It's my birthday, today! Let's celebrate with a new chapter. Enjoy!
Bulma flew in her hover car, as the GPS beeped next to her. She was getting closer to her first destination, driving through a barren desert. She was about to confront the first former member of the Red Ribbon Army alone. Raditz had offered to tag along, but she turned down the offer – what she was working on was confidential, and didn't need any other eyes or ears. If anything did happen, she could take care of it herself.
The dirt roads let through a small village. It looked like something out of an old western – wooden houses sitting on each side of the road, the horizon dotted with cacti, and not a single person in sight. The lights were on in only one building – the bar at the very end of the road. It was exactly where she needed to go.
She pulled the hover car around a corner, and turned it off. She hopped out and put it into a capsule, sticking it into her pocket. The sun was bright, even while wearing sunglasses. She put a hand over her eyes, walking towards the door. She pushed her way through the double doors, the wooden floorboards creaking as she stepped.
The bar was empty, save for a lone male bartender. She walked up to the counter, taking off her sunglasses.
"Hi there," he said, while he cleaned the countertop with a wet rag. "What can I do for you, miss?"
"I'm looking for a woman named Hasky. I was told she worked here, and I need to speak with her for a moment."
"Well, you certainly came to the right place." He looked over his shoulder. "HASKY! YOU GOT A VISITOR HERE TO SEE YOU!"
"Keep your shirt on, I'm coming." Out from the back room, a woman stepped out. She had long shaggy blond hair and bright blue eyes. She was dressed in worn blue jeans and a button-up plaid shirt, with an apron tied around her waist. To Bulma's relief, she looked exactly like she did in the pictures.
Hasky looked at Bulma, and walked over to her, leaning against the counter. "Hello there, beautiful. What can I do for you?"
"Can I ask you a few questions about yourself?"
"Buy me a couple drinks, and I'll answer any questions you might have." She winked at her.
Bulma sighed. She dug her hand into her pocket, and pulled out a few thousand Zeni. The bartender gawked at the cash that was tossed his way. "Get her what she wants. The rest can be a tip."
She laughed. "I like the cut of your jib." The bartender took out an entire bottle of whiskey, sliding it over to her side. Hasky grabbed it, taking it off of the countertop. "We can talk in the back, if you don't want any ears." She popped off the bottle cap, and took a swig of the alcohol, wiping her upper lip when she was done.
Bulma and Hasky sat down at a table in the kitchen. "So," Hasky said. "What is it that you want to know?"
She nodded. "What can you tell me about the Red Ribbon Army?"
She scoffed. "Is that all? I was hoping it would be a little more personal." She took another sip of her whiskey. "Yeah, I'll tell you anything you wanna know. Ask away." She waved her free hand in the air.
"How long were you apart of them?"
"I was with them for a couple years. The pay was good, and the work was fun. I was a thief-for-hire for them. I came in, stole any valuables they needed, and left. As long as I was discreet, they didn't care how I carried out their orders. If I had to shoot a few guys to keep things quiet, then so be it. It's honest work, as far as I'm concerned."
Bulma nodded. "Did you ever know any of the leaders?"
"No, ma'am. Never got to meet anyone like Red or Blue. They kept to their own business, and I kept to mine." She shrugged. "I did have a little, how you say, working relationship with Violet, but I don't think that's particularly relevant to this conversation. Unless you want to hear some of the details, of course."
She put her hand up and shook her head. "I'm good, thank you. Anyways, were you a member to the very end, for them? Were you there, when they were deposed?"
"I was, but I wasn't at HQ then, sad to say. Never did figure out what happened, there. Story I heard was that a toddler kicked their shit in." She chuckled. "Would have loved to see that go down: I can tell you that much for free."
She was reminded of the story she read from Dr. Flappe. "That 'toddler' – you wouldn't happen to recognize the name Son Goku, would you?"
Hasky nodded, as she took another drink. "Yep, that's the one. Must have been one brave kid. Or maybe a stupid one. Either way, same results – the army's gone and not a trace is left of it."
"About that… do you think it would have been possible for some, I dunno, remnants to still exist? Someone might still be out there, working on their behalf?"
"Now, wouldn't that make for an interesting story? Can't say for certain, though. I wasn't high enough on the food chain to hear about those sorts of things. I would not put it past them, though. I don't think they ever figured out everyone who got out of HQ alive. There might have been one or two powerful people in there. Who knows?"
So, she only had suspicion and hunch to go on. She was just about as clueless to their whereabouts as she was. She learned absolutely nothing from this conversation. That was just fantastic. Bulma nodded. "Well, I think that was all of my questions. Thank you for your help, and enjoy the rest of your day." She stood up, and started leaving the room.
"Hey, now." Hasky stood and caught up with her. "I might not know much about all of that, but I think I can point you to someone who does. You know where Jingle Village is?"
"Yeah. It's all the way up North, right?"
"Go there, and ask for a doctor called Flappe. He was more in the know about those kinds of things than I was. He actually got to work with the big wigs, directly. Tell him Hasky sent you, if he doesn't want to cough up the information."
"Thank you for your help, again," she said. "Have a good day."
"Come back and see me again soon, sweetie."