Childhood Memories
Part 3
The Pieces Fall in Place
By Nick Maro
The year had quickly passed since Roxy ran away from her abusive aunt and uncle. Link helped her fill out job applications since she couldn't read. She was quickly hired at a fast food restaurant and was rushed through the basic training program. She was made a cashier when her training was completed.
Roxy was taking her first customer without any help. The man was ordering faster than she could keep up with when she finally looked the man in the eye. "Sir, I'm new here. I'm not very familiar where the buttons for orders are, sir. So could please order more slowly?"
The man nodded and ordered slower but it was still too fast for her to keep up with. Nervously, Roxy punched the buttons anyway. When she gave the man the total, the customer's eyes bugged out. "What? My meal shouldn't have cost this much. What are you mental handicapped or just plain stupid?"
Roxy picked up the shake and hamburger the man had ordered. "Never call me handicapped or stupid." She smashed the hamburger in his face and dumped the shake on his head. "This order is on me. Sir."
As she began to leave from behind the counter the manager stopped her. He was taller than average and had a pimply face. He attended the local community college and spoke in a squeaky voice. "Y-you can't do that to a customer, Roxy. I'm afraid that I have to fire you."
"Oh like I give a flying fuck now." She looked at the customers who were all staring at her. She jumped up on the counter and spoke in a loud voice so everyone heard her. "Everyone I wasn't supposed to say anything about this. But this morning we found insect larva in the ketchup mix and some of the meat patties had mold on it. We scraped the mold off and figured it would be okay. If you want to lodge a complaint, the eight hundred number is on the wall." Roxy then looked at her former boss. "Have fun with this mess. Toodles." She waved by wiggling her fingers at him, jumped off the counter and left out the door.
Before the door could fully close, she heard the manager try to explain that none of what she said was true. She unlocked her bicycle from the bike rack and rode quickly down the backsteets and back alleys to the Red Aces' home. She didn't look forward to telling Link that she was fired. The ride back helped her calm down a bit and cleared her mind.
Link reacted as Roxy had expected when she told him what happened at her work. He quietly said that he'd get her another job. In the meantime, he taught her how to play the guitar so she could play for money on the street. The new job Link got for Roxy was another fast food job. She lasted two days before throwing a basket of hot fries out the drive thru window at a customer in a waiting car. A customer had gotten the wrong order and blamed it on her, who was now working in the back.
Roxy went through job after job before trying a messenger delivery service. She was to give letters and packages on an assigned route. Even though she couldn't read, Roxy was able to do the job perfectly fine. She made a few mistakes but they were easily corrected. Most of the messages were to be delivered to the same office for each building. She memorized the streets from riding around the city on her bike. She navigated by landmarks, not by street signs.
Roxy quit the service after having a messy altercation with a client. She had accidentally delivered him the wrong package and his package to another office that was in the same building. The package he was waiting for was time sensitive and concerned buy out information for the other office. The man called her an illiterate bitch and an incompetent moron. Then he threatened to sue her. Roxy did the one thing she always did in a situation like that, she punched him.
After striking the business man, Roxy quit the messenger service. All the while she was working those jobs she had been saving her money. She finally had enough to buy her own guitar. She used that guitar to play on the streets with Link and a few others. They split the money evenly. She saved her money and had planned on moving shortly. She felt she was ready to be on her own.
It was a couple of months after her seventeenth birthday and Roxy decided it was time to move on. She had saved enough money to get a bus ticket to Los Angeles. Link had given her a fake ID so she could play at the bars and clubs. The other Red Aces had raised some money for her to live on. She said that she would come back one day and thank them properly when she was rich and famous.
The bus pulled away from the depot and Roxy waved to her friends. When the bus was out of sight from the terminal, she curled up in her seat with her guitar and backpack of clothes and belongings. Deep in her gut she knew her destiny waited in Los Angeles.
Hitomi opened the door to the dojo only to find that David and Hiroshi weren't there. She had expected David to be training with his adoptive father today. Sliding the door closed she walked through the winter snow to the main house. She brushed most of the snow off her legs and opened the back door. "[Mariko! It's Hitomi. Is David home?]"
Mariko walked around the corner and greeted the teenage girl. "[I'm sorry, Hitomi, but David and Hiroshi are in the mountains training.]"
"[Oh yeah that was today.]" Hitomi looked at the floor in thought. "[Oh well. Just tell him I stopped by. Nothing important I was just wondering if he wanted to catch a movie or something. See you soon, Mariko.]" She waved good bye and slipped out the back door. Mariko went back into the living room to watch the television show she was waiting for all week.
Hiroshi stood facing David with both men holding their katanas at the ready. David held his at his mid-waist, while Hiroshi held his sword lower. Their eyes were locked in an unseen combat. Neither man moved. Their feet were firmly planted in the cold snow. Cool, brutal winds beat against their bare chests. It was a test of strength and inner will.
Finally, David let his sword drop in defeat. "[You win again, Master.]"
Hiroshi sheathed his sword and walked up to David while handing him his shirt. "[You did fine, David. At seventeen I didn't even last four hours in the battle of wills. You've come very far in your training. I'll be proud to pass the Ikari School to you when you're ready.]" Hiroshi put on his shirt and coat. "[Now let's get home, I know that you wanted to see Hitomi today. It's about time you asked her out.]"
David blushed as he put on his coat. "[I haven't asked her yet and she hasn't said yes. So I don't want you to make a big deal out of it. That way none of us get crushed by disappointment.]" He got into the truck and warmed his hands on the vent. Hiroshi pulled onto the hidden gravel road and drove down the mountainside.
"[I heard you and Ken talking about taking up an instrument as a hobby. Any ideas?]"
"[Ken thinks we should learn guitar together. Spazz, I mean Hitomi, wants to learn the drums. Makes perfect sense for her, huh?]" David gave Hiroshi a sideways smile. Hiroshi chuckled under his breath and pulled onto the freeway that led into town.
On their way home they talked about school and martial arts. When they were almost home David spotted Hitomi walking down the street. He rolled down his window and yelled to get her attention. "[Spazz! Hey Spazz!]" Hitomi turned around when she heard her childhood nickname and smiled at him. Hiroshi pulled the truck to the curb as David hopped out and met Hitomi half way to the truck. "[I'm glad I caught you.]"
Hitomi's smile grew wider. "[Same here, David-kun, I was just at your place looking for you. I wanted to see if you wanted to go to the movies or hang out. I forgot you were heading to the mountains for training.]"
"[I didn't think it would last for so long, but I wouldn't mind catching a movie, been meaning to do so anyway. I wanted to make it like a date or something. I asked Ken, he didn't care because he knows I'll treat you well.]" David looked at the ground shyly and Hitomi's giggle caused him to look up at her.
"[Do you know how long I've had a crush on you, David-kun? Since you saved me from Ryo, of course I'll go out on a date with you, but we better hurry up. Looks like Hiroshi is getting impatient with us in the truck.]" Hitomi took David's hand in hers and they walked to the truck together to begin their first official date.
Stormer raced up to Pizzazz after school had let out. She panted out of breath as she stopped in front of her. "Sorry I forgot to tell you earlier, Pizzazz, but I have piano lessons today, remember? My mom should be picking me up any minute."
"Oh yeah, I forgot too. I was thinking that maybe I should learn an instrument. Maybe the guitar? Who knows, we might start a band someday." Pizzazz and Stormer shared a quiet laugh. The younger girl with the gray hair chuckled with them. Pizzazz glanced at her. "Madison, what are you doing here?"
Madison looked at Pizzazz and Stormer nervously. "I-I just wanted to hang out, y'know."
"Can't you go bug someone else? Stormer and I were talking privately. Besides, you're too young to hang out with us." Pizzazz leaned against the wall and waited for the girl to leave. "Well, get goin'! What are you waiting for?"
"But Pizzazz, I'm not that much younger. I'm still older that Stormer. I'm only a year younger than you and a year older than Stormer. Plus I play guitar, I could give you lessons." Madison smiled hopefully at the two young girls.
A car horn tooted signaling Stormer that her mother was there. "Alright, gotta go. I'll look at the prices on some guitars for you, Pizzazz. I think it would be great if you bought one. Then you and I could get a band going." The horn sounded a second time. "Okay, she's growing impatient now. I'll call you tonight, Pizzazz. Bye Maddie." Stormer ran to the car and got inside.
Madison looked at Pizzazz. "Please? I'll show you how to play."
Standing in the school parking lot thinking about the offer, Pizzazz finally nodded. "Okay. Show me how to play. Then maybe I'll think about you being able to hang out with Stormer and me."
Madison let out a short cheer of joy. "I can't wait to teach you how to play. You're so cool, Pizzazz!"
"Yeah, yeah, I know. Let's get this over with. We'll take my limo to your house." Pizzazz pulled her cell phone out of her backpack and called the limo driver. She told him where to pick her up. "He'll be here in about ten minutes."
While waiting Madison talked to Pizzazz like they were best friends. Pizzazz yawned without covering her mouth and ignored Madison's talking. The limo finally showed up, Pizzazz and Madison got in and they were driven to Madison's home. They arrived at her suburban home quickly. She led Pizzazz to her room right away and showed her how to play guitar. Pizzazz listened carefully and soaked up the information like a sponge. She left Madison's house with a burning desire to play the instrument.
"Are you sure you don't want to go with, Mary?" Vanessa Phillips raced quickly through the house. "Now where are my damn keys?" she muttered under her breath before finding them in her purse. She let out a disgruntled moan and hung her head. "Okay, I'm going to the store and you make sure you feed the birds, young lady. Get your feet off the coffee table!"
Stormer giggled at her mother yelling at her. "I'm just waiting for the aspirin to kick in to get rid of this headache, Mom. After I feed the birds I'm going to the Gabor's. Is that okay?"
Vanessa kissed Stormer on the forehead. "Yeah, it's fine. You and Phyllis still thinking of starting a band?" Stormer nodded slightly. Vanessa smiled and walked to the door. "Alright, I'm going and you get home by nine. You have finals tomorrow. Love you. Bye." Stormer said her good byes and Vanessa shut the door behind her.
Stormer fed the birds in the backyard then cleaned up the house a bit and grabbed her homework. She drove to the Gabor Estate to study with her best friend. They studied until dinner was called. At the table they watched the news. The report that came next caused everyone to stop eating.
"…this is a live shot of the department store that exploded this afternoon. We can see here rescue crews and firemen pulling out the survivors and victims of this deadly explosion."
The camera panned to a body that was pulled out of the rumble. Stormer gasped sharply and covered her mouth. "mama," she said quietly.
Stormer had asked for Pizzazz to stay with her during the funeral. She had talked to her brother about how they were to keep Pizzazz from learning that Craig was her brother. He told her that she should tell Pizzazz that the wake and funeral was for family only. Stormer did and Pizzazz said she understood.
Two months had passed since her mother's death. Stormer lived with Pizzazz for a few months then moved back into her home. She was now seventeen and out of high school. Craig had moved to England shortly after their mother's death and joined The Bluebloods. Pizzazz was a couple of months shy from turning nineteen when they had decided to start up their band.
Pizzazz was relaxing in her living room and Stormer was playing the piano. Neither heard the doorbell ring or Matilda yell that there was a visitor. Madison quietly walked into the room and cleared her throat. "Uh, hi guys. I heard that you were looking for a third member of your band. I mean, I haven't seen either of you since graduation and I figured maybe this could make us closer, y'know. What do you say, Pizzazz?"
Pizzazz stared at Madison for a long time then glanced at Stormer at the piano. She let out a chuckle that she was holding back. "You gotta be fucking kidding me, Madison." Pizzazz got out of her chair and walked up to her. She poked the other girl in the chest. "I don't like you. I never have liked you and I never will. You're a hanger on. I used you for one reason, to teach me how to play the guitar. Now that I know I have no use for you. So get the hell out of my life and stop bugging me, pest."
Madison's eyes welled with tears, her lower lip began to quiver and her eyes darted to Stormer at the piano. "But we're friends, right Pizzazz? Right, Stormer?" Stormer looked at the piano and away from Madison's gaze, somewhat ashamed. Madison was quiet for a few moments she then looked in Pizzazz's eyes. "I hate you, Phyllis Gabor! You used me like a piece of toilet paper! You're a bitch, Pizzazz. And I'll get back at you. Just you wait and see!" Madison punched Pizzazz in the jaw, knocking her down. She turned around and left the mansion, slamming the door behind her.
"That little bitch! How dare she strike me!" Pizzazz fumed on the floor as Stormer helped her to her feet. She shoved Stormer away taking her anger out on her best friend. "Don't help me!" Pizzazz straightened her blouse. "Come on, Stormer. We're going to find a third member. It's time we got our band started." Stormer quietly put her jacket on and followed Pizzazz out the front door.
Sheila Burns found a way to con her way into Oxford University. She applied and got accepted for a grant that paid for her first four full years at the university. But she still needed money to live on. She took up the saxophone after realizing her drum set wouldn't fit into her dorm room. Also she could enter contests easier with the smaller instrument.
She entered the small pub with her saxophone. It was amateur night and she was determined to win first prize. Her turn came up and she played the best that she could. The audience went crazy when she was finished. Sheila accepted the applause. She sat at her table and ordered another beer. She was waiting for the emcee to announce the winner.
A young redhead sat next to her. "I hope you don't mind, I heard you play and I had to tell you were wonderful. By the way, I'm Stevie. I've seen you around campus. You're the brainy chick." Stevie smiled and Sheila laughed at the nickname.
Sheila held out her hand for the young woman. "Sheila Burns, luv, and thank you for the compliment. I've seen you around as well. You're part of the foreign languages program. That's where I've seen you before. You're part of the Blue Sabers or somethin' like that."
Stevie took the bottle from her lips and looked a little stunned. "Azure Blades, actually." She let her voice drop a little. "How did you know that, luv?"
"I did some diggin' around. Plus I found meself some hidey holes in the walls of the women's dorm. Old buildin's usually have crawl spaces between the walls. I learned that at St. Cyril's School for Young Ladies." Sheila thanked the waitress who brought her beer.
"Well, that's some school, luv. Look alive, sounds like they're gonna announce the winner." Stevie turned to face the stage. The emcee came on stage and started announcing the winners. Sheila won second place and Stevie congratulated her. "Listen, luv. Meet me outside when you're done here. I have an offer for you." She grabbed her purse and left before Sheila could say anything.
Sheila went up on stage and accepted her prize money. She then grabbed her sax case and went to pay her tab. Since she was one of the winners the tab was already paid. Sheila thanked the woman at the counter and exited the building. Stevie was waiting down by the entrance to the alley. Sheila quickly walked up to the woman. "Okay, you have me attention, luv. What's your offer?"
"How would you like to become an Azure Blade?" Stevie smiled when Sheila smirked in thought. "We've known about your spyin' on us for awhile now. Now I'm givin' you a choice, follow me back to our headquarters or go back to your dorm room now and forget all about us. The choice is yours, Sheila. I know you'll make the wise choice." She waited while Sheila paced in thought.
"Alrighty, I'm in. Lead the way mystery lady." Sheila followed Stevie to a waiting car and got in. Stevie explained to Sheila who the Azure Blades were and what they represented. Sheila and Stevie then talked about their lives. They were fast friends by the time they arrived at the Azure Blades' hidden base.
Roxy sat in her apartment and looked over the want ads for the fifth time that afternoon. She was still humiliated and embarrassed from making the movie and getting into the fight with the director. But at least she got paid for what she did. She opened up a musician's trade paper on a whim and circled a few ads for a guitarist wanted.
She played through the first two auditions without even trying her best. She could tell by the way they had greeted her that she wasn't getting the job. The third audition she could tell the band was desperate and Roxy played her best for them. She was welcomed into the band right away. She was told they were called Tone Deaf. After playing with the band for a few weeks she understood why. She stayed with the band because they were becoming popular and getting gigs.
Tone Deaf was playing in a back alley club and the crowd was really into hating them that night. The only thing that kept them from being lynched outright was Roxy's playing. Each time she had a guitar solo the audience cheered her on. Tone Deaf made sure she played her fill that night.
The band took a break and Roxy ordered water from the bartender when two women approached her. One had curly blue hair and the other had wild green hair. The green haired woman smirked. "You do realize you're the only one up there with talent, right?" she said shouted over the crowd.
"Thanks! I know. Name's Roxy, what can I do for you?" She took a sip of the cool water.
"I'm Pizzazz and this is Stormer." Pizzazz jerked her thumb at Stormer who was right behind her. "We're starting up a band of our own and were wondering if you wanted to join up? I mean ditch these nobodies. They really suck. You're way too good for those suck asses. What do you say?"
Roxy thought it over for a moment as she sipped her water. "Come on, show me what you've got in front of everyone. If they like you, I'll do it." Stormer and Pizzazz agreed to Roxy's conditions.
The three women took the stage while Pizzazz grabbed a guitar from a Tone Deaf member and Stormer got behind the keyboard. Roxy picked up her guitar and followed Pizzazz's lead. The trio played as if they had been together for years. The audience erupted into applause and cheers. Roxy looked at Pizzazz, smiled and mouthed the words I'm in.
As soon as they stopped playing, the emcee got on stage. The crowd cheered and applauded. "All right! Let's hear it for –"
Pizzazz glanced at Stormer who was thinking of a name. Stormer then shouted into her microphone. "The Misfits!"
"Yeah! Let's hear it for The Misfits!" the emcee shouted again. The crowd chanted The Misfits name well after they left the stage.
Roxy looked at her new friends and shook their hands. "Roxanne Pelligrini. But I'm better known as Roxy. The both of you are great! So where are we going to meet up again?"
"I haven't given that much thought, but I think after tonight word will spread about us. Let's go get something to eat. We can talk about our plans while we do that." Roxy agreed with Pizzazz's idea. On the way out of the club she told Tone Deaf's lead singer that she quit.
The Misfits headed out the door as a group. Each woman knowing they were going to be stars.
Over the next few months they played various clubs in the Los Angeles area. Their name was starting to garner more attention. Record studio representatives were approaching them with contracts after each show. They ignored each one as they left the club. After one particular show a studio rep approached them after the rest had left. He had a confident smile. "I know you get these offers each time you're done with a gig, but just give me five minutes of your time and then I'll be out of your hair. What do you say?"
"I say you fuc—" Pizzazz put her hand over Roxy's mouth.
"You have five minutes starting one minute ago."
"Shrewd. I like that. First off my name is Eric Raymond. I represent Starlight Music. Now I'm not asking you to sign with Starlight Music, but with me personally." Eric was led into The Misfits dressing room. "Now you see Emmett Benton is the man who owns Starlight Music. But he's very sick and so he hired me to see to the day by day activities of his company. Now he doesn't keep up with what I do. The old fool actually trusts me. Now when he dies Starlight Music goes to his daughters. They know nothing about music or business. By all rights the company should be mine."
Eric smirked when he saw that he had The Misfits complete attention. "So I want to sign you to a temporary contract with Starlight Music. After the old man dies we gain control of Starlight Music and I can help you make your break into the mainstream as the biggest band ever. Not to mention possible stock options and expense accounts. We'll work on those details later. What do you ladies say? Are you in or what?"
Pizzazz thought about it for a second while judging the looks from Stormer and Roxy. "As long as we have full creative control, then I'm in."
"I'm in also." Roxy looked at Stormer. "Well? You in or what?"
Stormer looked from Pizzazz to Roxy to Eric back to Pizzazz. She chewed her thumbnail in thought. Pizzazz glared at her making Stormer nod slowly. "I-I'm in."
Eric clapped his hands together and smiled like a shark. "Excellent. I'll start arranging a fake Battle of the Bands. And yes Pizzazz, you'll have full creative control." He gave Pizzazz his business card. "Just stop by the office tomorrow and we'll talk further. Ladies, it's going to be a pleasure working with you." Eric left out the door and the three women let out a cheer of their own once he was gone.
David and Ken graduated high school together, Hitomi was still a senior. It was around this time they discussed starting a band. David had chosen not to attend the university in the fall. He stayed home and trained with Hiroshi. Ken attended a local university. There he met a young keyboardist by the name of Eiji. Ken invited Eiji to his place to meet David and Hitomi. He was confident that Eiji would be the perfect element they were missing to their band idea. Eiji had brought his keyboard along.
Ken introduced Eiji to his sister and David. They made some small talk and David suggested they play together to test their sound. David set the pace and each person then came in when they felt ready. It looked as if everyone was satisfied with the sound. When finished they agreed that it could work with some practice. David suggested that their name should be Pulsar. He explained that a pulsar was a star that gave off rhythmic pulses of radiation. Hitomi loved the idea and agreed for those reasons, Ken and Eiji also agreed. Pulsar was now their name.
On the weekends they practiced playing together, eventually they started performing shows. A local record label signed them to do a two record deal with the option of resigning. After their second album, David and Hitomi broke up as boyfriend and girlfriend. They remained great friends and it didn't affect their performance as a band. But they did agree to split up when David started taking his training more seriously. Ken and Hitomi were both slipping in their grades. They decided to break up as a band but not as best friends.
Sheila and Stevie decided it was time to leave the Azure Blades while they were still able to. Together they planned on how to leave and what to do. Sheila was to take a day's worth of money that she had laundered. Stevie had the harder task. It was up to her to sabotage the drug cartel the Azure Blades had become. Before they escaped Sheila and Stevie said their good byes to the friends they had made. Sheila grabbed almost fifty thousand pounds in cash. She gave half to her best friend.
Stevie had grabbed thirty kilos of cocaine. Both of the women knew that Eddie would be looking for them now. Sheila hid the cocaine in a support pillar of the London Bridge. After hiding the drugs, Stevie and Sheila went their separate ways. It was difficult for the two best friends to leave each other. But it was better if they escaped separately.
Sheila joined a band that had just lost their saxophone player. The band was heading to America and was desperate. Sheila changed her name to Jetta when she joined the band. She also bought colored contacts that turned her eyes from jade green to a whitish gray. She had forged papers that allowed her to travel to America.
In America, Jetta and The Tinkerbillies traveled across the country. They eventually made their way to Los Angeles. The crowd hated them there because of comments Jetta had made before the concert began. Jetta had the crowd in a near riot when three young women came up to her and introduced themselves as The Misfits. After playing with The Misfits, Jetta quit her band to join the trio.
Meanwhile, Stevie had found herself as part of the road crew of a band that was touring Europe. When the group went back to their home country of Germany, Stevie quit the road crew for The Stingers to study web design and computer programming. She knew her future laid there.
Mariko shook David awake. David's eyes fluttered open and looked at his adoptive mother. "[David,]" she said quietly, "[it's Hiroshi. He, uh, he just passed away. I just woke up and he was cold and not breathing. Oh David, what are we going to do?]" She hugged David tightly and cried on his shoulder.
"[It's okay, kasa. Everything will be okay.]" David comforted the woman he'd known just about his whole life. He felt tears stream down his own cheeks for the man he called master, but most of all he thought as his father.
David and Mariko arranged the funeral together. Hitomi, Ken and Eiji helped them around the house while Mariko and David called family and friends. The service was small and held for family and a select group of friends. David gave a short eulogy that brought nearly everyone present to tears. Afterward he stayed behind with Hitomi.
Hitomi hugged David's arm while they stood before the grave marker. "[So, what are you going to do now, David? Take over the dojo?]"
"[No, I'm not ready. I've been thinking of going to the United States.]" He looked in her eyes for reassurance. "[Find my family in America. I've been too scared to do it before. Now I miss them. I miss my sister. I miss my father. Hiroshi was a great father, but I miss the family I left behind.]" David kissed Hitomi on the cheek. "[You guys here are my family as well. I love you, Hitomi. You'll always be my little sister.]"
"[Yeah, you've always been like a brother to me. I love you too. You can always take over the school when you're ready. Let's get back to the dojo. I'm starved.]" She bent and kissed the grave marker. "[Good bye, Hiroshi Ikari. Thanks for always being there.]" Hitomi stepped back a few feet to let David get closer to the marker.
David knelt before the grave marker. "[Hiro, you've always been a father and teacher to me. You gave me advice when I needed it and showed me how to protect the ones I care about. But most of all, you've been my best friend. I'll miss you, Hiro, and I'll never forget you.]" He took Hitomi's hand and they walked back to the car together. David felt a chapter in his life was closing the further he got from the grave.
David said his farewells to his friends and boarded the plane going to Los Angeles. Mariko, Kenshiro, Eiji and Hitomi watched his plane depart. When it had disappeared in the sky, they left the airport. Mariko thanked each of David's friends and left in her car alone. She drove home and noticed there was a man waiting by the front door.
Mariko walked up to him slowly and cautiously. He looked to be from the Middle East, possibly Egypt. Mariko spoke to him in English. "Can I help you, sir?"
The man had a grim smile on his face. "Ms. Ikari, my name is Radamun. I come to you with some sensitive information. May we have this conversation inside?" Mariko nodded and opened the door. She led him to the kitchen and offered him some tea. "Yes, thank you. Now I have some information about your husband's death. I just have one request. If you tell David about this, you're not to tell him you got it from me. Do you agree?"
Mariko's hand shook as she poured the tea. "Yes, I agree. Now what is it that you know about Hiroshi's death? I thought it was a heart attack."
"I'm afraid not, Ms. Ikari. I'm not going to lie to you. Hiroshi was murdered. He was murdered by Hiroki Bayushi. It was togu poisoning, blowfish toxin. It can simulate the effects of a heart attack." He took a sip of the tea. "This is very good. Thank you."
"You're welcome. And what proof do you have it was Hiroki?" Mariko and Radamun talked for several hours about the death of her husband.
David waited by the open door of the mansion. Sweat dripped from his forehead into his eyes. The blue haired woman was coming back with a woman with green hair. David saw two other women coming down the hall behind her. One had white hair and the other had black hair. The green haired woman looked David up and down quickly. "Yeah, I'm Phyllis, but don't ever call me that again. I'm Pizzazz got it? So who are you and what do want?" David couldn't help but smile. He knew that from this day forward each of their lives would change forever.
TO BE CONTINUED IN HOMECOMING