden hair between her fingers and admitted, "I'm actually a fan of your comics. Bazooka Goomba."
A moment of silence lingered in the secluded cove. Then, Gura burst into laughter.
"Oh! Bazooka Goomba! Gosh, that takes me back!" Gura guffawed. She struggled to catch her breath and laughed until she cried. Then, she wiped the tears from her eyes and spoke earnestly, "I wish I could go back to the time when I could just draw comic strips and sing whenever I wanted. But with the way things are going with the Deadbeats - with this City, that's just wishful thinking."
Ame brought out a handkerchief and wiped away the rest of Gura's tears.
"Well, you can be the true Gura right here. Right now." Ame suggested tenderly, "That's why you brought me here tonight, right?"
Gura took the handkerchief and held it close to her heart. She faced Ame and asked with wholehearted honesty, "Can I really? Just for tonight?"
Ame smiled and patted Gura's shoulders. Then, she said, "Nothing would make me happier."
"Playing with your Queenpin's heart can get you in trouble." Gura promptly warned, holding Ame's handkerchief firmly, "But I'll make an exception for tonight. I'll even reward you!"
"Reward me?" Ame asked.
Gura promptly took off her shoes and hopped out of the convertible. Now barefoot, she ran towards and into the ocean until the water was knee-deep. She then turned around in a graceful pirouette and spread her arms out wide. It was as if Gura was on a reflective stage illuminated by the stars and the distant lights of the City.
"For one night only!' Gura declared with a toothy grin, "Gawr Gura will sing for you, Amelon. Enjoy it!"
Ame froze in place, absolutely enthralled by the radiant Gura in the moonlit beach. Then, when Gura started to sing, her clear and heartfelt voice stirred something deep in the jaded, hard boiled detective's heart. The kernel of truth that Ame thought had disappeared came to the surface and started to take root.
Nurtured lovingly by starlight, surf and song.
…
Queenpins
Ride On Time
…
To Be Continued