Back at her house, Suzy began to type up her notes of what she'd found whilst Neil brewed some coffee and acted as a sounding board for her ideas. Soon they were joined by Barbara Dubois from next door.
"Hey...Jeremy said you'd found something in that old tree. It sounds exiting" she said.
"I wouldn't say 'exciting'" said Neil, handing Barbara a cup of coffee. "But there's something more to that tree than meets the eye. Suzy wants to check it out again another day."
Suzy stopped typing and got up. "Well, whatever's in that tree the Landgraabs probably know about it. Say, all this speculation is getting to be a drag...how about we go and have some fun?" she said.
"Great! What do you suggest?" said Barbara.
"We could catch a movie or go bowling?" suggested Neil.
"If we went to the Bowl-o-Rama we could do both!" said Suzy. So it was agreed; a bowl then a movie afterwards.
The Bowl-O-Rama, 6pm
When they arrived at the place, Suzy couldn't believe her luck. "That's....Malcolm Landgraab and he's here!" she exclaimed.
"Is that significant?" asked Neil.
"Yes! I've been trying to track him down for weeks now and here he is" said Suzy.
"It looks like he's wearing one of those specialty bowling shirts" said Barbara. "Maybe he's part of a team?"
"Of course...let's follow him in. I'll book us an adjacent lane so I can keep tabs on his movements" said Suzy. Her friends shrugged their shoulders and followed along.
They checked in, got a bowling land and changed their shoes. Then they went to have a game but Suzy, all the while, was keeping tabs on Malcolm. He indeed was in team along with a fellow teen and an older lady. Malcolm had this special handshake with his team mate which they used every time one of them got a strike or a spare. Suzy noticed that some money and a small envelope would change hands when they did this.
About halfway through the game Suzy was surprised to see Bella Goth arrive, not wearing anything suitable to go bowling, and approach Malcolm. They seemed to be having a quiet conversation which Suzy couldn't overhear.
Bella smiled and cocked her head slightly towards Suzy "A journalist" she said.
Malcolm took the hint and nodded. He then returned to playing the game. Meanwhile Bella approached Suzy, Neil and Barbara. "Suzy, nice to see you"
"And you too, Bella" Suzy replied. She noticed that Mrs Goth was wearing her stiletto heels instead of bowling shoes. "Are you not going to have a game, Bella?"
Bella paused before answering "No. Just a flying visit really to see Malcolm. He and Cassandra are study partners at school and he had forgotten something which Cassandra had wished to pass on. I'm just the messenger."
"Oh I see" said Suzy, only half believing her. "I don't think I've met Malcolm yet...would you introduce us?" she continued. Bella took a deep breath and nodded.
"Malcolm...this is Suzy Kent from 'Hey Wow' magazine, I trust you've heard of it" said Bella.
"I have indeed. I also hear that you've been wanting to interview me for some time" said Malcolm to Suzy.
"That's true; I've spoken with both your parents but you've been very elusive of late" she replied.
"Got to stay ahead of the game, I'm sure you understand" said a cool, collected Malcolm.
"Hey, Malcolm...are you going to finish this game and give out the...prizes?" said the fair haired older lady.
"Prizes?" said an intrigued Suzy. "Are you in some kind of competition?"
"Private members only, Miss Kent" replied Malcolm. "Listen, babe" said Malcolm to the lady "all in good time. Well I mustn't keep my team mates waiting, Miss Kent, and I can see your friends are ready for you as well" he said, indicating Barbara and Neil. He turned away and continued to bowl. Suzy went back to her lane.
"I know he's up to something!" said a defiant Suzy.
Suzy Kent was determined to move her investigations along. Since getting knocked back by her editor over her recent articles about the Landgraabs, she had been struggling to find a new avenue of enquiry. She pulled out a folder filled with notes she'd made coupled with some documents her contact, Burr DeBenning, had given her some weeks back. She went through them looking for a clue that she had hitherto had missed.
The line of investigation concerning Malcolm Landgraab had hit a dead end: His alleged criminal activities around his school could not be proven: The combination of him being a slippery customer and his parent's protection had led to nothing being learned. Likewise, her enquiries about Bella Goth's disappearance a few years ago had hit a brick wall: Mortimer Goth had seen to that. The Fengs? Well, Suzy found nothing on them so far. Looking at other documents she looked at the leaked development plans of the Landgraab Corporation to redevelop large parts of Willow Creek...including the street she lived on. There were proposals for a large industrial facility on this site but what made the document strange was that it kept referencing the large and colourful tree that grew just by Jeremy Saint's house. Under no circumstances was this tree to be cut down or damaged, the report said. But why? Suzy asked herself.
She went through some other documents attached to the proposal and what caught her eye was a handwritten note, attached by paper clip to the builder's plans. The note contained some cryptic instructions about the tree. It seemed like something a child would write for a creative writing assignment at school but the handwriting was definitely that of an adult. What could it mean and why was it attached to these building plans?
Suzy made a few phone calls...she was going to need some help!
Within the hour Neil, Jeremy and Summer had arrived at Suzy's house. She welcomed them in and talked over her plans.
"Thanks for coming" she said. "I've invited you all here because you've been very helpful to me, one way or another, during my investigation into this strange story involving the Landgraabs and their plans to bulldoze this street and build a factory here."
"Have you made a breakthrough?" asked Summer.
"Well....maybe" said Suzy. "The plans I've got here keep mentioning that big tree at the end of the road. And there's a note that refers to it as well. Here, take a look everyone" she said, passing the note around the group.
"It sounds like a nursery rhyme" said Jeremy.
"Yeah, are you sure this is serious?" said Neil, handing the note back to Suzy.
"At this point I have no idea but....how about we do what the note says? We'll go over to that tree and follow these instructions. Let's see what happens" she said to her friends.
There was a pause as Neil, Jeremy and Summer looked at each other, unsure of what to say. "Well, I guess so..." said Summer, eventually.
They grabbed a watering can and a flashlight and ran over to the large tree in question. Suzy stood right next to the tree and asked "Neil, what's the first instruction?"
Neil said, sceptically "The first instruction is...'water the base of the tree'"
"Water....a tree?" said an incredulous Jeremy. Suzy picked up the watering can and began to water near the roots. She emptied the can of its contents and waited to see if anything had happened. It didn't appear to have had any effect.
"OK, what's next?" asked Suzy.
Neil took a deep breath. "It says we have to praise the tree for its wonderful leaves"
Jeremy looked askance at Suzy "You want us to talk to a tree?"
"If that's what the note says, that's what I'm going to do" she replied. Suzy looked up and began to speak "Oh tree...oh beautiful tree with your magnificent foliage..."
Jeremy put his hands up to his face. "No...I'm not doing this!" he said.
Summer lightly punched him on the arm. "It looks weird but maybe something will happen?" she said.
"Yeah, they'll haul us away to the madhouse" said Jeremy.
"Your leaves are wonderful!" said Summer, joining in with Suzy.
"And every Spring the blossoms must be...erm....great" said Neil
Still nothing seemed to change so Neil read out the next instruction. "Now praise the roots" he said.
So the friends did the same thing again, but this time talking to the ground where the main roots buried themselves. Jeremy kept looking over his shoulder to see if anyone could see them doing this.
"I don't see any changes" said Summer, looking up and down the tree.
"We've been conned" said Jeremy.
Suzy walked all the way around the tree, touching the trunk and looking for the tiniest sign of something significant. Then, pulling back some creeper foliage, she saw a cavity in the tree trunk...a cavity she'd never noticed before when looking at the tree. "I've found something!" she exclaimed.
"Wait! That wasn't there before!" said Jeremy, excited.
"It's some kind of hollow in the tree that....leads into it" said Suzy, shining a flashlight into the hollow. "Wait...I can't see the back or the sides of the tree...it's like some kind of tunnel"
"How can that be?" said Summer.
"I don't know...but I'm going in to explore" said Suzy.
"Wait! Let me go first!" said Neil, trying to get in front of his girlfriend but he was too late...she had stepped inside the hollow and all he could do was follow her. Jeremy and Summer stayed outside.
Suzy's flashlight didn't reveal much...they were in some kind of tunnel, perhaps running underground but they couldn't detect any downwards slope. They walked on another 20 or so feet when Suzy heard the sound of the wind far off in the distance and could see a small light coming from a different direction. Thinking that the light was the exit point, Suzy and Neil walked towards it...but instead it led back to where they came from.
"Oh" said Suzy, re-emerging into the sunlight where she had just been. "We looped around on ourselves"
"How can that be?" said Jeremy. "I mean, that tree can barely hold two people in it and yet you were in there for...what, 5 minutes, and we couldn't see you at all. Did the passage lead underground?"
"I'm not sure" Suzy replied. "Let's talk about this over at the gardens"
The group went over to the communal garden to have a chat about what they'd seen and experienced. Suzy looked disappointed. "I thought they'd be more to it than that" she said.
"Well, that's a lot more than you expected before we went and checked that tree out" said Neil, trying to be helpful. "Now we know there's a hollow and an underground path in that tree. And I'm sure there was another path we could have taken. Maybe next time we'll try that?"
"Well, until then, I have to get to work. Chin up, Suzy" said Jeremy. Summer too had to leave but Neil remained behind.
"I think we should try again...but go better prepared." said Neil.
"Thanks for your help, Neil, I really appreciated it. You backed me up all the way and it was sweet the way you tried to go first and protect me" said Suzy, reaching out and hugging him. Neil only slightly recoiled at being spontaneously hugged.
"I think....I may have had too much to drink" said a very woozy Barbara Dubois. She and her boyfriend, Jeremy Saint, had just staggered home from a party at their friend's house. Even though the party was just at the end of their very short street, the tipsy journey home seemed like an epic. Barbara could hardly stand on her feet....the problem was that she got the measurements for the punch recipe wrong and too much vodka had ended up in it. Everyone who was there was feeling worse for wear...everyone except John Action, their policeman friend, who seemed none the worse for wear.
Jeremy and Barbara helped each other up the porch steps, open the door and stumble to the bedroom.
"Oh Jeremy, I know we agreed to have a little fun time on our own this evening but I'm really feeling too tired and...well....out of it" said Barbara.
"I've got to give a presentation tomorrow and I know I'm going to have a thumping hangover" said Jeremy. "Let's take a rain cheque on that fun time"
They managed to take off their shoes and boots, Barbara her skirt but they didn't bother to finish changing before crashing out in their bed. The next morning, Jeremy hit the showers early whilst Barbara made the most simple of breakfasts. Both of them had hangovers. As they sat down to eat Jeremy asked Barbara if she was working as well today.
"I looked at my roster and I'm not on today...thank goodness. It's a shame you haven't got a day off as well; are you feeling well enough to go in?" she said.
"I can't justify not going in when all I have is a headache. I'll be fine...I've already got my notes and after a few cups of Dewey, Cheathem & Howe's worst caffeinated sludge I should be good to go. What will you do?"
"I don't know yet...I've got some ideas of what I'd like to do long term...I can't see myself at Hamburgerman for long; I need something more challenging and rewarding. Today, however, I will probably visit some of my old haunts down in San Myshuno"
And so it was that Barbara headed to the bright lights of the big city centre but when she got there she wasn't prepared for what she saw. There were crowds of people all gathered around some kind of open air exhibition, many of them dressed in costume. "What is going on here?" As she drew closer, intrigued by what she saw, she could hear music coming over some speakers.
"Duh-nuh-nuh-nuh-nuh! Llama Man! Llama Man! Does whatever a Llama can He can bleat He can trot Got everything that a llama's got Look out! Here comes Llama Man!"
"Llama Man?" said a confused Barbara, but all around she could see big posters for some kind of TV show called Llama Man, banners with "GO LLAMA MAN!" written on them in big, colourful lettering and people dressed in superhero costumes based on the motif of a Llama.
Barbara had to take a seat and wonder at this character, who seemed very popular judging by the size of the crowd. A woman sat next to her...but she was wearing a Llama Man costume.
"Phew! This place is really swinging today? I have to take a break; this headgear is VERY hot to wear!" said the woman.
"Don't tell me...you've come dressed as Llama Man?" said Barbara, introducing herself.
"Llama Man? No! I'm dressed as Llama Girl!" said the woman, indignantly.
"There's a Llama Girl as well?" asked Barbara.
"Of course; she's Llama Man's sidekick. Have you never seen the show?"
"No...I didn't know it existed"
"Oh you must watch it! It's only the number one rated TV show in Sim Nation! This is a special convention for the fans...the first one of its kind."
"I see...so do you play Llama Man in the show?"
"No, I'm a dedicated fan...the real Llama Man, that is actor Tab Strong, will be along later to sign autographs and speak with the fans. I'm part of the fan club and we members have come dressed as some of the characters. So I'm Llama Girl, over there we have The Poker, The Cormorant, Diddly D and Feline Fatale."
"And who are they?" asked Barbara, still none the wiser.
"The villains of the show, of course! You really must watch it"
After chatting to this fan of the show, Barbara took a look around this convention. One of the biggest, most impressive exhibits there was a massive rocket engine. She wondered if it was from the Llama Man TV show but a sign, plus a voiceover from a speaker, indicated it wasn't.
"SPACE...THE MOON...MAN'S DREAM OF CONQUEST..." went the voice recording. "If WE ARE GOING TO GET TO THE MOON, MARS AND VENUS IT WILL DEPEND ON NEW, POWERFUL ROCKET ENGINES SUCH AS THESE..."
A young man was looking excitedly at this rocket engine. "Wow! That's so awesome!" he said, turning to face Barbara. Once he saw her, his face turned white and suddenly he started mumbling. "Fnargh laghargle blahrgh flargh mwagh". He couldn't bear to look at her any longer and soon ran off. She wondered what his problem was.
The weirdness continued when she went to get something to eat from one of the vendors. As seating was limited, she asked to sit at the same table as someone else, a young man, and he could barely speak to her before he mumbled and ran off.
"What is going on?" she said out loud. "I showered this morning, it can't be body odour..."
"Allow me to explain" said a deep, resonant voice from behind her. Barbara turned around to see a well built man and curvaceous young woman both wearing Llama superhero outfits standing behind her.
"You see, young lady" said the man. "These are fans of science fiction and comic books...commonly known as 'nerds'. They often have difficulty relating to attractive young women such as yourself."
"Oh I see...that's funny because I often think I'm a nerd too." Replied Barbara. "I'm into all kinds of things people don't think are trendy. I must say your costumes look very authentic"
"That's because they are genuine costumes from the show. Allow me to introduce myself: My name is Tab Strong, I play Llama Man on the show. This is my co-star, Raquel Furnish." The woman waved to Barbara but said nothing. "I hope you enjoy the show" said Tab Strong.
"I've never seen it before, in fact I didn't know it existed until today" replied Barbara.
"WHAT?" said Tab. "Well, here, have this signed photo of Raquel and myself...compliments of Llama Man and Llama Girl. Remember, Llama Man is on every 8pm, Wednesday evening on SBC 12." and with that he handed over the photo to her.
Once the event was over, Barbara made her way home...still processing what she'd experienced. An entire exhibition and convention based around a single fantasy and science fiction TV show? It seemed a preposterous idea and she wondered if the idea would ever catch on. Once home she could catch up with Jeremy, who had just got back.
"Hey there, sweetheart" he said, as she entered the house. "Did you head off into town?"
"Yes...there was some strange kind of show there; all about this crazy TV show called Llama Man. I met the stars of it and they gave me a signed photo..." she said, showing him the picture of the two actors in costume.
"You got a signed photo of Llama Man and Llama Girl! No way!" said an excited Jeremy, barely able to contain himself.
"What? You know this show?" she asked, shaking her head.
"I never miss an episode!" said Jeremy. "Wow...you met Tab Strong and Raquel Furnish! Tell me, what's she like in real life?"
"Oh so you like Raquel Furnish do you?" said Barbara, looking cross at him.
"Oops...sorry. I mean, she's a fine actress but nowhere near as beautiful and as lovely as you, of course"
"That's better" said Barbara, smiling again.
Later on, as they retired to bed Barbara remembered something "Jeremy...how's your hangover?"
"Oh that...it's gone, I'm fine now" he said. "And yours?"
"Gone as well....I did promise you a treat last night, I'd like to keep it"
"Oh what did you have in mind?" said an inquisitive Jeremy.
"Why not come to bed and find out?" said a coquettish Barbara.
It was 4am and Summer was awakened by a desperate need to go to the bathroom. She got up and left her room but right outside in the hall, she bumped into Travis.
"Oh, hi" she said, bashfully. She had cried and went to her room when she saw him and Liberty flirting at the party. She hadn't realised she liked him so much and what made things worse is that she saw him every day, week after week, month after month and she could barely contain her feelings about him.
"Hey there, are you OK?" asked a concerned Travis. She saw the hurt in Summer's eyes and remembered how sad she looked earlier when he and Liberty were being playful with each other. So she really did like him, he thought. Sure, Liberty was flirting with him but that was mostly the alcohol talking...Summer seemed to have genuine romantic feelings for him. Now things were different, in his mind. This beautiful, generous, lovely girl he took for granted liked him! He now saw her in a new light.
"Oh yes, I'm fine...actually I really need the bathroom" she said, with a forced smile.
"Of course...sorry, I'm in the way" he replied, awkwardly. "By the way, great party...wasn't it?" he added.
"Sure. Everyone seemed to have a good time"
"And it was because of you. You're a great host and...." he paused momentarily before finishing his thought "...a great person. So much good stuff happens because of you. I want you to know that...and I'm sorry if it seems like I take you for granted." Travis smiled.
Summer nodded. "Thanks, Travis. I really appreciate what you just said"
"No problem. I won't hold you up anymore" he said.
"Good morning, sleepy head" said Summer Holiday to her housemate, Liberty Lee. Summer and the third roommate, Travis Scott, had been up for an hour already and were finishing their breakfasts when Liberty emerged, still in her sleepwear.
"It was a long session at the space centre" replied Liberty. "Just 10 days before the launch". "What's for breakfast?"
"I did us grilled fruit" said Summer. "Actually I did too much...and I didn't know that Travis had cooked a load of grilled chicken as well so do help yourself; there's so much and everything must go"
Liberty grabbed a plate of the grilled fruit and sat down to eat. "Hmmm, this is good, what have we got on for today? Fancy going somewhere?"
"I don't mind" said Travis.
"We could....or, I know, we could throw a party!" said an enthusiastic Summer.
"Why?" said Travis.
"Oh it'll be fun!" continued Summer. "We'll invite all our friends and it could be a street party"
"But have we enough food and drink for a party?" said Travis, still unsure.
"Hello? Look at all this food we've already cooked...and we have plenty of snacks and have you seen the bar lately? We could keep a small army happy with our stocks" said Summer.
Travis thought. "Well, I don't have any objections. Do you, Libs?"
Liberty finished a mouthful of fruit. "Nope. A party sounds good...I need a complete break from work"
"Then a party we shall have! Travis...you go and let everyone know there's going to be a party at our place this afternoon and evening...I'll make sure we've got all our food, snacks and drinks ready and Liberty...."
"I'll smarten the place up" said Liberty, finishing Summer's sentence.
Travis went and told the neighbours that there would be a party at their house starting at 4pm. As it was a Sunday, everyone had a day off and could come. Liberty cleaned the house up and rearranged some furniture to make it more of a party place. Summer laid the food and drink out. Afterwards they went to their rooms to change into party clothes which gave them time to think about their hopes for their party.
Summer opened up her closet to see which outfit she wanted to wear. She had a blue strappy dress which was one she'd had for over a year now but it was made of silk and felt so nice to wear and was flattering for her figure so even though it wasn't the height of fashion, it made her feel good. She was hoping to make a good impression on Travis as well...and not knowing exactly where he was in terms of dating and what he was looking for in a woman...she thought he might like this blue dress.
Meanwhile Travis was putting the finishing touches to his outfit. He had recently purchased a black, military style Nehru jacket which was all the rage. He liked its smartness and thought about the people who were coming to the party: Jeremy, his best friend. John Action, the man he wanted to be more like. Suzy, waaaay out of his league. Barbara, Jeremy's cute girlfriend and Julia, the rather serious girl from across the road who he hadn't got to know very well. Travis would never hit on Barbara, Suzy was rumoured to have a boyfriend now and Julia? Travis hadn't worked out in his mind whether she was cute or not.
Liberty was very excited about the party. She had been working so hard in a job which was male dominated...she spent so much time around male engineers, scientists and astronauts that she had forgotten how to unwind and feel more feminine. This party was a great chance to do just that. She put on a brand new pink minidress, purple tights and white knee boots which she matched with a pair of brilliant white plastic shades. She looked every inch a mod girl; which was contrary to her everyday image. She then styled her hair to be more funky. Looking in the mirror she was very satisfied with her appearance.
They emerged from their rooms and Travis did a few last minute checks to see if everything was alright for the party. Liberty and Summer sat down to have a chat.
"Liberty, oh my gosh, you look amazing!" said Summer.
"I'm glad you like it...it's not my normal thing but, hey, I like it too" replied Liberty.
"Now I've realised I've not invited any cute, single guys...I mean, is it going to be awkward between you and Action?"
"Oh no!" said Liberty, calmly. "Action and I went on a couple of dates and, well, we slept together once but we both knew it was a fleeting bit of fun and not the start of anything serious. He's got the new girlfriend and he seems happy with her"
"Phew! Glad to hear it. I only realised about Action after we agreed to throw the party. Well, we won't worry about the guy situation then"
But both girls knew there was an elephant in the room...Travis. Both fancied him, Summer especially so, but nothing had happened and he didn't seem keen on either of them romantically. But Liberty and Summer never talked about their feelings towards Travis and did everything they could to avoid talking about it.
The guests had started to arrive and Summer rushed to turn their new stereo system on as Liberty answered the door to greet the guests.
The first to arrive were Jeremy and Barbara. They said their greetings to the girls but went to seek out Travis, who was lurking in his room.
Travis smiled enthusiastically at them when they arrived. "Hey, Jeremy...cool shirt!" he said.
"Barbara chose it for me...do you like?" replied Jeremy.
"Yeah, man, it's cool. Barbara...are you going to get our main man here to loosen up and get with it?" said Travis.
"That's my plan" said Barbara, smiling at her nattily dressed boyfriend.
Summer entered the room. "Isn't it a bit cramped in here? The others are here and we're doing the first round of drinks" she said.
They left Travis' room and headed to the open plan kitchen/lounge area where, indeed, the party was starting to swing. Action was there, as well as Suzy. and they were all grabbing a bite to eat and something to drink.
Then menfolk all congregated on the sofa in the living room. "Cool pad you've got here" said Action.
"Thanks" replied Travis. "We've recently made improvements since that break in..."
"What the hell's wrong with you, man?" interrupted Action.
"What?" replied Travis.
"You live with those two and you haven't made a move on either of them? Back me up here, Jeremy, my man Travis here is a fool!"
"You're a fool, Travis" said Jeremy.
"Hey! That's not fair! You know, well, Summer and Liberty are....Summer and Liberty, man! I...I...can't!"
"Why not? Are you related to them?" said Action.
"No!"
"Then what's the matter with you?" said Jeremy. "Look at me; I'm the biggest square around and look at Barbara over there. How did a guy like me land a girl like her?"
"I've wondered that myself" said Action. "But Jezza's right. You're always talking to us about how you like to play it cool with the ladies and how much of a chick magnet you are and look at you: No date and you live with two hot chicks."
"But if I were to make a move..." replied a very defensive Travis "...that would be like crossing the Rubicon. It might upset the delicate balance of the cosmos! But, look, I will prove to you that I'm not a fool."
The party continued and people were starting to hit the dance floor when it was noticed that Julia Epstein had arrived at some point but didn't announce herself, thus her presence caught everyone by surprise.
"Julia! I'm so glad you're here!" said Suzy, pumped up on adrenaline and the spicy punch that Barbara and Summer had concocted earlier. She ran over to the new arrival and gave her a big hug. Julia, unsure of how to respond, awkwardly gave Suzy a hug in return.
"You look great!" said Suzy "Doesn't she look great, Travis?"
Travis had a look of a rabbit trapped in a car's headlights. "Erm...yes." he replied.
Julia looked around the room, looking stiff and uncomfortable. "That food looks good...I'll grab a plate" she said. Julia looked at all the different social groupings at the party...the boys were in one corner, the girls were mostly at the bar having a gossip about people and places she was unfamiliar with.
She took her plate and sat down on the couch. Travis soon flopped down next to her. There was an awkward silence.
"Hi" said Travis.
"Hello" said Julia.
"So.......how's work?"
"It's fine. And yours?"
"Yeah, good" Travis' eyes darted around the room. He looked into Julia's face but he found it intimidating in a strange way: He noticed that it was a beautiful one...which surprised him because he always thought of her pigtails and big glasses but her eyes, that pouty mouth, the cheekbones...she was actually quite hot! So he glanced down to avoid having to make eye contact with her and becoming a gibbering fool and noticed that her dress revealed a nice cleavage...again, he was used to her wearing thick sweaters. And then her legs were nice, her figure was nice....he felt nervous so instead he looked around the room.
"Did you get the recipe right?" asked Liberty to Barbara. "The punch is a bit strong"
"Yeah, 1 part pineapple juice, 3 parts vodka..." replied Barbara.
"NO! It's the other way around!"
"Oops!"
"No wonder I'm feeling so light headed!" said Liberty.
"You're my best friend, Jeremy" said a tipsy Travis.
"No...you're MY best friend" replied an even tipsier Jeremy.
"I tell you what...this punch goes down so easily...I think I'll have another one" said Barbara.
"Let's all dance!" said Suzy.
Travis went to get another drink and Liberty, spotting him, decided to sit down next to him. She was feeling very light headed and threw caution to the wind.
"Hello handsome" she said, giving him a little flirtatious wave.
"Hi there" said Travis, too drunk to care about upsetting the cosmos.
"I saw you there...looking at me" said Liberty. "Would you like to dance?"
Travis smiled and said "I promised Summer...." and at that he looked around and noticed that Summer was standing right next to them and she'd seen and heard it all.
"Oh...Summer. No, you and Travis go ahead" said Liberty, suddenly back peddling when she saw how hurt Summer looked.
"No....that's alright...I'll just....tidy up! *sob*" and with that Summer suddenly left.
"Hey guys..." said Jeremy. "I'd better get Barbara home...she's on the point of collapsing". Jeremy was propping up a very drunk Barbara and was trying to escort her out the door. "Great party"
"Yeah, it was groovy" said Action, who looked none the worse for wear even though he'd drunk as much as everyone else"
"I...enjoyed myself" said Julia, honestly. Despite her social awkwardness she had enjoyed herself, in her own way, and was pleased the group accepted her as a friend. As she departed she looked back at Travis, and gave him a little smile.
"The headache I'm going to have tomorrow...." said Suzy, grabbing her handbag. "Still, wouldn't have missed this for the world."
Summer had already gone to bed. Travis was staggering towards his. Liberty was left, still buzzing. She went to her room and took a look at herself in the mirror.
"You know...if I wanted Travis I could" she thought to herself. "He'd make a good boyfriend. But at what cost? Do I like him more than Summer does? Does he like me in that way? Do I risk my friendship with both of them? Is it worth it?"
She thought some more. "Do I believe in fate, or working towards an outcome because at this moment if I went for Travis it wouldn't be fate...it'd be me working at making him my boyfriend. We'd go on a date, move things along, take it to the next level. That's how I work...that's how I've always done everything. Or do I not pursue the easy, workable option and trust to fate, something I've never done before? Do I abandon any ideas of getting together with Travis and seeing what random men come into my life? Which path?"
Liberty sighed and went to take out the trash. She brushed her dress and reflected on how many compliments she'd received about her outfit. After putting the trash in the bin, she turned around to see a young, well dressed man looking completely lost.
"Excuse me, can I help you?" she asked.
The man turned around and took one look at Liberty...he was paralysed for a moment before speaking. "Oh, yes, sorry to bother you but I'm looking for the Stovall hotel"
"Oh you're not far from it at all" she said. "You turn right here, go down to the end of the road where you'll see a path and continue down that for a quarter mile and you'll see it on your right" Liberty noticed that there were quite a few very smartly dressed people doing in that direction; some of the women in fancy evening gowns.
"Is there a big event going on at the Stovall?" she asked the young man.
"Oh yes, a prizegiving event for a charity" he replied. "I'm representing my company. I'm dreading it a bit because I don't know anyone"
"Well...that could be an opportunity to meet someone interesting" said Liberty.
"Could be...are you going to this thing as well? I notice you're dressed very nicely, for a smart occasion"
"No...I've just had a party with some friends." said Liberty.
"Well...you look lovely if I may say so" said the young man.
"You may say so....by the way, my name's Liberty"
"That's a lovely name...my name's Gary. Say, do you believe in fate?"
Liberty paused. "I'm starting to warm to the idea" she replied.
"Because if I hadn't stopped here to wonder what direction I should be going in at precisely the same time you stepped out of your house then I would still be lost and we wouldn't have met."
"Very true" said Liberty, smiling.
"Would you like to meet me one day for coffee?" said Gary.
"I'd like that a lot" she replied.
"OK then...well, I guess I'd better get to this event. When would it be OK to call around?"
"This time next week" said Liberty.
"I'll see you then, Liberty"
"I look forward to it, Gary"
Gary waved goodbye and Liberty watched him walk off for a bit before heading indoors. "Fate" she thought. "Could be...."
Julia Epstein had a long standing invitation to go and visit her best friend, Francesca Griffith, at her home in Windenburg. As this was a day off for Julia, and she was feeling bored at home with her medical textbooks, she decided to take Francesca up on her offer and go across town to visit her.
It was a bright, sunny day and the wide open spaces, the trees and the often rural feel of Windenburg too her back to her childhood. She'd grown up here, but her parents had moved to a bigger house just outside of Sim City so she hadn't been back to this part of town since she was 12. Francesca and her family lived in a modest sized house in Windslar...and when Julia arrived she saw her friend playing catch with a little girl outside the house.
"Francesca! Hello, how are you?" said Julia, going up to her friend.
"Julia, how nice to see you? Have you met my daughter, Stefanie?" said Francesca, pointing to the little girl.
"Very briefly and only once...how nice to meet you, Stefanie" said Julia.
The little girl smiled "Are you mommy's friend from the hospital?" she asked.
"I am, well remembered" said Julia, noting how pleasant the girl was in her manner.
"Come inside and I'll make us all drinks...Rod's home so you can get to meet him too" said Francesca.
They went inside and there Julia got to meet Francesca's often talked about, but hitherto never met, husband Rod.
"So you're the new doctor who my wife has kindly taken under her wing?" said Rod, a very outgoing man with a warm, easy charm about him.
"I am...your wife's been amazing at helping me settle in" said Julia.
"Yep, she's a pretty amazing woman all round" said Rod, looking proudly at his wife.
"Daddy" said Stefanie "will you tell us all one of your stories?"
"Now which one would you like? Funny, true or SCARY?" he replied, pretending to look mysterious.
"Ooh one of your scary ones! I know, tell us the story about the old Von Haunt estate!" said the little girl, enthusiastically
"Not....the story of the Von Haunt estate!" said Rod, hamming it up by pretending to sound shocked. "Very well....but be warned, what I'm about to tell you is a tale of terror, a story of suspense and a saga of sadness....well it all began one hundred years ago at the old Von Haunt estate....you see they say that behind every window on the old Von Haunt estate are secrets....signs....and....threats!"
Everyone was started to get a bit creeped out at the way Rod could tell a scary story, complete with sinister voices and elaborate hand gestures and facial expressions. Even Julia was starting to feel rattled.
"And they do say..." continued Rod, warming to his theme "they do say that on a certain night, when the moon is full and the cock crows 13, that something terrible lurks in the very walls of the Von Haunt estate! So do you know what I did? On one night...when the moon was full and the cock crowed 13 times I went to the oooolllllldddd Von Haunt estate, I went into the oooooollllld Von Haunt estate and DID YOU KNOW WHAT I SAW AT THE OOOOOOOLLLLLD VON HAUNT ESTATE?"
"What did you see?" said a now terrified Julia, who noticed that Stefanie was biting her knuckles in anticipation.
"Absolutely nothing" said Rod, in a plain, matter of fact voice. Stefanie burst out laughing and Julia didn't know what to say or where to look. Rod slapped his thigh and laughed too.
"He does that" said Francesca, whispering in Julia's ear. "I apologise for my husband's strange sense of humour"
"My dad's so funny, did he fool you too?" said Stefanie.
"Yes he did....and I must warn you, Rod, that I am a member of the Dishonourable Company of Pranksters so watch out in future!" said Julia.
Rod made everyone a coffee and provided Stefanie with some milk and cookies. Julia enjoyed the company of the Griffiths and when Rod went outside to play with Stefanie for a bit, it gave her and Francesca a chance to talk.
"You've a lovely family, Francesca" said Julia, watching Rod and Stefanie play from the window.
"Thank you. Do you ever think you'll one day have a family of your own?"
"I don't know" said Julia with a shrug. "That would mean having to find a husband first and I don't think I have the time or inclination"
"No one on the horizon, then?" asked Francesca.
"None whatsoever" replied Julia. She looked out the window again and saw Rod, a fine figure of a man and ideal husband material. "Have you and Rod been together long?"
"Childhood sweethearts...we married after he graduated from College and then little Stefanie came along 18 months later"
"You're very fortunate" said Julia. "I wouldn't know where to start to look for a man...well, one that would want to be with me anyway"
"Don't put yourself down, Julia" said Francesca "you're a catch"
"I'm a nerd" said Julia. "Plus...well, I'm building a career and I don't want to have to quit to settle down and have babies just when I've got started"
"You're the type of person with the drive to make anything a success...if you want to be a top doctor, I've no doubt you'll do it. Likewise, if you want to find yourself a husband I'm sure you could achieve that as well"
Julia stayed for lunch with the Griffiths but then decided to head home. But she had an idea....she knew the Von Haunt estate was nearby so she went and had a look at the place for herself...she hadn't done so since she was a little girl. The place had been restored beautifully and looked better than she remembered. Walking around, she saw a fine carved chess set and a frantic looking man standing nearby.
"Excuse me, you haven't seen a little girl around here? She's my daughter...she's and orange and red playsuit and her hair's in braids" said the man.
"No I haven't" replied Julia "did she run off?"
"I don't think so...she likes playing hide and seek but this time she's doing too good a job"
Julia helped the man search for his daughter when, all of a sudden, they felt a sharp prong in their backs. Julia spun around in an instant and saw a little girl who matched the description of the man's daughter
"You little scamp!" said the man, hugging his daughter in gladness. "Thank you, Miss, for helping me track this little minx down!"
"Your welcome" said Julia, who went back to contemplating her game of chess. Soon she saw a familiar face approaching her: Yuki Behr.
"Yuki, how are you doing?" said Julia, pleased to see the young teenager who had been going through a rough time personally.
"OK....actually, are you using this chess table because I'm supposed to be playing a game with a friend soon?" replied Yuki.
"Oh, no, I was just musing here...no, go ahead. So who's this friend?"
"I can't really talk about it because it's part of this club I'm in and I'm not supposed to talk about it"
"Sounds mysterious..." said Julia, as a rather intense looking blonde haired teenager approached Yuki.
"Hey there...shall we play?" he said, diffidently.
"Yeah, sure....well, it's nice seeing you again, Doctor Julia" said Yuki in a tone that suggested dismissiveness. Julia got the hint and walked on, noticing that Yuki was taking a keen interest in her opponent. Love in the air? Julia thought that such speculation was pointless and moved on. Maybe it was time to widen her social circle? She headed off to the Blue Velvet to see who was in.
The music was playing, but not from over the speakers....there was a double act at the microphone and at the piano. The woman was a statuesque blonde lady with her hair worn in a very long ponytail but the man playing the piano she recognised...that publisher and editor of the titillation magazine, Lothario...Alan Cuffe.
They finished the song to a warm round of applause and Cuffe went over to the girl and gave her a firm kiss on the lips. Julia recoiled in disgust but as she did so Cuffe noticed her and turned to talk to Julia.
"Now I never forget a pretty face...you're the Dishy Doctor, aren't you?" he said, with a smile.
"It's Doctor Epstein" replied a cool Julia. "And is she one of your 'kittens'?" said Julia, indicating Cuffe's musical partner.
"Jolene? Why yes....A very talented girl in many ways. Now I take it you're not married, are you Doctor?"
"Not that it's any of your business but no, I'm not" said Julia.
"Well, any attractive single woman is eligible to join the Kitten Club...have you considered becoming a member? Let your hair down, lose the glasses, I think you'd certainly be an asset" he said, emphasising the first syllable of 'asset'.
"Mr Cuffe...not only am I NOT interested in joining your Kitten Club, I will NEVER be interested in doing so" said Julia, indignantly.
Cuffe shrugged his shoulder and headed off towards the bar where with his friend...whereupon he met another attractive young woman he seemed to know well and bought everyone at the bar drinks. Julia saw a man sitting on his own at a table and, her empathic side kicking in again, she sat down next to him.
"Hello" she said "may I sit here?"
"It's a free country" the man replied. "Unless you've just been kicked in the teeth by your work and your girlfriend in the same day, then it isn't!"
Oh boy, Julia thought to herself, this is going to turn into a long evening!
The two neighbours, Jeremy Saint and John Action, did another lap of their street and once past the old, big tree they came to a stop in between their houses.
"I've got to hand it to you, Jeremy" said Action. "You're not bad...for a civilian"
"I bet you do a lot of running in the police force and the Marines" said Jeremy, hunched over with his hands on his aching thighs.
"In the police, I've got to be fast to catch the bad guys...in the Marines I had to stay fast to avoid the VC bullets"
Jeremy waved a hand at him and stood up. "Man...I'm going to hit the shower now...thanks for the run, I enjoy the company and the challenge" he said.
"No worries, stay loose, man" said Action taking a deep breath. Jeremy staggered back to his house and Action was just about to move on when he heard a voice call out.
"You're in my way, Officer" It was Nancy Landgraab.
"Actually it's Detective now" said Action. "Sorry to get in your way, Mrs Landgraab" he continued, stepping off the footpath.
"You seem to make a habit of that" said a very terse Nancy Landgraab.
"Do I? Does it disrupt your activities?"
"You know nothing of them" she replied with a sneer.
"Oh don't count on that" Action said. "I know more than you think"
"You only suspect, Detective, but be warned...I can disrupt your life quicker than you realise. I won't put up with your intrusions or insinuations any longer...cross me again and you will feel the brunt"
"Fighting words there, Mrs Landgraab" said a defiant Action.
"There are fiercer fighters out there than the Viet Cong, Detective" and with that, she started her run again. Action followed her with his gaze until she went out of sight.
Action went home, showered, and headed off to 13th Precinct headquarters...this time in civilian clothes, not a uniform as befitting a detective. As he entered he spotted a tall, beautiful brunette at the front desk. His colleague, Officer Cole Michaels, gave him a rundown on the young lady.
"She gave her name as Francoise Erdee, she's French. I struggled to make out what she was saying, her accent's that thick. Hey, don't you speak a little French, Action."
"Un petit peu. Picked some up in Saigon when I was there. Mind you, the kind of French I learned isn't suitable for general conversation but I'll give it a go"
Action approached Miss Erdee. "Bonjour, Madamoiselle. Quel est le probleme?"
"Au secours, Gendarme! My...'ow you zay, concierge...erm...landlord...'e is gone...erm...'e left this letter. I do not understand all of eet"
Action took the letter and read it.
Dear ladies By the time you read this letter, I'll be dead. I cannot give you the details of what has befallen me but my past has finally caught up with me. I have instructed my attorney to handle your rental of my property in future. Please do not try to find me, I have to atone for my sins and this is the only way I can think of settling them that best suits all concerned. Do not involve the police, I have gone forever. I apologise for the distress I have caused you with this letter and state of affairs; you are all wonderful human beings and I wish you all the best for your futures.
Yours sincerely
Jacques Villareal
"Please, what does eet mean?" asked Francoise.
"It's something to look into right away" said Action. "He addresses this to 'ladies' and refers to them a few times"
"Oh zat is myself and my two 'ousemates...we are all from France and we are doing...'ow you say...work experience"
Action's mind was suddenly filled with an image of tree gorgeous French women all living together....he assumed the other two must be very attractive based purely on the example stood before him. He struggled to think of a more beautiful woman he had met. He suddenly composed himself.
"And do you know anything about these activities and 'sins' as Mr Villareal put it?"
"No, notzing at all" she said, shaking her head.
"Alright, leave me some details about Mr Villareal's home and....well, contact details for yourself and your friends." he said, putting away his notebook and taking one admiring look at Miss Erdee. He had a girlfriend who he was very keen on...but in Action's mind it didn't hurt to look at the menu of life.
Action wasted no time in heading down to Jacques Villareal's home on the Crumbling Isle, Windenburg. It was an exclusive, difficult to reach place and home to some of the wealthiest people of Sim City. Action arrived there in one of the city's water taxis to find a very attractive, but also very quiet neighbourhood.
Action walked over to the residence of Jacques Villareal; the Von Windenburg estate. He was surprised to find a man matching Mr Villareal's description swimming in the house pool.
"Mr Villareal, I presume?" said Action.
"What do you want?" said the man.
"I want to speak with Mr Villareal. My name's Action: Sim City PD"
Without saying another word, the man swam to the edge of the pool and lifted himself out.
He walked over to Action, slowly, and said "I'm Jacques Villareal. What's this about?"
Action held up the letter. "This letter was apparently written by you and it talks about you doing self-harm and atoning for your sins. Do you recognise it?"
Villareal took a look at it. "Nope. I didn't write that although whoever did made a nice job faking my signature"
"And who would write a fake suicide letter and go to the trouble of faking your signature?"
"There are a lot of cranks in the world; you're the detective, you work it out. Out of interest, how did you come by this letter?"
"Your 3 French tenants...do you think they could have faked this?"
"Those three? Nah, they're sweeties....they wouldn't do anything that would get them deported. Besides, none of them could string out aa grammatically correct sentence in English by themselves."
Action looked around him and took a deep breath. "Do you have any enemies who would want to trouble you, Mr Villareal?"
"Not any more" said Villareal. "Now if that's all, Detective, I want you off my property so I can get back to my swim"
Action took the letter and without saying another word took a quick look around the island to see if anything was amiss but there was nothing. A couple of joggers, a man fishing by the beach but other than that...just the birds, trees and lots of saying don't walk here or no littering. Action waited for a river taxi and departed empty handed.
Back at the station, Action had his routine tasks to perform...one of them was his usual fingerprinting and photographing from serial pickpocket, Kabir Joyson.
"Mr Action...always a pleasure to be processed by you" said Joyson.
"Must be my charm or your ineptitude at escaping from the cops that keeps you coming back here" said Action.
"Oh Mr Action...that's cruel. If your colleagues weren't so jumpy at bringing me in when there's no evidence on me then we wouldn't keep meeting like this"
Action had a thought. "Hey, Kabir, I could make this whole process a lot easier for you; starting with bringing in some decent chow and having a word with the judge that I don't think you're a serious flight risk if he posts bail."
"OK, I'm interested..." said a cautious Joyson. "What's the deal?"
"A bit of information...but let me tell you a story about my day. So I had a run in with Nancy Landgraab this morning...I've been closing some cases lately and her name keeps getting linked to the perps I'm bringing down. So she gives a me a "warning" that I should back off from her affairs. Then, this morning, I'm sent on a wild goose chase...this gorgeous French chick tells me her landlord has committed suicide because of something he did in his past. Only when I go and check the story out, the landlord is alive and well...BUT he has a very hostile manner about him when the police are around."
"And this landlord's name is?" asked Joyson
"Jacques Villareal"
Joyson smiled and drew a deep breath. "Well, well, well Action...you're caught between the Landgraabs and the Villareals. I wouldn't want to be you right now"
"Who's this Villareal?"
"He's wealthy, no one's quite sure how he comes by his money though...word on the street is he's as crooked at Nancy Landgraab but, like her, no one's got any dirt on him. But he's more dangerous than her, that's for sure"
"Why?" asked Action, suddenly engrossed in what Joyson had to say.
"Yeah, I remember the case...I was lead detective on it" said the Chief, when Action went to visit him after his conversation with Joyson.
"And had he murdered her?" asked Action.
"I believe so...so did most of my team. He had motive, means and opportunity but we never found the body...I mean, not one trace. According to him, and his family, she just 'disappeared' without trace and the case is still open". The Chief looked wistfully out of his office window. "So now Jacques Villareal has appeared on your radar...you best be careful. Like his wife, a couple of good cops have 'disappeared' when they've tried to go after him."
"What of his other criminal activities?"
"We can't tie him to anything!" said the Chief, suppressing his annoyance. "Oh we've tried...so what do you make of this fake suicide letter?"
"My hunch is that someone wants me to take a closer look at him and this was a way of an introduction" said Action, tapping his fingers together.
"Who would do that? An ally?"
Action shook his head. "The opposite...someone who wants me to stop taking a closer look at them: Nancy Landgraab"
"Now come on, we've talked about this before Action...the Landgraab's are donors to the Police Benevolent Fund and are upstanding members of the community!"
"I don't know, Chief...their names keep coming up on my recent cases"
"Look....run with whatever leads you have but don't go on any wild goose chases with the Landgraabs and be careful around Villareal!"
Action got up, did a casual salute to the Chief and went about his duties. At the end of the shift he felt restless so he gave his girlfriend, Katherine, a call and invited her over.
She arrived, tense and angry.
"Hey, baby, what's the matter?" asked Action.
"Oh I've just had a horrific day!" said Katherine. "One of the charities I'm involved in got its funding cut! We've been dependent on one single, big donor these last couple of years and, with no advance warning, they completely cut their donations to us! We've now got a massive shortfall in our accounts"
Action pondered this bit of news...on a hunch he asked a question. "Who was the donor?"
"Oh it was the Landgraab Foundation" came Katherine's reply. Action nodded to himself...now it was becoming clearer. "And was this charity your Anti-Crime one? The Neighbourhood Watch?" he asked as a follow up.
"Why yes? Do you know something about it?" she asked.
"Law enforcement and prevention of crime aren't flavours of the month with the Landgraabs right now. Tell me, do you know if Nancy Landgraab knows about us?"
"Erm...yes, I mentioned it in passing at a banquet we both attended last week"
Action nodded. "I'm afraid that you knowing me...intimately...has cost you. I'm sorry"
Katherine turned to Action and looked at him with a mixture of confusion and hurt. "Is this an act of petty revenge on her part? Hmmm, I wouldn't put it past her...the evil old witch!"
"Well, I'm glad to hear you and I are on the same page about her" said Action, smiling to diffuse the tension. Katherine saw his face and broke into a smile as well.
"Oh John....all this has made me incredibly tense" she said with a sigh.
"Well, let the healing hands of John Action do their magic work" he replied.
"Oh you have 'magic hands' now?"
"They've never known to disappoint" he said, seductively.
"Prove it then" replied Katherine, also seductively.
"Turn around and let them get to work" said Action. Katherine duly obliged and Action got to work massaging her neck and shoulders.
"Hmmmm that's good. Ooooh, that's the spot. Say, this couch isn't the best spot to do this...maybe we could move this into the bedroom?"
