CHAPTER 16: ACTION

 

He walked as if he owned the streets, a man...new to Foundry Cove, Willow Creek...with a swagger and a gait that suggested someone who was sure of himself. He spotted someone he knew in the distance and walked over to him.

"Hey, Spenser...those punks been back to your neighbourhood?" he said.

"Oh no they haven't been back since you chased them out, John Action" replied Spenser.

"You know you and your family; I've got your backs" said Action.

"We're so grateful, Action, our neighbourhood was hell until you sorted it out. How can we repay you?"

"You just keep your eyes and ears to the ground, Spenser, if anything like that gang returns...you let me know"

"Sure thing, Action"

John Action walked on, towards his new house. He had moved out of his crumbling inner city apartment and into his own house in Foundry Cove. It was less densely packed than he was used to; a man born in the crowded inner precincts of Sim City, who left school early to enlist in the Marines and who did a tour of duty in Simdo-China before returning home to join the Sim City Police Department. He was a cop, a tough cop, a tough cop on the mean streets of Sim City. His chief was frequently frustrated with his maverick style, the DA wanted to bust him back to beat cop but he got results.

Action did his daily calisthenics and drank a glass of raw juice before he heard a knock on the door. Instinctively reaching for his .38 service revolver, he peered out his front window to see who it was. It was a young woman, fashionably dressed. He holstered the pistol and opened the door.

"Hi, I'm Suzy...I live just over the road" she said. "It's a tradition here for a group of us who live in the street to welcome a new neighbour. Action saw another attractive blonde girl walk over to him and couldn't believe his luck. "I'm John" he said, smiling.

"Hi John, I'm Summer" said the other blonde.

"And what do you do for fun around here?" said Action.

"Well, Travis will be along with a cake we could all share" said a young, pleasant faced man walking up the stairs. "Hi, I'm Jeremy and I live next door"

"Come in and I'll pour the drinks" said Action. These kids looked alright. Friendly, suburban types...especially the square dude, Jeremy. Another young man arrived who introduced himself as Travis, Summer's housemate. He had the aforementioned cake in his hand but was, somehow, reluctant to put it on a table.

They stayed about an hour and it was all pleasant. Action was fascinated by Suzy...she was hip, with it and had an interesting personality. The Summer chick was bubbly, chatty and full of joy but Suzy seemed to be hiding some secret...he could tell. Well, they were his neighbours now so he would have plenty of opportunities to get to know them better.

After they left, Action decided to head downtown. He wanted the word on the street, to find the lowdown.

"Hey, Action" said the bartender. "This isn't your usual haunt"

"Just moved house...looking to check out the local hotspots" replied Action.

"This isn't your usual dive, Action...look, we've got Geoffrey Landgraab in tonight"

Action looked over to where Landgraab was sitting. "You hear of anything suspicious" said Action to the bartender "let me know"

He saw a young woman sitting all alone at the end of the bar and walked over to her.

"Hi...I'm new in town." he said. "Could you recommend something I could order for the both of us?"

She smiled. "Tang and Zing...my name's Jade"

Yes, he liked this neighbourhood just fine....but he was also sure it had its fair share of secrets.

CHAPTER 15: Private Investigations

Suzy Kent was still mulling over what she had learned in Willow Creek Archive yesterday. That there might exist a conspiracy involving the Landgraabs, the Fengs and a mysterious organisation known as "The Visitors", whoever they may be. She always had an option with her work to do it based from her home instead of going in to the office so she decided to combine her normal fashion reporting with a bit of hunting around to see if she could find more about "The Triangle of Power".

Her first port of call was Willow Creek Archive to try to find more of those mysterious pages that prompted her investigation. Returning to the upstairs section, she found the gardening book which contained them but the pages were missing! She searched the area, but to no avail. She considered going to ask the librarian for help when she saw Victor Feng sitting at the library chess table. Just the person she was interested in finding more about.

"Do you mind if I join you in a game?" she said, boldly, to Feng. He looked up at her with a look of incredulity.

"Sure...I could use the distraction" he said, coldly. She sat down and prepared to play. She decided to be professional in her conversation; mentioning that she wrote for Hey, Wow! magazine and that she was writing an article on the 10 most stylish people in Sim City and mentioned that Victor was on the shortlist.

"Why thank you, Miss Kent...One tries to maintain a professional yet stylish image in one's line of work"

"And what line of work are you in, Mr Feng?"

"I'm a city representative, as you might gather....it's a rather important job so I have to maintain my best image"

"Sounds fascinating. So what's your political outlook?"

"Miss Kent....all around us are unruly forces; anarchists, long hairs, revolutionaries, crypto-revolutionaries, crypto-anarchists and fluoridators. It's the responsibility of the elite forces in society to herd them, tame them and lead them."

"Check" said Suzy, calmly right at that moment.

"Oh, I see you've lured me into a trap, Miss Kent. I rarely make a mistake twice...it shan't happen again. Now I must attend to business, until next time."

Feng got up and abruptly left the library. Suzy could see how such a man would set himself against the old, established Landgraab family. She went about the rest of the working day interviewing locals about their wardrobes, styles and tastes, wrote them up in her notebook before heading off to dance the night away at the Blue Velvet club.

At the bar she got talking to an outgoing young man called Joaquin Le Chien. Suzy liked his cheery, breezy style and learned he was in the music business. She mentioned that he looked a little like John Lennon, which pleased him.

As they were talking, Suzy noticed that Geoffrey Landgraab had entered the club. She saw her chance to strike up a conversation with him but the man blanked her out. She was surprised to notice that Lily Feng was seated at the bar, right next to Geoffrey.

"Ah, Miss Kent, my husband mentioned he met you today....how's your article?" said Lily.

"Well, I'm glad I bumped into you Mrs Feng; I'd like to interview you for my article" replied Suzy.

"About fashion?"

"Yes...what else?"

"Well, things aren't always what they appear to be....Miss Kent. Call my secretary tomorrow" she said, handing Suzy a business card. "...and we'll arrange a suitable time."

Suzy felt she was making some progress here...something was up, that was sure. She was buzzing too much to dance the night away and flirt with the cool guys...she had work to do. She left the club at a jog.

CHAPTER 14: Crash And Burn

 

Jeremy Saint looked at the clock...4:45pm; almost the end of the working day and, importantly, the end of the working week. He was tired; the paperwork was mounting up as the company were taking on new orders and clients and Jeremy was studying for a promotion as well. The weekend was almost here and he was starting to think about the things he was going to do for the next two days.

There was a tap on his shoulder. It was from his boss, J.J. Gotcha. "Saint...buddy boy...you've been putting in the hours recently. I've noticed it, the higher ups have noticed it. Heck, there aren't many who haven't noticed it. And when someone puts in the hours like you have then that notice turns to reward. Do you hear me, Saint? Re-ward. So I've had a word with the higher ups and we're all agreed you should be promoted. Congratulations; you're now Assistant Manager to me."

"Why thank you, Mr Gotcha! Wow, golly gee! Bowzers!"

"Stop fawning and saying a bunch of gobbledygook! Enjoy the weekend and report to my office first thing Monday morning!"

Jeremy should have headed into town to celebrate with his friends but he was too tired for that so he headed straight home. Rustling up enough energy to cook, he went to the fridge to begin dinner but there was a knock at the door.

"Heck! Who is this now?" he said, trudging to the door. He was about to give whoever it was a terse "what do you want!" when he saw it was Bianca and, suddenly, his mood changed.

"Hi!" he said, enthusiastically. "Come on in...I was about to make dinner, would you like to stay for some?"

"Hmmm, sounds good. What are you cooking?" she replied, sashaying into the house.

"Oh just macaroni and cheese; it's my grandma's recipe" he replied.

"I love macaroni and cheese!" she replied, sitting down and making herself comfortable.

Jeremy found new energy to cook, wine and dine his lovely visitor. In between stages of food preparation, he chatted to Bianca about his promotion and asked about her day. Just before the meal was ready, Jeremy went and got himself a stiff drink. "She's here..." he thought to himself "...she obviously wants to be with you, Jeremy old chap, so let's enjoy dinner and over conversation let's step things up a little....make up for that missed opportunity to kiss her last weekend"

Jeremy dished up and together they tucked in. "Hmmm, this is good" she complimented him. Jeremy was building up to asking her out, officially. Everything seemed to be going fine and on course.

"I really enjoyed our day together last Sunday" said Jeremy.

"So did I" Bianca replied.

"The thing is...I really like you. You're great company, you're very beautiful and...."

"Erm, Jeremy....I'm flattered but...."

"...I really see you as a....."

Jeremy gulped.

"...friend"

UUUUUUUUUUUGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!

"Thanks for dinner. I must be going. We're still cool, right?"

"Yes....we're.....cool" he replied, looking to the floor.

Bianca left.

He shouldn't have been surprised. If it were meant to be it would have happened that last Sunday when they walked along the shoreline of Oasis Springs. The signs were there all along...she was about to leave but he encouraged her to stay. She was just that little bit distant from him, always with an invisible barrier that never quite dropped. He was fun for a chat, for the laughs and for the little acts of kindness but he was not a romantic proposition. He was a small town boy in the big city and the times were a-changin'. Girls like Bianca, Suzy and Summer were just way above his league.

He looked at the empty plates and a book discarded on the floor. He couldn't face chores now. The promotion was out of his mind for now....time to skulk off to bed and worry about what happens next tomorrow.