"Dang! You are looking sharp today!" said Action to himself as he checked out his reflection in the bedroom mirror. It was going to be a smooth day off: A workout, a trip down to the old Spice Quarter for a bite to eat and then taking Katherine down to the club for a little dance and a date and finally back here, with girlfriend in tow for a little woohoo magic between the sheets.
But his moment of self-satisfaction was burst when there was a loud and repeated banging on his front door and ringing of his doorbell.
"Sheesh! Calm down, bucko, where's the fire?" he sighed in exasperation as he headed to the door. The pounding and ringing weren't letting up and, as a precaution, Action reached for his .38 service revolver from his shoulder holster.
"Who is it?" he said, before he opened the door.
"Alan Cuffe! This is a matter of urgency, Detective!" came the voice, which sounded like Cuffe's alright. Action opened the door but made sure the chain was still in place. Peering through the gap with his pistol at the ready, he could see it was Cuffe. He slid back the chain and let him in.
"It's my day off, Cuffe. This had better be urgent" said Action.
"It is, Action, otherwise I wouldn't be here!" replied Cuffe.
"OK, how about you tell me what's going down?" said Action, offering Cuffe a chair whilst he put the pistol back in its holster.
"I'm being followed, my every move observed" said Cuffe.
"Who'd want to do that?" said Action, leaning back on the wall and folding his arms.
"Them! The people who are out to get me!"
"OK, let's back this up here...so what happened that makes you think that?"
"I was playing chess in Desert Bloom Park with Victor Feng...we occasionally meet up to play or talk and today it happened to be the park...when I noticed this guy following us, watching us from the other side of the park and using something that looked like a diary only he wasn't writing in it. He just held it in front of him but in our direction"
"How can you be sure he was following you? What if he was following Feng instead?" Action felt Cuffe was being paranoid.
"Because after our game Victor went to do some fishing while I headed home...this guy followed me from the table to where I'd parked my car, still holding his diary thing in front of him as if it were some kind of camera" said an agitated Cuffe.
Action stood up and paced the room, slowly. "This could have waited, Cuffe, until you could get to a police station. This is my day off" he said.
"Action! I know if I bring you in on this the job will get done! These...people...they're getting closer to me and that can't happen! I want shot of the lot of them, I want no further part of their plans! Get them off my back, Action!"
Action stood before Cuffe. "OK, what did this guy look like?" he said.
"Red hair, a little long at the back and Brylcreemed down the sides and at the front. Pale skin, really pale, and with a tiny downwards pointing triangular beard...also red, like the hair. Blue/grey denim jacket and faded red pants."
Action wrote this all down. "OK, I'll make some enquiries" he said.
"Do it, Action...I know you want to catch these people and I think this guy's working with Leanne." said Cuffe.
Action took a deep breath. "I was thinking the same". That clinched it; if he could get this guy then maybe he could catch Leanne. She was the key to the whole mystery. So the work out will just have to wait...
On his way into town he bumped into his work colleague, Prisha Dhatta. Action hadn't seen her in that dress before: It was long with an abstract pattern but cut very, very low to reveal a whole different side of her than Action was used to.
"Dhatta, all dressed up...I hope you have somewhere to go" said Action.
"I'm meeting a guy, Action, it's my day off as well" she replied.
"I didn't know you had a man in your life, Prish" said Action, raising an eyebrow in surprise.
"There's a lot about me you don't know" she replied, coyly. "And right on cue, here he is"
"Prisha!" cried the man, enthusiastically, as he walked down the road. He was one of those button down types with neatly parted black hair and big, round glasses. He approached Prisha and kissed her on the cheek.
"Action...this is Herbert" she said, making the introductions.
"Is your name really Action?" said the man.
"Is your name really Herbert?" replied Action, shaking the guy's hand.
"Anyway, we must get getting along now" said Prisha, fearful that Action would say something snide to Herbert. "I'll see you on Monday, Action"
"Have fun you two" he replied. Herbert! He thought. The guy even looked like one.
The Fashion District, San Myshuno was Action's destination...a diversion of his original plan to hang out in his old neighbourhood of the Spice Quarter where he would shoot some hoops, eat some Ramen and hang with the local cats down at the Waterside Warble. The Fashion District was a different scene; hip, happening and in touch with the Now Generation. It was also where Leanne, or one of her associates, tried to shoot Lily Feng and Madelyn Buchanan.
Action cased the area, half in hope that his suspects would show themselves. Realistically he thought about a line of enquiry he and the police should have taken in the first place, but failed to do so. They searched the immediate area, they questioned everyone who was in this specific corner of the Fashion District but they hadn't interviewed the food stall vendors or the bar staff. Action was here to correct that oversight.
As he made his way through the district he came across an anti-war demonstration.
"1...2...3...4...we don't want your Vietnam War!" yelled someone holding a megaphone. The others present held up signs with the peace symbol and other slogans on them. Action looked on: He'd been out there and he knew first hand what it was like. He didn't have much time for the senior leaders who were mismanaging the war, in his opinion, and getting mired in the dirty business between North and South Vietnam but he still had buddies...fellow Marines...putting their lives on the line and doing their duty and he wondered what they'd think if they knew some folks back home weren't supporting them.
One of the people at the protest looked on but didn't seem engaged by it. Action approached her and showed her the photo-fit image of Leanne McGregor and gave a description of this new suspect, asking if she'd seen either of them. She shook her head. Action then headed over to the food vendor and was surprised to see that the guy behind the counter was the spitting image of the man Cuffe had described. He sat down at a bench.
"Hey, can I get a hot dog with onions and mustard?" said Action.
"Yes, certainly sir" said the man, who flashed a momentary look of surprise when he saw Action.
Your hunch payed off, Action he thought to himself. Yes, it made sense...if this guy was an associate of Leanne's then he'd be the lookout whilst she set up the hit on Lily and Madelyn.
When Action went to collect his hot dog he paid the guy and started to casually question him.
"Say, do you know either Victor Feng or Alan Cuffe?" Action asked.
"I might do, who wants to know?" said the man.
"Detective John Action, Sim City P.D." said Action, showing him his police badge.
"Look...I can't talk now, I'm still on my shift. I finish in half an hour; I'll meet you over at Planet Honey Pop"
"You'd better" said Action, taking his hot dog and sitting down to eat...all the while observing the vendor. Once he'd finished he headed over to the bar.
The place was half empty; most patrons were over at the bar.. Action scoped out a place where he could keep an eye on the vendor, in case he decided to slip away. As he was surveying the scene a familiar looking woman approached him.
"Hi, Action" said Tasha, aka Miss Ginger, in a sultry voice.
"Are you here on business...or are you off duty?" she said.
"A little of both. Say, do you know who that guy is over there? The one selling hot dogs?" Action replied.
"Him? Yeah, his name's Luke...don't know his last name though. He works over there and usually comes in here at the end of his shift to have a few drinks." Tasha replied.
"Does he have any friends or a crowd he hangs out with here?"
"Not that I know of. He usually comes and leaves alone but sometimes he'll chat with other customers. I don't know, I can't quite put my finger on it but he kind of gives me the creeps. Nothing definite, you know, but there's a creepy aura about him. Why? Is he a suspect?"
"Maybe...but I'll need something more to go on than a creepy aura, Tash. Stay cool, I'll catch you later" said Action, giving Tasha a smile.
"You'd better" said Tasha, flirtatiously.
Action made his way over to the bar and noticed that he could see out the window to the food shack. Luke continued serving until he pulled the shutter down, whereupon Action lost sight of him momentarily. He got off the barstool and walked closer to the window, ready to pursue the guy if he tried to cut and run. But, after a few minutes, this Luke character had changed his outfit from his work overalls to a shirt and tie combo and made his way to the bar. He saw Action and walked over, sitting down next to him.
"Detective John Action, I am here as agreed" said Luke.
"What happened to your moustache?" asked Action, noticing that the man's appearance had slightly changed from when he first saw him.
"Appearances can change" replied the man, flatly.
"And you're called Luke...what? What's your last name?" asked Action.
"You don't need to know" replied Luke, in a cold voice that would chill anyone who was less resilient than Action.
"I think you've forgotten the fact I'm a cop and when I ask someone a question I get an answer; one way or another"
"Not today, John Action. You have interfered with our activities enough. Now you will stop."
Action laughed and shook his head. The audacity of this guy!
"Listen, bud, I've dealt with people who've tried to beat, stab, shoot and blow me up since I began to crawl...many have tried to stop me; they've never succeeded. Now for the last time, I want some answers to my questions and I'm not intimidated by a hot dog seller who stalks local businessmen."
Luke gave Action a hard stare before saying "You people are so linear thinking...I can hurt you with a thought. With the power of my mind. You do not know who and what you're dealing with, John Action."
Action looked sceptical.
"Very well" continued Luke. "You will have to be dealt with" and with that, he put his fingers to his temples before shutting his eyes and thinking hard. Suddenly, Action started to shake and feel a hot, burning and painful sensation in his head whilst a pulsating noise pounded his brain.
"You will forget all about me, about Leanne McGregor, The Visitors, the shooting and the fire bomb...John Action. You will remember nothing about them." Luke didn't say these things out loud: He was transmitting them straight into Action's mind. Action grabbed the counter hard, his knuckles white with the effort of holding on. He tried with all his might to resist this intrusion into his mind but this was nothing like he'd ever encountered before.
"Must...resist..." he gasped out loud as he tried to resist whatever it was that Luke was doing to him.
"Forget...it...all" went Luke's voice in Action's mind.
The burning sensation and pulsating stopped. Action's head jerked forwards and he sat there, dazed.
"You look tired, Detective John Action: You should go and have a lie down" said Luke.
"I...must...lie...down..." said Action, who stood up and staggered to one of the deep filled sofas in the bar. He felt so sleepy, barely able to stay awake and when he reached the sofa he flopped down and drifted off.
"Sleep, Detective John Action...deep sleep" said Luke. The world turned an inky black to Action.
_________________________________________________________________________________
"Action! Action! Wake up!" came a voice, a woman's voice that sounded familiar.
"Urrugghhhh....soup...soup's good for you...wha? Wait...where am I? Katherine?" said Action as he came around.
"No, it's Suzy" said the woman.
"Suzy Q?" said Action
"No. Suzy Kent. What happened, Action? Did you have one too many?" asked Suzy as she helped him to sit up.
"No...I...I don't know. Why am I here, at the Planet Honey Pop? Is Katherine here?" he said, groggily.
"I haven't seen her." said Suzy. Action indicated that he wanted to stand up and Suzy helped him to his feet. Then she noticed that under his jacket he was wearing his shoulder holster with his gun in it. "Are you on a case?" she asked.
"I don't know...I remember talking with Prisha Datta and her boyfriend and then...I was going to go for a run and meet Katherine. But this isn't our usual haunt. I'm...yeah...I'm meant to be off duty today. Why have I got my gun on me?"
"You're not steady on your feet...let's talk over here where it's a little more private" said Suzy, indicating a table nearby that was away from the bar. Action was still very dizzy and couldn't make sense of his surroundings or why he was even there.
"So, Action, Neil and I have discovered some more things about that mysterious tree...I'm not sure it's related to Leanne or not."
"Who? asked Action.
"Leanne McGregor...the woman we think is behind the hit attempts on Feng and Cuffe"
"What hit attempt? Who are you talking about? Do you mean Victor Feng and Alan Cuffe? I've never met them."
Suzy looked shocked. "Action...this big case! Don't you remember? You've been chasing after this woman for over a week now!"
"Look Suzy, I've just busted that cross-dressing house thief...I know nothing about no attempted murder case."
"That cross-dressing thief you arrested over a month ago!" said Suzy. "Action, what's happened to you? How could you forget this case?"
"I...I don't know. I don't know why I'm here...something happened, Suzy. Something happened to me today and I just don't know what!"
