"Ewww, what's that smell?" asked Barbara, as she entered the kitchen to see Jeremy at the stove. He was creating a lot of smoke cooking whatever it was, perhaps eggs?
"I might have put too much Tabasco in the eggs" he muttered as he looked on the frying pan with some concern.
"Tabasco? In eggs! Phht, you Americans shouldn't be allowed anywhere near a stove. How about adding a touch more milk to the eggs before scrambling them so that they have a creamier flavour and texture to them?"
"I'll bow to your expertise." said Jeremy.
Barbara noticed that Jeremy wasn't his usual, cheerful self this morning and worried that something might be troubling him. However, all attempts to get him to open up were met with small talk or shrugs and she concluded that whatever it was that was bothering him he didn't want to share it. He didn't say much over breakfast either and avoided eye contact with her as well.
He was preoccupied with a lot of things in his mind. He had broken the hold the Landgraabs had over his mind but he hadn't returned to his old self. He was now more anxious, letting all kinds of thoughts bother him...and at the moment he was wondering how did he end up living with a gorgeous strawberry blonde who was always so kind, so affectionate and understanding whereas he was a bumbling, uptight nerd who wasn't so good looking? Surely it was only a matter of time before someone better, smarter and more handsome would show up to whisk her away. He had noticed that men started showing up at their house trying to either sell them something or promote a cause...and it was always Barbara that they spoke with, never him. Babs was not quite 20 yet, she lived in a fashionable world that often went way over his head and the lure of more exciting adventures was surely just around the corner...
He had an adventure of his own this morning at work. He intended to discover more about the Landgraab's brainwashing programme and knew the exact place to look for evidence. Damn those two! They opened up his eyes to a whole world of darkness and malevolence and struck at his core being. Well, he'd show them but on the surface he had to act the loyal and dedicated employee whilst secretly he was committed to their downfall.
Meanwhile Barbara was busy with work concerns of her own. Business last week was brisk and so many of the mannequins needed dressing and the pace of change in the fashion world meant that she had to look at a vast swathe of fashion magazines, wholesalers and designers to make sure what she was selling was up to the minute. She pushed her concerns about Jeremy out of her mind for now as she counted down the seconds to opening time.
Her first customers didn't fill her with much joy either: A couple that kept on bickering about having to go shopping. She wanted him to look smarter, he was resentful he was giving up his spare time to go clothes shopping. As Barbara tried to help them find something suitable, the man wandered off gazing at nothing in particular whilst his girlfriend bad mouthed him.
"He's always like this when we have to do a 'must do' job. His one suit...ONE...is full of moth holes and is about 10 years out of style, he'll wear the same shirt for days on end AND he wears odd socks!" she explained, at length.
"Well, let's see if we can find something he'll really like..." said Barbara, diplomatically.
"I doubt it" said the man, glumly.
"There you go again, Tony: Moan, moan, moan, complain, complain, complain..."
"Maybe if you didn't make every little thing such a drudge I wouldn't have so much to complain about, Keira!"
Meanwhile, over at the Landgraab Corporation building, Jeremy decided to do some snooping around during his mid-morning coffee break. The room which contained the computer was the obvious destination: Action had said he'd seen something suspicious in there. Jeremy had only the very basic instruction on the machine, but he knew enough to start it up and try to find information on it. He was well known and senior enough to gain access to the computer room without raising an eyebrow so all he had to do was supress his nerves and go there as if he were perfectly entitled to.
There was a clipboard with the start-up checklist for the computer lying on a desk nearby and Jeremy picked it up and followed each step meticulously. Once the computer was up and running, he tried to find out whatever information about the brainwashing programme he could find. He began by requesting a copy of his own employment file, so he filled in the requisite punch card, inserted it into the computer and waited while it did its work.
The results came out on the printer next to the computer, so Jeremy's next task was to request a complete floor plan of the entire building, especially the downstairs basement area.
The time on the wall clock told him he had only minutes to go before one of the regular staff members assigned to the computer room returned from their coffee break. He found some files that looked promising and then filled in a punch card to get them printed off.
Meanwhile Barbara was trying to extricate herself from the bickering couple and she saw her chance when one of the young, fashionable set among the local high schoolers entered the shop. Barbara tried to remember the young lady's name as she had seen her in the shop before: She was a friend of regular patron Gillian Hills. Collette, Catherine? Ah, Collen! That was it!
"Yes you do!" said the woman"
"Don't!"
"Do!"
"Don't!"
"Do!"
And then they both went quiet; indignation written across their faces.
Back at the Landgraab Corporation Jeremy returned to his desk after lunch to discover a small, sealed envelope on it. It was unmarked so he opened it up not knowing what it was about or from whom. Inside was a neatly folded sheet of writing paper which contained a simple, if cryptic, message.
Your actions are being observed, watch your back.
I have information that you seek.
Meet me at the tree...you know the one. Tonight 7pm.
A friend.
Neil folded the letter, put it back in the envelope and quietly placed it in his inside jacket pocket. Things were taking a strange turn once again...
"Listen, lady, I don't want you to waste any more time on me. What's the best suit you have and I'll say I like it to keep Madam over there quiet and then we can exchange cash for goods and I'll be out of your hair?"
In less than five minutes Tony had emerged wearing a double-breasted grey plaid suit, cut in the mod style.
"Are you sure this is good?" he asked Barbara, dubiously.
"This is top of the range, with it and cut in the classic Saville Row style with mod stylings. Let's show your girlfriend"
Keira was, by now, sitting down on one of the shop's bench seats getting increasingly frustrated at how much of a fuss her boyfriend was kicking up. However, when he emerged from the changing room she was stunned by how he looked...and she wasn't the only one: Even Colleen, the teenage it-girl was impressed.
The couple were satisfied and wanted to buy the suit. Barbara rang up the sale on the till and then got straight back to work trying to deal with the other customers. Because she had taken up so much time with one client, she'd put the others on hold and now there was a backlog. First up was one customer she really wanted to please: Colleen...a good word from her and all her hip teenage friends would flock to the shop.
"Hello there, I'm Barbara and I own this shop...how can I help you?" asked Barbara.
"Wow, fab, the owner! Wow! I'm impressed at what you've got here...my friend Judy says this shop is where it's happening!" replied the extremely pretty, green eyed and raven haired girl. Barbara reckoned she would be fighting off the boys at school.
"Are you looking for something specific, like for a special occasion or just browsing?" said Barbara.
"Well, yeah...something a bit special. In fact, something I saw in the window" replied Colleen.
"Ah, would that be the blue floral dress with orange sleeves? The sky-blue chiffon cocktail dress or the black and white mod dress?"
"None of those...I want...that!" and Colleen indicated a black lace Basque and stocking set.
"Erm...that's something we keep in stock for our more...erm, 'mature' customers" said Barbara, who thought the lingerie set was far too sexy and provocative for a high schooler.
"I'm almost 18!" exclaimed Colleen "and I need something like that for a special occasion" she added, coyly.
She's got a date with a cute guy lined up, I bet. Thought Barbara. However, there was no age restriction on lingerie so Colleen's money was as good as anyone else's and the sale was made. A few customers, one in particular, thought it strange and suspicious that a young teenage girl was buying a racy set of underwear...
At nearly closing time Barbara was cheered to see Jeremy had stopped by instead of going straight home. He looked nervous and ill at ease about something and she became concerned for him. She announced to the remaining customers "I'm closing up shop in five minutes".
He nodded. "Yeah, sorry about being tetchy earlier: I have a lot on my mind"
"That's OK, Cherie, but you know you can talk to me about these things?" Barbara replied.
Jeremy looked to the ceiling and then to the floor. He couldn't find the words to describe what was bothering him. "It's that..." he began, stumbling over his words. "Well, the other day at the party...and just now when I see you with the customers...you get on with people so well and there are all these cool, handsome guys around...and...I can tell they like you..."
"Jeremy, are you jealous?" she asked.
He didn't answer at once. He looked down at the floor again and kicked his shoe against the carpet. "Maybe..." he mumbled.
Barbara stroked his arm gently. "You shouldn't be...I love only you!" she said.
"It's that we don't spend as much time together anymore. At the party you were in one room and I was in another and you were dancing with that Burr DeBenning..."
"I hardly know Burr." she replied. "I was just being friendly to him as he is the one man in the world who's shyer than you! You know, I'm saving a dance for you...a very special one"
"That's kind but I'm too exhausted to go to a nightclub tonight" he replied.
Barbara looked at him and battered her eyelashes at him, in a flirtatious way. "I wasn't talking about actual dancing..." she said.
"Ohhhhh" said Jeremy, getting her point.
After shutting up the shop the two of them went home. As they arrived at the front door Jeremy checked his watch and saw it was nearly 7pm and time for his clandestine meeting with a mystery person.
"You go on in and I'll catch up with you soon...I'm just going for a brief walk around the block" he said to Barbara. She looked confused. "Don't worry, I'm just going to deal with something, but I'll be with you soon." he said, trying to reassure her.
Jeremy walked over to the tree and stood around, anxious as to who would show up. Soon a man in a large, grey-blue jacket and sporting a goatee beard showed up and approached him.
"You Saint?" he asked.
"I'm Jeremy Saint...and you?"
"Darrin Lew, I work at Landgraab's as well. So, I noticed you accessed the computer to retrieve some data that is strictly for upper management's eyes only!"
"How do you know that?"
"Computers, unlike rifling through filing cabinets, keep a track on who's looked at what. They're electronic stoolpigeons that way. When I checked the system after lunch, I noticed the discarded punch cards and had the machine run them again to see what was accessed."
"OK, what's your angle on this? If you thought it was a serious security breach then you'd have reported me already."
"True. But I want to know what your angle is on this as well. We could be working to the same end, or we could be working at cross purposes. Which is it?"
"I want information on what's in the basement" said Jeremy.
"Did you find it?" asked Darrin.
"I did...what do you know about it?"
"I know all about it" said the mysterious Darrin Lew. "And just to let you know, I don't like it either."
"That's reassuring to hear" said Jeremy. "So why do you want to meet me tonight, and by this tree? Do you know all about that as well?"
"I know some things about it...like how Nancy and Geoffrey are very protective towards it, hence their plan to buy up this whole neighbourhood."
"Once they've done that, what then?"
Darrin looked all around Foundry Cove before answering. "All this..." he said with a sweep of his arm "...will be the site of a massive research facility dedicated to the study of that tree"
Jeremy looked at the impressive but odd-looking tree. "Then they don't know what it is either" he mused.
"What does that mean?" asked Darrin. "I know it's important to them, but I'll be damned if I know why"
Jeremy snapped to his senses once more. "Mr Lew...what are your intentions?" he asked.
"Like you, I grow worried about the company I work for and the people who run it. I've seen things...dark things, things that shouldn't be. For months I've felt isolated, alone and looking over my shoulder but now I think I might have found an ally. What are your intentions?"
Jeremy drew a deep breath. "I want revenge for what the Landgraabs did to me: They brainwashed me into hating the people I care about, they've used me to push their lies!"
"Then I think we can work together, Mr Saint" said Darrin.
"Call me Jeremy"
Meanwhile Barbara was smartening herself up whilst waiting for Jeremy. She saw that he was talking to someone she didn't recognise but the conversation appeared genial enough so she didn't worry about it. Just so long as he didn't take up too much of their precious time spend talking to some random guy.
Poor Jeremy, she thought, jealous, nervous and insecure. She thought about all the rough stuff he'd been through recently, especially the brainwashing by the Landgraabs. She warned him not to work for them but his honour and decency overrode his judgement. Well, as a loving partner she saw it as her duty to help him feel valued and treasured.
Then Jeremy came indoors and made his way to the bedroom. "Sorry about that" he said, "that was a work colleague I had to talk to."
"Oh, did it go OK?" she asked.
"Oh yeah...fine. In fact, it was very productive. Interesting guy which I will tell you all about at another time. Now, you have my complete attention" he said.
"I'm glad about that. I'm so sorry you've been feeling down, darling, but you do know I love you and I would never do anything to hurt you. Phht! Burr can't hold a candle to you...no man can"
"I feel like a jackass" he said.
"Don't be so hard on yourself...come, let's sit down together on the bed and...see what happens"
