They'd managed to arrive at The Henry at 1:30, thirty minutes earlier than Hibari had perhaps anticipated. It was probably a good thing, too, since Hibari hadn't realized that the diner actually closed at two in the afternoon. Still, that wouldn't have stopped them from coming in just around closing time and demanding that it stay open for them. Anyhow, the diner was huge, even by the standards of restaurants inside a Las Vegas casino/resort. Despite being an American-style diner, it had a somewhat cosmopolitan aesthetic going for it. As it was about thirty minutes before closing time, the place was busy, filled to the brim with busy patrons.
"Wow, this place looks great," Jasmine said.
"Oh yes, very nice. It totally doesn't look like every other upscale restaurant these days." Bitsy rolled her eyes as if automatically. "There's no time to waste now. We have to go inside and see Hibari. I feel like it would be a waste of time if it was all for nothing, n'est-ce pas?"
"Sure, whatever you say, Miss Brandenham."
"Well, what are you waiting for? Come on!"
With that, Helen and Jasmine followed Bitsy inside the diner and over to where Hibari and her family had been sitting. Jasmine, in particular, was pleasantly surprised by how well-dressed Hibari and her family were, as well as how affable they seemed.
Hibari Eguchi had brown hair that she kept pinned back, brown eyes, thick voluminous eyelashes, and meticulously manicured nails. She wore a vividly red lipstick to accentuate her pale skin. She also happened to be wearing a traditional dark maroon kimono with patterns of various flowers printed at the end of her sleeves and the bottom, paired with a purple obi sash in the back.
Her husband Kikujiro had dark slicked-back hair that was starting to gray in multiple areas with facial hair framing his jawline and upper lip. On the right side of his face, a scar was slashed from the corner of his lips all the way up to his ear. He wore dark aviator sunglasses and a monochrome three-piece suit. In his arms, he held a petite little Chihuahua with brown and white fur.
Lastly, there was Hibari's nephew Masa. He had unruly bleach-blond hair that stood up over his head. From what Bitsy could see of him, he appeared to be covered in bandages, probably from getting into fights or something of that nature. He had pierced ears and a chain around his neck. He left a pink button-up shirt open to expose a white shirt underneath.
"Hello there," Hibari just greeted.
Jasmine then jokingly greeted back, "General Kenobi."
Masa couldn't help but stifle his laughter, clearly having understood that reference.
"This is quite the restaurant you picked for your meeting, Mrs. Eguchi," Jasmine said. "I'm definitely starting to see why you chose it."
"Thank you..." Hibari suddenly trailed off. "Erm, what did you say your name was again?"
"Jasmine."
"Thank you, Jasmine. I appreciate the comment." Hibari gestured at the empty seats across from her. "Why don't you all sit down?"
While Jasmine and Helen didn't hesitate to grab their seats, Bitsy just eyed the remaining chair, noting how high off the ground it was. Nevertheless, she just climbed up without much scrambling.
"Ah, good," Hibari said. "So, just to refresh your memory, I understand that you need our help in making sure your redevelopment plans for Central Park go over smoothly?"
"Indeed," Bitsy replied, trying desperately to hide her crush away. "I've had to look at that fucking eyesore for years now, and I'm sick of it. I've tried and failed so many times to get this redevelopment project off the ground. I've even blackmailed certain politicians just to have my plans fall apart again and again. And since you're masters at 'disappearing' people, I'm hoping that you'll 'disappear' enough of them to leave Central Park open for demolition."
Hibari rubbed her chin in thought. "I suppose so. I've heard that certain places can gain unshakeable reputations if there's enough bloodshed. Perhaps that's what we must accomplish with Central Park."
"Indeed. We'll just have to figure out how to 'disappear' some of these people. Perhaps if we stage it like a natural disaster..."
While Bitsy and Hibari continued to talk, Helen decided to pass the time by petting Shampagne and actually finding comfort in the little mutt. She couldn't have been hearing this, right? Was Bitsy actually conspiring with someone to possibly commit arson... in Central Park? Admittedly, Helen had briefly entertained some dark fantasies herself, but she'd never actually carried them out. Then again, that was what set her apart from Bitsy. Helen only considered doing terrible things, while Bitsy actually set out to do them. Without even consciously thinking about it, Helen did the visualization exercise the dog therapist had taught her all those years ago.
Time seemed to slow down the further Bitsy and Hibari talked about their plans for Central Park. Finally, the conversation between the two women had ended when a waitress asked everyone for their orders.
Once everyone had eaten their meals, they all made their way back to Bitsy's hotel room. There, the conversation Bitsy and Hibari were having regarding Central Park resumed as if nothing had happened. Meanwhile, Helen had been engaging in a conversation of her own with Masa, albeit somewhat awkwardly. (They didn't have much in common besides playing second fiddle to their respective lady bosses.)
"So..." Helen tried to pry an answer out of the other person. "Anything interesting going on in your life lately?"
"Uh, not really," Masa replied. "My life's not all that interesting. Sometimes, though, my friend Tatsu will drag me into some shenanigans back home."
"Ah, I see... what kind of shenanigans?"
"Well, this one time, I thought that he was going to ambush our rivals, the Oshiroyama clan, because he was purchasing some fancy knives and I decided to tag along with Aunt Hibari and Uncle Kikujiro to help him. Turns out he was just organizing a birthday party for a friend's daughter, and we got arrested. Man, Tatsu had a good laugh about that."
"That's kinda like what I've had to deal with with Bitsy on a regular basis."
"Really? No way! I heard that Bitsy can be difficult even at the best of times, but wow. She must really run you ragged."
"Tell me about it. She had me fire a handyman once because she had a dream about him."
"That's insane."
All of a sudden, there was a knock at the door.
"Uh, who is it?" Jasmine called out to the stranger behind the door.
"I'm that sex worker Bitsy Brandenham hired an hour ago," the stranger replied with a feminine voice.
"Oh." Jasmine cleared her throat. "Okay, come on in."
The door opened to reveal a dark-skinned woman with black/auburn hair done up into an Afro. She was wearing bright red lipstick, dark eyeshadow, blush that stood out against the skin on her face, golden hoop earrings and bracelets, a low-cut leopard-printed tank top, a denim miniskirt, and black strapped shoes. Though it wasn't conspicuous to most people, she also had what appeared to be a yellow belly button piercing.
"Hi there," Jasmine greeted. "You mind telling me what your name is?"
"My name is Classi," the sex worker replied. "With an I, and a little dick hanging off the C that bends around and fucks the L out of the A S S."
Helen pursed her lips. "I've certainly heard weirder names."
Classi let that comment wash over her. "Alright, I'm here now, and I'm down for whatever Bitsy wants me to do."
Now it was Bitsy's turn to speak. "Good. Now that you're actually here, I should probably start by explaining why I came to Las Vegas in the first place."
Classi perked up at this. "A'ight, I'm listening now."
And so Bitsy proceeded to explain to Classi the entirety of her Central Park plot, starting from the very beginning when the seeds of such a plot planted themselves in her head. By the time Bitsy had finished, Classi had come out of it, equal parts intrigued and horrified over potential wanton death and destruction that could come from demolishing Central Park.
"You bougie-ass bitch, I'm in," Classi finally said after a while. "All I ask is for a cut of the profits when it's all said and done."
"I'll think about it."
"I better see that money. I'm not doing this so that you can stiff me when it's all over."
"I said I'll think about it."
"Promise me that I'm getting that money."
A deaf person could've heard the "Or else" implicit in Classi's demand. Helen, knowing fully well what could happen if that demand wasn't followed through, decided to step in on Bitsy's behalf and make the promise that Classi would be seeing a cut of the profits when Central Park was finally torn down.
"A'ight, good," Classi said. "I don't want to have to fuck me up a bitch."
