—CHAPTER 8—

Ashi awoke comfortably, but she immediately noticed an absence.

Jack's absence.

She had fallen asleep on his shoulder last night while they watching TV at her apartment. It was two days after their first kiss; they hadn't seen each other since that Sunday, but had been texting each other consistently.

They were browsing channels until they came upon a marathon of a popular sitcom from the mid 90's: "Family Mechanics". It centered around a family of five that lived in an auto shop that the Father ran. He was a charismatic man, and the main character of the show; most of the show's main plots revolved around his interactions with zany customers and the situations he would get involved in. He had a wife who was a stay-at-home Mom, and she acted as the straight man to her family's crazy antics. They had three children, whose misadventures usually made up the B plots of the episode. The eldest daughter was always worrying about boys, and her episodes usually involved her trying to either get some cute boys attention, or a piece of clothing she wanted. The middle daughter often tagged along with her older sister's adventures, but sometimes had episodes revolving around her frustration with being the middle child; she got a lot more of her own episodes in season two by popular demand. Finally, the youngest son was always getting into mischief, and most of his plots dealt with him trying to solve a problem he created unintentionally, sometimes interlocking with his family members' plotlines.

Jack and Ashi both found the cheesy family comedy relaxing; neither of them having a rooted home life for most of their lives, experiencing it through vicariously through the wacky antics of the idyllic sitcom family was comforting to them. They sat through episode after episode of "Family Mechanics", watching most of season 3, and the holiday special before Ashi finally passed out.

She woke up quite comfortable, but a little disappointed that Jack hadn't spent the night; he had work in the morning, and he said he would have an easier time getting himself out the door if he wasn't leaving her bed. After she fell asleep, Jack finished the episode they had started, and then carried her bridal-style to her bed. Her placed her down with her head on the pillow, then covered her with the blanket. He was about to leave when he noticed a small pile of scrap paper on her night stand. Suddenly inspired, he grabbed one of the slips and started folding it meticulously. Once he was done, he marked his creation and set it down atop the small stack on the nightstand. After once more halting his departure, he quickly bent down and kissed Ashi's forehead, then hastily got up and walked out, feeling flustered.

And so, Ashi found the tiny paper crane perched on her desk, with a little heart penned on the wing. She smiled brightly, and eagerly jumped out of bed. Ashi had made a decision recently that whenever Jack had to go to work, she would go out and look for a job of her own.

That Wednesday, she walked all over the city, meeting with prospective employers and filling out applications; they all sounded satisfied with her experience, and Ashi was feeling confident that many of them would soon be begging her to come work for them. She told Jack how excited she was to be working again, having become both incredibly bored of living off her Father's money and somewhat guilty after seeing how hard Jack works.

The next day, Ashi waited around in her apartment with high hopes for one of the businesses she applied to yesterday to contact her. As the day went on, Ashi found it increasingly difficult to occupy herself as she waited for the calls that didn't seem to be coming, wondering if her connection to AKu was hurting her chances of being hired.

She ended up spending all day channel surfing, never settling on what to watch. There was a kid show about a big blue bear creature with a flower on his head, way too juvenile for her. One of those tabloid talk shows was on, where men were DNA tested in front of a boisterous audience while the Mother awaits the results anxiously. In this case, the results came in that the man was "NOT the Father!", and the Mother began to sob as the man got up and danced joyously amidst the crowd's roaring; it was funny at first, but it got old fast. Not even the long-running crime show that handled cases of sexual assault—a popular fallback show when nothing else was on—couldn't hold her attention for long.

Ashi struggled with her boredom for another few hours, until Jack finally got off work at six o' clock. He said he would text her after he clocked out, and only five minutes after six did he send her a message.

JACK: Hello!

ASHI: Hi! How was work?

JACK: Not too bad; I was ringing today, so the Sheriff wasn't on my case as much as usual.

ASHI: lol I don't get why he cares so much about shouting in front of customers, it's always gibberish anyway

JACK: Haha yes, his manner of speaking can be very puzzling! How about you, did you get any phone calls today?

ASHI: Ugh no, none of them have gotten back to me.

JACK: I'm sorry to hear that, maybe they're still deliberating? I'm sure you'll hear back from one of them soon.

ASHI: I really hope so, if I sit in this apartment any longer I'm going to pull my hair out

JACK: Maybe you should try looking through classifieds, a lot of people ask for help with various labor. That's what I was doing after I quit the force. Taking one of the ads can keep you working for a week at a time, and the money is decent.

ASHI: I mean I guess I could try it, but don't you need special skills or whatever for that kind of work?

JACK: Not at all, qualification is the last thing you need to worry about. All you have to be is a diligent worker looking to help out, that's what everyone who puts out those ads is looking for.

ASHI: Maybe you could look through them with me tomorrow, aren't you off on Fridays?

JACK: I am! I was actually about to bring that up, would you still like to do something tonight?

ASHI: Yesss! What time?

JACK: I can pick you up in an hour, and we can go to dinner. Do you like sushi?

ASHI: An hour is perfect, and I've never had sushi but I'll try it if that's where you wanna go ?

JACK: Great! I'll see you in an hour!

ASHI: See ya! ❤

JACK: ❤

Ashi dropped her phone on the couch and went to get in the shower; the job situation would have to wait, she had a date to get ready for.

/

Jack slipped his phone in his pocket, getting up from the table he was sitting at in the breakroom. Now that that was settled, all he had to do was drive back to his apartment, take a quick shower, get dressed, and go to pick up Ashi. He walked out of the store, and found his bike parked in the lot; before he could start on his way, however, his phone started ringing.

It was Scotsman, so Jack held the phone a sensible distance away from his ear as he accepted the call. Sure enough, his friend bellowed into the receiver, "JACKIE BOY, HOW'S ME FAVORITE PARTNER HOLDIN' UP?"

Jack smirked as his precaution proved worthwhile, "Hello, friend. Your 'favorite partner' is doing quite well. What about you?"

Scotsman chuckled, "Never better, laddie! They finally assigned me an interesting case, so I've been workin' that lead for the last couple'a days. There's been a string'a robberies all over the city, but every place that's been hit is a thrift store."

That sounded odd to Jack, "Really?"

"Oh yeah, they've been stealin' all sorta strange things; vinyl records, ascots, horn-rimmed glasses, and just about anything that's flannel. Honestly, I ain't got a clue what to make'a that!" Scotsman sighed, "I tell ya, I sure as hell miss havin' you alongside me, that clever brain'a yers always was always picking up me slack! Ye really were the brain to me brawn!"

Jack smiled to himself, reminiscing about the old days with his partner and friend. "Yes, I certainly miss those days. Are you still working with your latest partner?" After Jack left, Scotsman was back to his usual habits of breaking in a new partner, then wearing them out within the month or so. His latest victim was Officer Douglas, a man of forty-something whose constant dumbfounded expression matched his personality to a tee. And Scotsman made no attempts to restrain naturally critical nature around his new partner.

"Oooh yeah, 'Doofy' Douglas, he's here with me! But that don't mean much, he's the only fella I ever met that's always in two places at once: Wherever he is, his brain is ten paces behind, AAAAAAHAHAHAHA!" There was a pause, where Jack thought he heard a droll voice on the other end, which was confirmed when Scotsman responded to it; "Aye, I'm talkin' bout you, ya hackit dobber!" Jack couldn't help laughing at his friend's ridiculous insults. "But enough about me, tell me about yer lady friend, laddie! Ye scared her off yet?" Scotsman joked.

Jack's mind shifted gears completely, "Ashi…? She's wonderful. I never thought I could feel so…comfortable around someone. She's such a compassionate, understanding person; she gets me, it's like we're always on a similar wavelength. And she's so beautiful; her hair is so cute the way it sticks up in the back, and her green eyes are so…"

Scotsman interrupted Jack before he could continue to gush, "Alright, alright. That's enough, or else yer teeth are gonna rot outta yer mouth! Say, we're still on for tomorrow as usual, yeah?" Scotsman asked, and Jack confirmed.

"Well ye better bring Ashi with you, I want to finally meet this wonderful girl'a yers. If she makes ya this happy, she must be on par with me darling wife! Maybe we should compare em? Although it wouldn't be much of a contest, AAHAHAHA!" Scotsman boasted, as Jack shook his head. Not that he felt even the least bit challenged, but he knew better than to talk against Scotsman or his wife, ESPECIALLY against the woman herself.

Jack chuckled, "Well, I don't know about that, but I will certainly see if she wants to come to the bar Saturday night. But speaking of Ashi, we have a date tonight that I need to get ready for. I'll talk to you later."

"Aye, laddie. You two behave yerselves, ya hear me!?" Scotsman laughed, knowing Jack got a little red at that. "I'll see ya real soon, G'night!" on that his friend hung up, and Jack finally got on his way home to get cleaned and dressed for tonight.

/

Once he was showered and dressed, Jack got to Ashi's apartment a quarter after seven.

She came out and they greeted each other with a kiss, then immediately departed for Jack's favorite sushi restaurant: "Taste of Edo". The place was located right in the middle of the South End of Burlington, the most artistic neighborhood of the city. It was made up mostly of artsy millennials, living in modern style flats most likely paid for by their parents. There were different art gatherings and exhibits held every other night, and some parts of the neighborhood felt like a different world than the rest of the city.

Jack parked the bike in an alley a couple blocks down, and they walked to the restaurant. The hostess sat them at a booth in the corner of the restaurant, and Jack read through the menu with Ashi to help her decide what kind of sushi to try. She finally decided on the Alaska roll, while Jack ordered a nigiri platter. Ashi struggled with the chopsticks, until Jack came to her side of the booth and held her hand to show the correct form.

They chatted about various things, eventually reaching the topic of martial arts. Jack harkened back to their Brewshido date, and the two employees whom he wondered were versed in Shaolin. Ashi shrugged, "I'm sure if you asked them, they wouldn't have been offended. Monk was pretty authentic, so those employees probably were, too."

Jack smiled sheepishly, rubbing his head; "I try not to assume that, better to leave it alone sometimes."

Ashi smirked, "That's fair, I guess."

It was Jack's turn to ask; "So, what forms of martial arts have you studied?"

"Well, have you heard of the Imakandi?" Ashi questioned, and Jack's eyes widened.

"Yes, I heard of them during my travels as a child! My Uncle told me of their immeasurable hunting skills. But I was not aware that they practiced martial arts."

Ashi nodded, "Yeah, they have a fighting style that's like a cross between Brazilian Jiu-jitsu and Muay Thai Kickboxing, very aggressive."

Jack was impressed, "Sure sounds like it."

"They also taught me how to handle many different weapons, melee and ranged; I know how to use some swords, daggers, sickle and chain, polearms- well, spears mainly, and clubs…OH, and I know archery."

Ashi tried her best not to sound like she was posturing, but that went away when Jack responded, "I know all of those along with axes, two-hand and throwing."

She pouted at him, "Don't forget one-upmanship." He looked at her somewhat guiltily, until she was no longer able to hold her comical pout, and they both laughed. Ashi felt good about that, remembering a time when Jack's words would've actually bothered her.

After they finished their meals, Jack paid the check (he got his paycheck today, and was eager to treat his date) and Ashi covered the tip. As they were leaving, they decided to head back to Jack's apartment, for another night of late-night TV on the couch; there was a convenience store right across from Taste of Edo, and so they crossed the street to pick up some booze for the night.

Jack and Ashi perused the selection of beers and IPAs, unable to come to a decision. She wanted the light beer she liked, but he was feeling something a little harder. Eventually, a particular brand caught their eye; a six-pack of beer with a stylized illustration of a Greco-Roman-looking soldier, obviously inspired by the name on the package.

Ashi pulled the only case left out of the fridge display. "I read about this actually! Apparently, there's a locally owned brewery in New Hampshire that just recently started selling an IPA around the country. This must be that IPA, 'The Spartan!'" she said in a dramatic voice, holding up the six-pack.

Jack looked carefully at the beer, "Do you think it's any good?"

"I'm willing to find out," Ashi shrugged, and Jack nodded. They both walked over to the counter, placing the beer in front of the cashier for him to ring it up. Ashi handed him a ten-dollar bill, and after putting the IPA in a plastic bag, he gave both to her. They thanked the clerk, and as they were walking out, Jack held the door for three hipsters that were coming in. None of them thanked him, and Ashi mused that that was rude.

One of them walked up to the counter, and pulled out a firearm, pointing it at the clerk. He spoke calmly, through horn-rimmed glasses and a handlebar moustache; "No funny business, alright? Once we get what want, we'll be outta your hair, and you can go back to your boring, mainstream life." The other two, another man with a wool beanie and piercings, and a woman with a blue hair and half her head shaved walked towards the back of the store where the fridge displays were. They searched the aisle, but quickly realized what they wanted wasn't there. They told the man with the gun up front, and he turned to the cashier, "Where's your Spartan!?" The terrified clerk stammered, "W-What, that IPA? Someone j-just bought the last one!"

The hipster assailant pinched the fuzz on his chin, "Well, is there anymore in the back!?" but the cashier shook his head, "N-No, I just put out the last of it, I swear!" Suddenly, he remembered the couple that just walked out, and that they were holding a plastic bag with a…. six-pack in it.

The hipster turned to his companions, "Those normies must've taken it, we have to catch up to them!" Without addressing the store clerk any further, the three potential robbers exited the store, heading off in the direction Jack and Ashi went.

/

"So, if you enjoyed that kind of work so much, why'd you stop?" Ashi asked, on the topic of Jack's year spent doing odd jobs around the neighborhood.

"It wasn't my decision. After I was…arrested, none of my usual employers would work with me anymore; AKu saw to it that any affiliation with me was not a good look, and I was essentially blacklisted. The only reason I work at Sheriff Mart is because they're understaffed as it is. Most people go nowhere near that place, but I had nowhere else to turn." Jack looked solemn as he spoke, but felt a little better when he felt Ashi's hand tighten, clasped in his.

Ashi thought for a moment, "You know, it's been a long time since your arrest, and I don't think it still reflects on you the way you think it does. Everyone's probably already forgotten about it, and you're not the same man you were then; I'm sure if you got back out there, all your old friends and neighbors would be happy to hear from you again." Jack smiled softly at her, and she reciprocated before a shout from behind caught their attention.

"Hey, you! Hold on a minute!" They both turned around as the three oddly dressed individuals, who were slightly bent over, panting. The one with the glasses caught his breath, pulling the gun out of his coat and pointing it at them. "Now don't do anything stupid, just give us what we want and you'll get out of here just fine," he spoke deliberately, holding his hand out next to the pistol.

Jack and Ashi stood there, caught off guard by their current situation, and started to reach for their wallets. The assailant spoke up, "No, we don't want money, we want that!" pointing at the plastic bag Jack was holding.

Ashi looked at the bag, then at the gunman, "Seriously, THAT'S all you want from us? Just some beer?"

The three hipsters started chuckling, seeming to forget they were robbing the couple. The girl scoffed, "See, that's exactly why you don't deserve it."

The one with the beanie chimed in, "If you were really in the know, you'd know that it's not just 'some beer'!"

Finally, the gentlemen with the gun stepped forward, "It's the Spartan IPA, and it's the first of its kind; a new label of beer that doesn't have any preconceptions towards the type of person it's for. But we're going to make one for it, and it's going to be for us!"

Jack and Ashi were not nearly as scared as they were a moment ago, "Okay…. Who are you then?" Jack raised an eyebrow at the strange trio.

The man with the gun smirked, "The fact that you don't know who we are means we're good at what we do. We are the Flannels!" He declared confidently, as his two cohorts stood next to him in poses that looked rehearsed. The couple was rather unimpressed.

"We've been making a name for ourselves around the city, but only with other non-conformists like us! If you're mainstream, we won't be seen!" the beanie hipster asserted, causing Jack and Ashi to cringe at the awful slogan. The blue-haired hipster spoke up again, "We've robbed every thrift store in the neighborhood, cleaning them out of every piece of merchandise that belongs to OUR aesthetic!"

"Including, that IPA you're holding," said moustache hipster. "We've scoured the city, cleaning out every convenience store we could find that had it on display. If any pitiful mainstreamer were to get their hands on Spartan, it will surely grow in popularity, and then our new signature beer is lost!" He finished gesturing, and pointed the gun at them again. "So, how about you do what's best for all of us, and give it here?"

Jack blinked, "Sure," and he swung the plastic bag up, knocking the gun out of the hipster's hand and into the air. Grabbing Ashi's hand and shouting, "RUN!" they both dashed off towards their parked vehicle. But when they turned into the alley they had left Jack's motorcycle, it was nowhere to be found. "I thought it was right here!" Ashi wondered, and Jack confirmed, "It should be, this is where we parked it!"

Just then, they heard the footsteps of the approaching hipster assailants. The gunmen turned the corner, immediately firing upon the pair, but Ashi had pulled the metal lid off a nearby trash can and blocked the bullets. Jack then grabbed a second one and threw it like a frisbee at the hipsters; it bounced off the alley walls and struck the gunmen, this time knocking him over. Thinking fast, Ashi leapt up and grabbed the fire ladder hanging off one of the buildings, Jack climbing up behind her.

His two companions helped him up, but their targets were already gone. Moustache hipster punched the ground in frustration. "Dammit, looks like we gotta tell the boss about this…"

Meanwhile, Jack and Ashi were running across rooftops, only concerned with escaping their assailants. When they got to a rooftop with a vacant patio setup, Jack dropped the beer onto the table and sat down, defeated. Ashi soon noticed he had stopped, "Jack, what are you doing? Shouldn't we keep moving?"

Jack shook his head, disregarding the possible danger, "I can't believe my bike was stolen, how could I have been so foolish?"

Ashi sat next to him, "Don't beat yourself up about it, you couldn't have known someone was going to take it. I mean, we had no idea we were going to get held up over some lousy beer!" she gestured to the six-pack sitting there, picking up a bottle. "They're so worried about image, I wonder if they've even tried this stuff?"

Suddenly, a thought popped into Jack's head. "Wait a second, didn't they say they had been robbing thrift stores all over?"

"Uhh, yeah. I think so, why?"

Jack pulled out his cell, "Scotsman was telling me earlier about a string of thrift store robberies, where they stole unusual items. I'd say it's a safe bet that 'the Flannels' are the ones responsible for those."

Ashi thought about it for a moment, "If that's the case, there might be a good chance they stole you motorcycle, too. I mean, it's pretty different from other bikes I've seen; seeing as how they like not fitting in, it wouldn't surprise me if they did take it."

Jack pulled up Scotsman's contact, and hit call. "Good point… Hi, Scotsman? Are you still on your shift? Good, because I have a new lead for you…"

/

Surveying the area was easy enough from the rooftops, but locating the Flannels amidst a sea of similar non-conformists proved much more difficult. Eventually though, they were able to pick the three hipsters that confronted them earlier out of the crowd; Jack and Ashi worked their way down from the rooftop, and began to quietly tail the trio.

Soon, they were led to an old warehouse on the east end of the neighborhood. It looked abandoned, but the amount of flannel wearing hipsters in the area tipped them off that this was probably their hideout. Jack quickly texted Scotsman the address, and they went to look for a way in.

The freight entrance seemed like the sensible choice, with only a couple hipsters standing guard; they were barely paying attention as they typed away on their phones. They seemed distracted enough already, but knocking down a couple trash cans worked well enough as diversion. The two guards wandered away to see the source of the noise, and Jack and Ashi quietly slipped through the freight hatch.

As they snuck through the old warehouse, they found a steel staircase leading up to the overhead walkway; seeing the corridor up ahead was heavily populated, they decided to take path up to the higher elevation.

They carefully made their way across the overhang, mindful of how noisy each step was on the steel walkway. Finally reaching the open area of the warehouse, they saw a gathering of Flannels, surrounding a man lounging in what appeared to be a throne made up of old junk. He wore a corduroy jacket, with skinny jeans and sandals over socks. He had a long, furry moustache-beard combo under a nose piercing and a pair of sunglasses. His hair was gathered up in a man bun.

The three hipsters from earlier approached him, and the mustached one stepped forward; "My dude, I've got some bad news…" he spoke somewhat nervously, and the man on the throne adjusted his shades so his eyes were peeking over them. "We stole just about every six-pack of Spartan in the city…except one. This couple bought the last case of it earlier tonight; we tried to steal it from them, but they were crafty, and they got away."

The three hipsters stood there, as the man in the throne stroked his beard. Finally, he spoke. "My dudes, let me level with you. I'm a little peeved that you failed to get all the Spartan, like I asked. But you know what? That was a pretty big job, but we still ended up with every case but one. That's a win, in my book. On top of that, I finally found the perfect wheels, a one-of-a-kind vehicle for an important non-conformist like myself. Someone bring it out here so I can appreciate it more!" He snapped his fingers, and a couple more hipsters rolled Jack's motorcycle out from under a tarp in the corner of the warehouse.

Ashi was about to suggest that it was time to make their move, but Jack had already taken the initiative. He climbed down ladder against the wall, taking cover behind the piles of thrift merchandise lining the room. Getting to the bike wasn't going to be too hard, but the overwhelming number of hipsters caused him to hesitate. Suddenly, he realized he wasn't carrying the beer; Ashi had it, and she was…walking right up to the hipsters!?

"Hey, King Misfit!" she shouted, and they all turned to see her holding up the IPA, "Looking for these?"

The moustache hipster shouted, "That's her, she's one of the ones who got away!"

The hipster leader got up from caressing the bike, "First off, I'm a Duke, because King's are too popular. Second, you should probably hand over that beer, or else your fate certainly won't be mainstream…as in, like, you're going to die here and no one will know, you know?"

Ashi rolled her eyes at the weak threat, "Oh don't worry, you'll get this, BUT only if you're willing to trade…"

The hipster "Duke" slowly took off his sunglasses and hung them on the V of his flannel shirt, "I'm listening…" he said as he walked away from Jack's motorcycle.

Ashi quickly glanced at Jack off to the side, before placing the case of beer at her feet, and pulling one of the bottles out. "It's quite simple, really. You give up the bike, and I give you this IPA in exchange. You see, that vehicle belongs to my boyfriend, and we'd really appreciate if you let me get it back to him."

Jack stopped dead at the mention of the word "boyfriend", blushing profusely as the Duke and his hipsters started laughing. "You know, you're really in no position to make that deal. Look how many of us there are compared to you? We could totally just take the beer from you and kill you now."

Ashi feigned surprise, "Oh gosh, I didn't think of that. And here I am, throwing myself in front of you guys like some big heroine, I must look so silly! In fact, all this tension has got me parched, maybe I'll just…"

She reached to twist off the cap of the bottle she was holding, and the Duke immediately panicked. "STOP! GET HER, DON'T LET HER OPEN IT!" Suddenly, the whole crowd of hipsters sprang into action, and she quickly picked up the rest of the six-pack and avoided the first few tacklers.

As she danced around the attacking hipsters, Jack finally got to his bike. He inserted the key and started the engine, which caught the attention of the Duke who was standing nearby. He ran up to the bike to stop Jack, only to receive a hard kick in the chest, sending him crashing into his "throne". Half of the hipster mob took notice, while the other half was about to corner Ashi. With no other choice, she shouted, "JACK!" and threw the loose bottle high over the crowd's head. Before the bottle hit the ground, Jack sped over on his bike and caught it, before looping around the crowd to Ashi, who promptly hopped on. Jack handed the bottle back to Ashi, and she again threw it against the big red button next to the warehouse door, which slowly rose open. After circling in the space for a moment, the couple on the bike sped out of the warehouse, just as sirens were heard coming down the street. Sure enough, multiple police cruisers arrived at the scene, surrounding the warehouse.

Scotsman stepped out his vehicle, and spoke into a megaphone (not that he really needed it); "ALRIGHT, YOU FLANNEL-WEARIN', BEER-STEALIN', NON-CONFORMIN'-"

/

Finally getting back to Jack's building, he and Ashi got off the bike and exhaustedly made their way up to his apartment. They got through the door and immediately plopped next to each other on the couch; sharing a sigh, they both grabbed one of the remaining bottles of Spartan and twisted the caps off. They toasted to their victory and took a swig of the IPA, both pausing to consider the taste of the beer.

Ashi crinkled her nose, "It's…kinda bitter." Jack agreed, a little reluctant to describe his thoughts, "Yes, not as…flavorful as I anticipated." They sat there for a minute, until they both finally accepted that the IPA simply wasn't good. Ashi groaned, "Well, there goes our alcohol for the night…" but Jack chimed in, "Maybe not…" as he got up and went to the kitchen.

Reaching under the sink, Ashi jokingly asked if he they were going to drink bleach instead, until Jack came up to reveal a full bottle of sake he had been keeping for a special occasion. "While this occasion isn't exactly 'special', you certainly are," he quipped, and Ashi blushed as he kissed her.

And so, the rest of that night was spent with the two lovers drinking themselves silly over late night television. The ended up in Jack's bed, passed out, in each other's arms.

—END CHAPTER 8—

/