CHAPTER 20: Queen's Pawn

 

Suzy Kent's next assignment for "Hey, Wow!" magazine involved a lot of research for an article entitled "66 years, 66 looks". That meant not going in to the office this day, but heading down to the library.

Gathering a huge stack of books, she got to work, writing extensive notes, photocopying relevant pagesfrom the news and magazine archive and generally creating a mess for the librarians to sort out afterwards. However, as was the pattern of late, her focus was divided between her work and what...or in this case who....was also around: Victor and Lily Feng.

They were playing chess mere yards from where she was working and speaking softly about matters that she couldn't quite make out but judging from the serious looks on their faces she knew it wasn't just about the game they were playing. She kept glancing towards them, trying to be inconspicuous but when they met one of her glances she quickly said a friendly 'hello' before burying her head in her research material.

Lily Feng was suspicious though. Her game with Victor had petered out in to a draw; a common occurence these days as both of them could read each other's game so well. Victor stood up to give his wife a kiss but she pulled away from him.

Lily fixed her gaze at Suzy and whispered to Victor. "That young woman...Kent is her name...she's been observing us for some time now."

"I know; she's a fashion journalist who wants to interview us" said Victor, nonchalantly.

"Hmmm, I'm not so sure. I can't quite put my finger on it but there's more to that young woman than what meets the eye"

"Are you jealous, my little Lotus Flower?" said Victor, smiling.

"Of her? No. And if I were to catch you and her together you know what that would mean, Victor?" said Lily, fixing him with a cold smile.

Victor's playful expression vanished. "We're in this together, remember? Our fates intertwined as it was foretold" he said with absolute sincerity. "Anyway, I must be back to City Hall...are you coming, my sweet?"

"No...I will catch you up. I have one more matter to attend to" said Lily. Once Victor had left, she motioned towards Suzy to come and join her over at the chess table.

"Miss Kent, we meet again...care for a game?" said Lily.

"That's kind but I've got an assignment that needs doing. Another time?" replied Suzy.

"Indeed. I have one bit of advice for you, Miss Kent...don't bite off more than you can chew. Perhaps it is better to occupy yourself with simpler assignments than miring yourself in a subject you don't understand."

"Is that it?" said Suzy, her curiosity piqued.

"That is it" and with that, Lily Feng stood up and left the library.

Suzy knew she was getting too close for comfort with the Fengs....but what was it they were hiding? She went back to work, resolving that in the afternoon she would go and see someone who might know.

Later

Suzy stood outside of the imposing Gothic mansion; home to the aptly name Goth family. Outside she saw two children walking towards her. A little boy, aged 10 or 12, and another, teenage girl who Suzy recognised as Cassandra Goth.

"Hello Cassandra" said Suzy.

"You're that fashion reporter, aren't you?" replied the girl.

"Yes, Suzy Kent...I know it's a bit sudden but are your parents home?"

"Hmmm, Mom should be. Dad's probably working. Do come in though."

Once inside Suzy was impressed by the olde worlde charm of the house. Despite the rather dilapidated exterior, the interior was impressive with a wide variety of antiques prominently on display. Suzy paused to look at a particularly fine violin...a Stradivarius perhaps?

Cassandra ushered Suzy into a fine, large parlour where the matriarch of the family; Bella Goth, was sitting playing chess with the boy.

Mrs Bella Goth looked even more beautiful and impressive in real life than she did in the press photos. She wore a very short dress that clung to every curve of her body and which had no visible means of support on her and the highest heels Suzy had ever seen. It was, at once, both a modern and a vintage look that was very individualistic; a summary of the woman herself.

"Miss Kent, pleased to meet you" said Bella, standing up and offering an outstretched hand. Suzy shook it, lightly. "My husband says you want to interview us about our....style, was it?"

"That's right. You know, most stylish and influential people in Sim City?"

Bella let out a little laugh. "I don't know if we satisfy either criteria but my husband's family are one of the first to settle in this area; one of the founding fathers of Sim City."

"So I gather...so can I interview you now?" asked Suzy.

"I would rather my husband be here as well...and I have an important appointment I have to keep now. But do return and you can have a look at our family archives if that helps you with your article?"

"It would, and thank you" said Suzy.

Bella excused herself and instructed Cassandra to show Suzy out, but pausing by one of the bookshelves in the drawing room, she couldn't help but notice that one entire shelf of it contained books about the Landgraab family. The plot thickened.

CHAPTER 19: The Streets of Sim City

 

John Action had finished getting dressed when looked out of the front window of his home and saw someone hanging around outside; a woman, late 30s, South Asian in appearance and she seemed to be checking out his pad. He instinctively reached for his .38 service revolver when he noticed that, around the woman's belt, was the brass badge of the Sim City Police Department. She must have been sent by the Chief to escort him to his new precinct. Action holstered his firearm and went outside to meet her.

"So the new precinct chief sent you to accompany me in to work today, huh?" he said, nonchalantly.

"You've got a reputation as a maverick, Action. The Chief wants you reporting for duty on time and in the right place instead of haring off on a wild goose chase or one of your hunches."

"I get results....detective?"

"Datta. Results or no, The Chief plays it by the book...straight down the line. Come on, let's go or we'll be late"

Action jumped into Datta's car and together they drove to the precinct house. Once inside she went to her desk, he reported for duty.

The desk sergeant looked Action up and down. "So you're Action, are you? Well we've heard a lot about you...about how you like to play by your own rules."

"Sometimes your rules don't work so I resort to mine" replied Action.

"The rules are rules, Action! You won't be cut any slack here, we run a tight ship. Now report to the squad room to pick up your assignment"

Action  sauntered off to the squad room; this place was packed with uptight stiffs...cops more used to finding lost kittens and helping old ladies across the road. Not his scene but after he fell foul of the D.A. who wanted to bust his a-ss he had to keep his head down at this new place.

In the squad room he got handed a piece of paper which had his assignment on it: Check on a break in down Oasis Springs way. Wanting to get away from the stale environment of the precinct house, he grabbed a squad car and made his way to the crime scene.

The house was smart; all mod cons and the home of 4 young professionals. None of them were in when the break-in happened but a couple of televisions and a stereo were taken. Action dusted for prints but also noticed some strange graffiti was sprayed near the side wall of the house.

Detective Datta came and checked out what Action was doing. "It's just meaningless scrawl, Action, why bother wasting film on it?"

"It ain't meaningless...look, this scrawl is here but it's also in the back garden. This is the sign of the perp; their calling card."

"Or it could be neighbourhood kids" Datta replied.

"Check out the neighbourhood...all neat n' well off. Do you see any graffiti anywhere else? No, this is a gang sign"

"Anyway, Action, we've got a witness...we need to interview her"

Action took a couple of more photos and followed Datta in to the house. He was surprised to discover that the witness was none other than his neighbour, Suzy Kent.

"Well, well....Suzy. Now what's a happening chick like yourself doing around Oasis Springs on a warm, Tuesday morning" he said, slyly.

"I was here doing some research on a story I'm writing for the magazine" she replied.

"So tell me what you saw?"

"Well, I saw two people leave the house: They wore balaclava masks and dark blue overalls. I saw them carrying a TV into a grey van and that's when I ran down the street to a phone booth to call the cops"

"Anything you noticed about the two figures you saw?"

"Yes...they were both really skinny. But they seemed strong enough to lug big TVs into the van"

"Really skinny eh?"

"Thanks, Suzy, that's something to go on....OK, anything else you remember, give me a call. You know where to find me" he said with a wink.

After gathering the clues, he headed back to the precinct house to file his preliminary report. Action was experienced enough to know that the best person to pal up in any new precinct house was the head of forensics. Heading over to the lab, he met the very person: A fifty something lady who looked like she took no nonsense from dumb rookies.

"So you're Action...how's your first day on the job?" she said.

"It ain't my first day on the job, but my first day at this joint is OK...listen, here's some prints I lifted from the scene plus this camera has film that needs developing. I think we're dealing with an experienced gang here."

"OK, I'll look into this. My you were thorough" she looked impressed with the print slides he gave her.

"That's my gig, baby" he said with a wink before leaving.

Action headed for the records department to view some mugsheets of suspects but the Sergeant stopped him. "Now where are you going, Action?"

"Following up on what I found at the scene" replied Action.

"Not so fast...you turn over what you found to the senior detectives. They'll take it from here" replied the sergeant.

"Hey, this is my case!"

"Not anymore it isn't. You do what you're told or it's off to Traffic Division for you. Now you type up your report, hand it over and then it's a shift on the front desk."

The sergeant left and Action pounded the desk...hard. He had little choice in the matter...he was on his last warning with The Chief and the D.A.

After doing what he was assigned, he had the boring job of manning the front desk. As well as the little ladies who'd lost their shopping on a bus, he was surprised to find Suzy Kent had entered the precinct.

"Hey there, Suzy, are you sure a sight for sore eyes!" he said.

"Hey, Action. Listen, do you have some free time?" she replied.

"For you, I have plenty...what is it? More leads from that crime today?"

"Well, no. I was wondering if you knew anything about the Landgraabs or the Fengs...you know, if there's any evidence of criminal activities in their backgrounds."

"I could do some digging around....but you'll need to help me with something as well." He produced a copy of the photo he took at the crime scene...the one with the graffiti symbol. He'd secretly taken it from the lab once it had been processed, figuring that he'd be taken off the case. "This symbol...I'm sure it means something. Some kind of gang sign or calling card. Can you do some investigating of your own and see if anyone's seen this before?"

"Sure, I don't know...not seen it before...but I'll ask around"

Suzy sauntered off and Action watched her leave. "She's more than just a fashion reporter" he thought to himself.

CHAPTER 18: Ha Ha Said The Clown

 

"Trust me on this one, Bakko, this season's must have suit is double breasted with a silk cravat" said Suzy Kent to aspiring entertainer Bakko Jang.

"I hear ya, Suzy, you're the girl with all the hot takes on what's in...anyway, I'll be sure to follow your tip...bye!"

Suzy glanced at her watch; it was time to get to work...talking to Bakko and catching up on the latest gossip seemed like a couple of minutes but was in fact more like 20. She raced to the bus stop just in time to catch one to work.

When she arrived at the offices of Hey, Wow! magazine there was a little party in swing and she found out it was because she'd just received a promotion. Needless to say, not a lot of work got done that morning...

At the end of the day, a colleague handed her a ticket. "There's the Humor and Hijinks Festival over at the arts quarter this evening. I can't go but maybe you'd like to?" they said.

Suzy said thanks; she didn't have any pressing engagements this evening and her head was still a little woozy from that champagne she had earlier. That investigation into the Triangle of Power could wait.

Catching the subway into town, she arrived outside the Museum of Art and went searching for the festival. She was early and decided to grab something to eat when she saw that ahead of her in the queue at the food vendor was Mortimer Goth.

She thought it was a good opportunity to question him about what he knew about the Triangle but not too soon. He looked like he was here for the festival and she wanted to catch him in a good mood later on.

The festival was fairly well attended but not heaving with people and from a fashion point of view it wasn't exactly cutting edge, according to Suzy's tastes. She declined to join either the Pranksters or the Jokers, preferring to maintain a distance so she could observe and make notes but she did try something.....exotic.

Towards the end of the festival, she spotted Mortimer Goth again, wearing an official festival T-shirt. She decided now was the moment to introduce herself to him.

"Hello, Mr Goth?" she said.

"That is I...and you might be?"

"Suzy Kent, Hey, Wow! magazine"

"Ah yes, my wife reads that from time to time. Are you here on behalf of the magazine?"

"That's right. Is the Humor & Hijinks festival something you're a keen participant in?"

"I have turned out for the Honorable Company of Pranksters since my college days, Miss Kent. These days I like to patronise it."

"I'd like to discuss your charity work and your family's history for an article I'm writing: You know, the most influential families in Sim City?"

"I'd hardly say the Goths are influential. We are one of the oldest though and I suppose we are very much part of the social scene but out days of influence are long ago in the history books."

"Nevertheless I'm sure there are plenty of stories to tell" pressed Suzy.

"Oh there certainly are, Miss Kent, and one day I might tell you some of them....but not tonight. When I'm ready, I shall contact you." he said, enigmatically.

CHAPTER 17: Chick Repellent

 

Jeremy Saint finished paying his bills and sat down on his bed. He felt utterly deflated. It had been 3 days since Bianca rejected his advances and it still hurt. It felt like a break-up although, to be fair, they were never an item. A few nice dates and the prospect of things going somewhere was all it really was. In a way it felt worse than a break up. At least with that he could pinpoint where things had gone wrong had they actually dated but this....he felt like he didn't measure up to her expectations and that he had some quality, unknown to him, that repelled her.

Now that new guy next door, John Action, he had the magic touch with women. He had Summer and Suzy eating out of the palm of his hand the other day. That guy had "it" and Jeremy...well, he was a "friend", that's all.

Jeremy went to the front porch of his house and considered going for a run when he saw Travis emptying the trash down the road. They saw each other and waved hi. Travis motioned for Jeremy to come over for a drink and, not wanting to wallow on his own right now, grabbed his house keys, shut the door and walked over to the BFF house.

"Hey buddy" said Travis. "Summer's putting on some coffee, do you fancy some?"

"Sure..." said Jeremy.

"Man, you look down. What's happened?"

"Does it show?" replied Jeremy. "It's Bianca..."

"Oh how's that going?" said Summer, perking up. "She's lovely. So pretty and with amazing hair as well"

"She....turned me down" said Jeremy, disconsolate.

"Awww, man, bummer" said Travis, wincing.

"Now why would she do that?" said Summer.

Jeremy shrugged "I don't know, I didn't measure up I guess"

"Nonsense!" said Summer with indignation "she's foolish! You're a definite catch...don't worry you'll meet someone who's right for you" she said, placing a coffee mug gently into his hand.

"Yeah, plenty more fish and all that" said Travis. Summer shot him a glance. Travis looked confused. Summer did a little cough and jerked her head towards Jeremy and mouthed something to Travis about being a friend.

"Oh...say buddy..." began Travis, finally picking up on Summer's less than subtle cues. "...how about you and me head into town for a laugh?"

"I don't know..." replied Jeremy.

"There's the flea market down in San Myushu" said Summer. It's a nice day and it'll take your mind off things.

Travis leant into Jeremy and whispered so that Summer couldn't overhear. "Psst...the flea market takes place at the Spice Quarter and there's this great bar down there. Wall to wall chicks, I'm telling you"

Jeremy winced. The thought of getting back on the dating scene so soon after being rejected didn't appeal to him. Travis persisted.

"You feel rough now but you can't afford to wallow. You need to recover quickly. I'm telling you there are some hot chicks down at this place and they'll love you"

"Really hot?" said Jeremy, shooting Travis a quizzical look.

"Oh man! You're in for a treat!"

San Myshuno, Spice Quarter

"I'm not sure this is a good idea" said Jeremy to Travis, as they stood outside the Waterside Warble bar.

"Get in the bar!" said Travis, shoving Jeremy.

They took their places at the bar and ordered drinks. Travis looked around "there's 3 or 4 pretty cool girls in the bar already...this is it, buddy boy...wait! Check out the girl in orange...your 2 o'clock." He pointed to a very pretty strawberry blonde wearing an orange outfit; the total look...where skirt, top, shoes and tights were predominantly one colour with a flash of white detail. "I can tell she's totally your type"

"Erm....well...she's too pretty." Replied a nervous Jeremy.

"No such thing...go for it! Say hi to her"

"I don't know..."

"DO IT!"

"What if she gets freaked out?"

As the girl walked right by them, Travis flicked Jeremy's arm up in the air as if he were waving to her. Then he jabbed his friend in the side and Jeremy let out a loud "hey!". That got the girl's attention.

"Hi?" she said, looking somewhat bemused.

"Oh, hello...erm...sorry...you look like someone I know" fumbled Jeremy.

"Oh I see" she replied.

"Actually, no." said Jeremy "But I erm....well you see....can I buy you a drink?"

"That's a kind offer but I've just had one and I must get to the flea market before it shuts...maybe later, if you're still here?" she replied.

"Sure. Hope you find a bargain!" said Jeremy. He slumped. "Man that was embarrassing!"

"What do you mean? She said she'll be back later!" replied Travis.

"And you believe that?"

"Sure...hope springs eternal...anyway, don't freak out or suddenly turn around because there's a seriously hot blonde giving you the eye and she's sitting right next to you"

Jeremy heard the woman say "hello there" and he turned his head slowly to face her. Once she saw his face, her expression changed to one of shock and she said "oh, sorry, thought you were someone else....must go...sorry to trouble you". She stood up and ran out of the bar.

"I knew it! I'm a girl repellent!" said Jeremy sinking his head into hands. Travis said nothing. "That's it! I'm going to the bathroom and then I'm going home...you're welcome to stay here, Travis"

Jeremy skulked off to the bathroom and when he returned had spotted that a beautiful young woman had taken his place and was eagerly chatting to Travis. That guy has all the luck, thought Jeremy. He shares a house with two women and now he's chatting up another one. Tsch!

He didn't want to interrupt Travis so he walked out of the bar and towards the subway station. The flea market was still going but he didn't find anything he wanted to buy. He considered getting something to eat here as he couldn't face the prospect of cooking either. Stopping by a food vendor he saw a familiar figure.

"Oh hello" said the strawberry blonde in the orange outfit. "I just finished buying something nice for my home and was going to head back to the bar. You?"

"I....erm...." began Jeremy, not wanting to say he was heading home "...came for a bite to eat."

"They do really nice Chinese food here" she said, enthusiastically.

"I think I'll try some!" said Jeremy.

Once served, the two sat down at a nearby bench to eat their food. "By the way, my name's Jeremy" he said.

"I'm Barbara, nice to meet you"

"I'm not that familiar with this part of town...only my second time here." he said, making conversation.

"I live nearby...it's pretty groovy here" she said. "There's the flea market where you can find all kinds of weird and wonderful stuff people just want rid of...and then there's the Spice Festival! If you love this kind of food, you'll love that! It's a really happening event"

They chatted breezily for about half an hour, the conversation unforced and friendly. Barbara seemed a happy, positive person. A bit like Summer but with more humour. He enjoyed her company and didn't feel awkward in her presence.

"Dang, is that the time?" she said, checking her watch. "I'm sorry, Jeremy, but I've got a work shift in half an hour and I need to get ready and not be late....another time? Remember, the Spice Festival; maybe I'll see you there? Bye"

And she ran off but this time Jeremy didn't feel down at all. There was, as Travis said, hope. Speaking of his friend, Travis emerged from the Waterside Warble holding a card. "Her phone number...the redhead back at the bar" he said.

"So, are you going to see her again?" asked Jeremy

"Tonight, as a matter of fact" said Travis. "Hey, in the meantime let's shoot some hoops...say, you look like you've cheered up"

"I have, Travis" smiled Jeremy.

Later, Jeremy went home and Travis went on his date. As he arrived home he saw the redhead leave the BFF house and hail a cab. Jeremy wondered what Summer and Liberty would make of that young woman. He smiled and went to bed, feeling a lot more content.

...until he remembered that he'd forgotten to swap phone numbers with Barbara.