Chapter 4
Ah, about time I came back to this story. Not much to say here, so read on!
"Hey, sorry I'm late." A voice said in the dimly lit room.
"Yeah, yeah we're both sorry we're late." Another voice added, more shrill then the other.
"Idiot, what did I tell you about doing that everything time I say something!?" the first voice shouted angrily.
"Relax Snake. No need to be nasty." A third, softer voice remarked.
It was Snake, Falcon, and Ike. They were all standing in a small office, consisting of a few chairs, a single painting depicting a stormy sea, and a large oak desk with a high-backed black leather chair behind it. The back of the chair was currently facing the three, so they couldn't see the owner's face. A puff of cigar smoke rose up from behind the dark furniture before the man sitting in it spoke. "All of you shut it." His was far deeper then the others, showing hints of irritation, and yet still remaining in a state of pure business.
"Alright, so what's the deal about bringing us in here?" Snake asked sneeringly.
The leather chair before them seemed to move only the slightest inch, but it was noticeable. "Maybe if you keep that flickering tongue in your mouth I'd tell you. But now I've half a mind to cut it out." The mysterious man's tone radiated power, so much in fact that Snake immediately quick talking and sunk back in his chair. "Now then, I've gathered you all here tonight to discuss a certain problem."
"A uh, problem sir?" Ike questioned. This was only his second time ever meeting with the boss. It's said that nobody ever sees his face. And yet the teen wasn't terrified of him. But all the same, something about the guy, who was simply known to everyone as 'The Boss', just sent chills down the bluenette's spine every time he uttered a word.
"Indeed. As you all may or may not know, we've been low on prostitutes lately, and the drug business hasn't been enough to pick up on the lag of cash flow."
Snake, having regained his composer, spoke up once more. "Yeah, well what are we supposed to do about it?"
The boss puffed another swirling cloud of smoke before answering. "For now, we wait. But if things don't start looking up, you may have to start branching out your searches for new, "recruits" as it were."
There was a stagnate silence for what seemed like an hour before the boss finished the meeting with his monotone voice. "That will be all. You may leave now."
Falcon and Snake quickly left in silence. Ike was almost out the door when he heard the boss call out to him. "Ike, a quick word."
The bluenette cringed. Usually when somebody was asked to stay behind it was because they did something wrong. At times some would even get shot in the head, so needless to say, Ike was very nervous. Turning back, he sat back down, twiddling his sweaty thumbs.
"Now then Ike, I do understand that a friend of yours has moved away recently yes?"
"Yes sir, she has." Ike wasn't surprised he knew this. The boss was the highest ranking man in this entire side of town. In a word, he was the "mayor" of the underground workings about the city, so nothing happened around here that he doesn't find out about.
"I feel terrible for your loss." The man said in a voice that at first appeared to be genuine, but was dripping with indifference. "I do too, she was one of the most popular girls on the street. She helped us make quite a killing" he added with a villainous chuckle.
Ike cringed again. He didn't like to hear his friend talked about in such a heartless way. But he didn't dare bring the notion up, for fear of his life. "I miss her too sir."
Yet another grey cloud floated above the black leathered furniture. "Seeing as you two are so close, perhaps you can persuade her to come back for a little more business, yes?"
"Well, I don't know… she lives rather far away, and I don't think I can ask her to-"
The boss's voice suddenly grew ever so slightly angry. "If you want to keep your paycheck, and your worthless life, you'll do as I ask. That girl made more money then all the others combined. And I intended to squeeze as much cash out of her body as possible."
Ike was taken aback. "B-but sir!"
"That will be all. Now leave."
"Sir, I'm afraid I can't-"
"If you want to keep that pea brain of yours inside your skull, you'll leave my presence now!"
Ike knew better then to argue further. Closing the door behind him, the bluenette walked out the building, feeling completely conflicted. "What do I do now?"
"Ah, another bright and wonderful day!" Zelda exclaimed as she looked out her bedroom window. A week had passed since she moved into her new home. During that time she got an actual bed, became fast friends with Peach and her twin brothers and all around transformed into a happy, cheerful person; totally opposite of her formal quiet, depressed self. She had tried to make contact with Link, the shy boy across the street, but could never make any headway. But that was only a small problem on her otherwise peaceful life.
Throwing on a simple tie-dye T-shirt, a pair of kaki shorts and some flip-flops, she walked out to her neighbor's house, knocking on the door a couple times.
It opened to reveal a small blue-haired boy wearing a blue shirt with white shorts and tennis shoes, which could only mean it was Marth, one of the twin brothers. "Hi Zelda!" he said with his playful voice. "Peach and Roy will be out in a minute."
"Okay. Want to wait with me on the porch then?"
"Sure!"
Zelda smiled as the boy sat down on the porch swing next to her, lazily swinging his legs in the air. Marth had called her his "second sister" and grew quite attached to her. His brother Roy on the other hand, while still friendly, wasn't as cuddly in demeanor.
The four of them were going to go out to the Tetris Mall for the day, a massive place located in the next city over. The boys wanted to hang out in the toy and video game stores, but were also going to have to go into the clothes and perfume stores that the girls wanted to visit. "Hey, I guess we have to make a trade off at some point!" Marth had said the other day.
The two of them sat waiting for a few more minutes before the others came out the door. Roy wore a similar outfit to Marth's, only his shirt was red and his shorts black. Peach had a simple pink blouse with matching shorts and flip-flops. After everyone hopped into Peach's red Jeep, they were on their way.
"So, have you been hanging out with Link yet?" Peach asked as they zoomed down the highway, her eyelashes batting in a teasing manner.
Zelda pretended to swat at her friend in annoyance. "No. I've tried several times to grab his attention, but every time I get close he ducks into the house!"
"Well at least you've gotten closer then I have. That guy acts shyer then a gazelle in a zoo!"
Zelda giggled a little. Peach was always one to make up random analogies.
"Ha! I got first place!"
"That's only because you blasted me with a red shell at the last second!"
"Not my fault you suck!"
Turning head to the back seats, Zelda saw the two boys arguing. Apparently they were playing on their 3DSs. "Now guys, there's no need to fight." She said softly.
Marth, who lost the race, stuck up his nose. "But he started it!"
"Did not!" Roy snapped.
"Did too!"
"Did not!"
"Did too!"
Peach suddenly shouted towards the back. "Hey if you guys don't shut your mouths I'll make you both stay in the clothes store all day!"
Not surprisingly the twins immediately stopped bickering, much to the relief of the two front passengers.
"Boy, how do you deal with those two five year-olds all the time?" the brunette questioned.
Peach let out a long sigh. "It's like my mom said, 'just flaunt you authority and they will respond' but of course it does get tiring sometimes."
The rest of the drive went on in relative silence, interrupted only by the occasional sound affects by the twins' games. After about half-an hour, they arrived at the place known as the Tetris Mall, which was right next to the highway's exit ramp. The place was huge, covering an area of 3 football fields. Almost every kind of store imaginable was inside its concrete clad walls, food courts, fashion boutiques, toy stores, pet shops, movie cinemas, gyms, and everything in between.
Zelda had never seen a colossal building. "Sweet syrup, this place is bigger then the world's largest sponge after it soaked up an ocean!" she then stopped and thought over her own sentence. Looking at Peach, she grinned sheepishly. "I think you're rubbing off on me…"
The blonde let out a hearty laugh. "I'm not even sure if that's a good thing or not!"
"Probably not." Roy said snarkly.
Peach sent her little brother a nasty glare before returning her focus on finding a parking spot. "Man this place is packed today…" But nonetheless, she managed to find a place to park, albeit rather far away.
Getting out of the car, Roy grumbled. "Man, we're going to have to walk all the way over there?"
Marth gave him a soft bop on the head. "Oh come on it's not that bad! Besides you can use the exercise!"
The redhead rolled his eyes at his overly cheery brother. "Ah whatever…"
"Alright let's go guys!" Peach announced. With that the four made there way to the Tetris Mall. Once they got inside, Zelda's eyes widened in amazement. It was a bustling area, with crowds of people milling about, weaving between columns that appeared to be made of colored blocks. In fact, the blocks were everywhere, serving as support beams, benches, fountains, arches, tables, chairs, and various other purposes.
"So, is this place cool or what?" Marth asked with a smile while staring at the brunette's astonished face.
"I'll say it is. This is the most awesome place I've ever been in!"
"Oh just wait till we get shopping!" her blonde friend said excitedly.
The next several hours were spent walking around the massive building, stopping in at every store that caught their interests. Since the boys were too young to be by themselves, the girls had to accompany them whenever they wanted to go into a GameStop or Toy R Us. But of course, it also meant they had to go with them to other stores like Macy's and JC Penny. While Marth didn't mind too much, Roy would be bored out of his mind.
At this point there were in a clothes store, with the teens taking their time trying on dresses. Since Zelda's late uncle Wario left a huge cash pile in his bank account, she could afford to splurge a little. The twins were sitting on a bench in the back of the shop, biding their time.
Roy, being the impatient one, was already complaining. "Man, why don't hey hurry up already!"
Marth, even though he was more courteous, agreed. "I'm with you; we've been in here for a whole hour!"
Zelda meanwhile had selected a few items and paid for them at the register, with Peach following soon after. After rounding up the boys, who responded with winded sighs, the four of them exited the store.
All was going well, until Zelda suddenly spotted someone in the crowd who made her stop cold in her tracks; someone who she had almost forgotten about, yet was always nagging at the back of her mind. It was Ike.
Is that a cliffhanger? I guess so. I wanted to give the mall a name, and I didn't want to go with the way overdone "Smash Mall" and whatnot. But I still wanted it to be video game related, and Tetris was the best thing that popped into my head, so there you go. Speaking of which, I really want to come up with a name for Zelda's city/town but I can't think of anything. I'm open to suggestions. Also Roy's attitude towards clothes stores and the like reflect my own when I was around his age. Oh how I hated having to sit around for hours on end while my sister(s) tried on dress after dress… At least Marth and Roy have 3DSs to pass the time; I didn't have anything back then! Okay I've rambled on enough about my childhood, so I hope you liked this chapter! See ya guys later.