Feeling his stomach start to rumble, Gustavo began picking through the snack wrappers on the conference table. With each empty wrapper, he became increasingly frustrated. When his hands were full, he stood up abruptly and walked over to the garbage can. Discarding his handfuls of debris into the receptacle, he picked it up and carried it back to the table.

Holding the garbage can to the edge, Gustavo started to sweep his arm across the table to clear the empty containers and wrappers. As the first empty water bottle started to topple, Hikaru reached out and snatched it with an exclamation.

"Hey, don't toss our characters into the trash." Hikaru grabbed three other bottles with glitter pen writing on them. Clutching the four empty bottles to his chest, he smirked mischievously, "I've grown attached to them."

Nino rolled his eyes at Hikaru's antics. "It's not like we can't write on more bottles," he sighed in exasperation, standing up to help clear the table.

Ben stood and stretched his arms over his head until his back cracked. "I can't believe we've been sitting here, reading through the script for the past…" He checked his watch and whistled, "…four hours. That's a record even for me."

James hunched over in his chair, grabbing his stomach, and moaning exaggeratedly. "No wonder it feels like my belly button is trying to rub a blister on my backbone." Then he flopped onto the table and pretended to listlessly poke through the remaining snack wrappers looking for food.

Rolling his eyes, Ben headed for the desk, announcing, "Get ahold of yourself. I'll call the Commissary and have them send up lunch for us." As he dialed the phone, he stuck his tongue out at James. "See, it's a good thing we expanded the Commissary hours rather than depending on neighborhood restaurants."

"Real mature," James remarked. "And the 'neighborhood' restaurants are all three-star, require a suit jacket and tie, and none of them deliver." He paused before adding, "And forty-eight hour advanced-notice catering is not delivery."

"Low brow," Ben teased, holding his hand over the phone.

"Hoity-toity," James returned, crossing his arms.

Hikaru chuckled as he watched the partners bicker like the Host Club used to. He sighed wistfully and smiled softly at the thought of his friends…now family. "I sure do miss everyone. It's kind of strange being on my own. Kaoru and I always did everything together," he thought with a melancholy smile.

Ben hung up the phone and announced, "Lunch will be here in about fifteen minutes. I decided that it would be quickest to just order sandwich, veggie, and fruit trays with a broad beverage selection."

Gustavo and James' stomachs growled in unison. "Quicker is probably better," Nino remarked, eying the pair cautiously. "Otherwise those two might decide that we look appetizing."

"Just because we finished our reading with the cannibals on the mysterious island doesn't mean it gave us any ideas," Gustavo remarked indignantly.

James inched his hands forward as he eyed Ben's elbow with a smirk. "Speak for yourself."

Ben whipped around and glared at his partner. Rolling his eyes, he groaned, "Will you grow up already?"

Hikaru patted Ben's shoulder as he walked past him in the direction of the desk. "What's the fun in that?" With a sigh, the studio partner headed toward the bathroom. Chuckling, the special effects coordinator searched through the desk drawers, pulling out various office supplies.

Carrying an armful of colored memo pads, rubber bands, binder clips, tape, thumb tacks, paper clips, scissors, and correction fluid, Hikaru returned to the conference table. Organizing his haul around the four empty bottles with the character names on them, he rubbed his hands together gleefully before making notes on the various memo pads.

Nino sat at the table flipping through his copy of the script, keeping a wary eye on the others, especially Gustavo and James. "Why do I feel like I'm the only sane one in the room?" he mused idly. Hoping to distract himself from his stomach that started rumbling, Nino asked, "Why four groups?" Indicating the script, he questioned Gustavo's logic for the plot. "Why not just two or three?"

Gustavo plopped back into his chair and propped his arms up on the back of it. "The Serendipity Group represents balance. They are pursuing the artifact out of academic curiosity. By concentrating on knowledge, they naturally gain fame, fortune, and power. The Drakes represent the quest for fame. They want their name linked to a legacy that would continue after they were gone."

"But aren't they already rich and own a major corporation?" Nino asked quizzically.

"That's kind of the point," Gustavo agreed. "They are so focused on fame; they forget what they already have. It's kind of the same for Soundby's quest for money and Emmanuel's obsession with power."

"That makes sense," Nino said distractedly as he noticed Hikaru's intent concentration on the empty water bottles. "Whoa," he breathed in awe.

Ben and James turned from their conversation at the sound of Nino's exhalation. Both raised their eyebrows, impressed with the works of art taking shape under Hikaru's talented fingers.

Gustavo grinned broadly. "Wow! Those look great. Are those character notes on the memo sheets?"

Before Hikaru could answer, there was a knock on the office door. "Hold that thought," James said as he hurried to see who was interrupting them. He returned almost immediately, followed by two stewards from the cantina pushing carts loaded with food.

The head steward addressed the group. "Your lunch buffet has arrived. I took the liberty of including a selection of desserts to accompany the sandwiches, vegetables, and fruit. I'll just place them here on the desk along with the beverages." The other steward unloaded trays onto the conference table.

Before leaving, the head steward remarked, "We'll take these carts back to the Commissary. The cart left from the snacks this morning will be used later to collect the dishes and trays." With that he and his companion left the office quietly.

Ben clapped his hands together and rubbed them with delight. "After we select our lunches, we can get back to work." He picked up a plate and started choosing his favorites.

Hikaru looked down at his hands, wrinkling his nose in disgust. "I need to wash my hands before I touch any food." He tidied up his supplies and headed for the bathroom. When he returned, the others had made their selections and were chatting amicably around the conference table.

"As soon as you're ready, we can get back to work," Ben commented as he waved to the food spread out on the table.

Over their late lunch, the group continued reading through the script. All were making notes for clarification or changes when scenes were vague or didn't flow very well. Hikaru continued to embellish his empty bottle characters, much to everyone else's bemusement.

Hikaru focused on a page of the script and tapped it thoughtfully. "Hey, Gustavo?" he asked, looking to make sure he had the screenwriter's attention.

"Yeah?' Gustavo responded, marking his place with a finger.

"These scenes for Pompeii and Atlantis? How much of a scene do you want these to be? Just settings or full scenes?" Hikaru questioned. "I need to know how much rein to give my design crew. I'd hate to waste time creating an elaborate sequence and only need a thirty second blip."

Rubbing his chin, the screenwriter considered the issue. "It needs to be long enough to establish the event, but not so long that it detracts from the storyline." He looked up at the ceiling as if the answer was written there. "I'd say no more than five to seven minutes, as long as there are elements that clearly identify the time and place."

Hikaru picked up a pen and tapped his bottom lip before starting to jot notes down on one 0f the memo pads. "Some of these ideas will need to wait to be tested until after the noise permits are approved by the city."

"Noise permits," Gustavo and Nino asked in unison, trepidation in their voices.

"Sure. We're talking an exploding volcano here," the special effects coordinator replied, smirking broadly. "Though the permit is just a precaution. My crew doesn't intend to create a lot of noise, but things don't always go as planned. Hence, the permit," he commented.

Gustavo looked a little concerned as he responded, "Okay, good to know." Then he looked at the clock and groaned, "Oh no. It's six o'clock already. I meant to leave some time in my day to find an apartment. I'm tired of living in the hotel. There are noisy parties all the time and I can't get a decent night's sleep."

Ben was about to say something when Hikaru cut in. "You can come live at the compound."

Waving his hands, Gustavo protested, "I don't want to intrude. I can find somewhere…"

"Dude, don't worry about it," Nino said, patting him on the shoulder. "There's plenty of room at the compound."

"Why does it sound like a decommissioned military base?" Gustavo asked.

Laughing, Hikaru explained, "Not military, but the abandoned estate of a silent film mogul. He set it up at the height of the silent film era, building several studios near his mansion and then adding a number of bungalows for his directors and actors."

Nino cut in, "You've got to see this place. It's incredible. Alya and I are living there, but there are still a number of empty bungalows, so it's no problem for you to live there too."

"You should all come take the tour," Hikaru exclaimed. "It's no Hinansho, but it has potential."

"Hinansho?" James asked with a puzzled expression, looking around at the others to see if they knew what Hikaru was talking about. Nino looked slightly less confused than the rest of them.

Chuckling, Hikaru said, "Hinansho is the home estate of the Hinan family. It was originally built as a resort, but fraud and scandals caused a bargain sale of the property. The Hinan family was the only interested party. We run it as a resort, but we all have apartments there."

Nino piped up, "I was there for a few hours for Rene's birthday party. I thought you guys lived at the Hitachiin estate."

"Kaoru and I were living at the estate with our wives while we were getting the next line ready as well as preparing for our moves to here and Milan," Hikaru clarified. He paused and then continued, "Anyway, we're doing some similar things to Hinansho at the compound. The bungalows have all been refurbished for our use. The gatehouse has been set up as a coffeehouse café and the main house is in the process of being remodeled as either a bed-and-breakfast or a boutique hotel. Estee is still working with the architects on the best presentation given its history."

Pulling out his phone, Nino said, "I'll just call Alya so she and Estee can let the Gatehouse know that we will be having seven for dinner after the tour."

Ben, James, and Gustavo exchanged glances. "I guess we're going to tour the compound," Gustavo murmured questioningly.

"Sounds like fun," James remarked gleefully, rubbing his hands together.

"I've heard about that old place, but I've never had a chance to see it," Ben added. "Let me call the Commissary to pick up the dishes and then we can head out."

"I'll call security to bring the transport," Hikaru commented as he pulled out his phone.

OHSHC

Half an hour later, the transport pulled up in front of a large wrought iron gate in a high brick wall. Situated next to it was a brightly lit two-story building with the sign in front that read, 'The Gatehouse Café.'

The gate opened and the vehicle headed down the long driveway. Off to the right was a large mansion surrounded by scaffolding. The transport headed to the left where a dozen bungalows were in groups of three. Off in the distance, more buildings were peeking out between the trees.

Estee and Alya greeted the group as they climbed out of the vehicle before it headed to the garage. "Welcome to The Compound," Estee called as she placed her hand onto Hikaru's arm. Alya slipped her arm around Nino's waist and added, "Let's start the tour."

An hour later, the group was settled at a table in the café. "This is quite a place," Ben observed. "I can't wait to see it when it's finished."

"Me, too," James agreed. "It has so much potential that's just been sitting here vacant all these years."

Their meals arrived promptly, and they were discussing plans for the next day when the front door was thrown open and two masked men stomped in waving guns. "Open the register and give us all your money," one of them announced.

The other looked around at the diners and added, "We'll be taking all your wallets, keys, jewelry, and purses as well."

Before anyone could react, the cashier had one gunman on the ground with her knee in his back and a petite waitress had the other one in a sleeper hold.

Ben quickly dialed the emergency number and requested police presence for an attempted robbery.

Gustavo looked at the employees in awe. "Where did they learn how to do that?"

Hikaru chuckled. "Two of my brothers trained them. We decided when we set up Hinansho that all of our employees would also have security training. We've continued that with all our ventures."

Just as the police entered the café and took custody of the robbers, there was a muffled BOOM from the back of the property. Estee rolled her eyes and glared at Hikaru. He shook his head and muttered, "I told them to wait until after we got the permits."

Sighing, Estee commented, "The permits arrived in the mail this morning."

"Oh, then I guess there's nothing to worry about," he remarked nonchalantly as he returned his attention to his food.

Gustavo eyed at Hikaru and Estee before glancing around the café again. Then he looked at Nino and Alya. "I think I'm going to like it here."

"Welcome to the asylum," Estee commented with a smirk. "You don't have to be crazy to live here…but it helps."

Ben groaned as James laughingly declared, "This project is going to be a lot of fun." The group cheered and agreed with the sentiment.