152 (12)

Michelle kept her eyes on Mokoto as she continued to fumble with the rope that kept her arms at her sides.  Mokoto still had her head on her knees, where it had been for a few minutes.  Michelle had her fingers around the end of the rope, and the next step was to figure out what kind of knot it was.  Mokoto’s head slowly looked up as Michelle’s face had a look of stern determination.  “Have you been staring at me this whole time?”  Mokoto said, as she unwrapped her arms and stretched out her legs.

“It’s not like you have a TV here.”

“Hmm” Mokoto grunted.  She reached up and slowly pulled her gun out of her holster.  She sat it on the ground, with the barrel pointing right at Michelle.  She then reached inside her holster and pulled out a small picture.  “Let me ask you a question.”

“I take it I have to answer.”

“I’d prefer you did.”

“Okay, shoot…” Michelle winced at her statement, but Mokoto actually had to stop herself from giggling.  “…well, not literally please.”

“Fair enough” Mokoto said, as her smile slowly faded over the course of around half a minute of silence.  “Do you believe in random chance, or that everything happens for a reason?”

Oh great, I’m tied up and being forced to have a philosophical discussion Michelle thought.  “Well, I’ve never really thought about it.  In my life, I’ve seen a lot of stuff that suggests random chance.”

“But, that isn’t your answer.”

“I met Phil in circumstances I’d call random chance, but at times it felt like it was meant to be, today notwithstanding.”

“Hmm” Mokoto said, her eyes still on the small photograph.  Michelle had felt around enough to get a good feel of the knot, and she was slowly trying to untie it without moving her arms too much.

“Why do you ask, may I ask?” Michelle was desperate to keep Mokoto’s mind off her and on whatever she was looking at.

“Some little girl in Sioux Falls told me I had a good tama.”

“Tama?”

“Spirit.  Soul.  Whatever.”

“Did you get her kitten out of a tree or something?”

Mokoto laughed under her breath.  “Hardly.  I was on my motorcycle, and I was seconds away from holstering my gun.  She just rode up behind me on her pink Hello Kitty bike with training wheels and started talking to me.”

“Why do you think she said it then?”

“I have no idea.”

“It is bothering you, because of what you’ve done in the past.”

“What I’ve done is done.  It’s what I do.  It’s who I am.”

“What you do shouldn’t be who you are.”

“In this business, at a certain point, what you do and what you are fuse together.  I’m too far gone to separate the two.”

“Really?  What about that talk about letting us go if you find what you want?”

Mokoto didn’t answer right away.  She just stared at the picture.  Michelle had the knot coming apart, but she suddenly realized something she hadn’t thought of yet.

What the hell am I going to do when I get untied?

151 (11)

Jeremiah stood no further than a foot from where Bob was tied up and struggling.  He looked down on him and slowly cracked the knuckles in both hands, even though he knew in his head that was about the most cliche thing he could do right now.  “Which profile is your best side?  I promise I’ll avoid it for a while.”

“Look…I’ll tell you whatever you want.  I’ll give you whatever you want.  I’m NOT A FREAKIN’ HERO!”

“I’m not even going to ask you any questions.  Like I said, I have some grievences with Jer, and since he’s not here, you’re going to get them.”

“Please…PLEASE don’t do this.  I’LL GIVE YOU WHATEVER IT IS.  Take my car!”

“The police in Sioux Falls have your car I’m afriad.”

“Take my computer!  My X-box 360!  I’LL GIVE YOU MY BANK ACCOUNT NUMBERS!”

Jeremiah crossed his arms and shook his head.  “I thought you were tougher than this Bob, I really did.”

Bob was doing all he could not to break into hysterics.  He took some deep breaths and looked up.  “I just don’t want anything to happen to Phil.  I’ve screwed up his life enough.  Let Phil and Michelle go.  Jer was my friend, my responsibility…”

“Oh, I’d like to let your friends go, but we might need them yet.  Maybe Jer confided what we want with Phil.”

“Phil?  Jer never liked Phil that much.  I heavily doubt that Jer would give Phil anything.”

“All right, let’s talk about Jer some more.  Did he give you any DVDs?”

“He let me borrow a few, but I gave them all back.”

“CDs?”

“He borrowed CDs from us, mostly.  When I met him he barely had any.”

“Computer games or programs?”

“He tried to get me into Galactic Civilizations, but I never cared for those kind of games.  He did install some poker software on my machine once, but that was a download.”

“X-Box games?”

“He had my copy of Halo 2, but I never borrowed any of his.”

“Memory sticks, jump drives, anything like that?”

Bob shook his head.  “No…he told me he hated computers, except for games.”

“Really?”  Jeremiah’s intrest seemed to perk up on that note.  “Tell me, what was he into?”

Bob thought for a moment, not quite sure how to answer that question.  “Poker, beer, women…really, just those three.  He hated his job at the coffee shop, but it’s all he tried to do, other than DJing part time around town.  He always had advice to give.  He’s the reason I became a car salesman.”

“Why did he think you should do that?”

“He thought…I had a way with people.  Plus, he thought it would be better money than I was making.”

“Was it?”

“Yeah, I guess.”

“Jer once told me I should sell cars instead of what I do.  But, I enjoy my current job.”  Jeremiah sprung forward and punched Bob’s face.  His chair tipped backward rapidly, and Bob felt his left eye starting to swell already.  Just before the chair hit the floor, Jeremiah’s boot caught one of the bars connecting the legs, snapping the chair back to an upright position.  “Would you like to see how much I enjoy my job?”

150 (10)

“Hold still” Garrett said as he pulled out his pocket knife.  He started hacking through the zip strips keeping Dale Roberts tied to a mile marker.

Lewis was rapidly buttoning her pantsuit back up all the way, and fixing her hair.  She kept checking the mirror but no matter how she did it, it looked like sex hair.  Finally she just gave up and opened the car door, only to leave it open while she continued to work with her combative hair.

Dale was rubbing his raw wrists, which Garrett had uncuffed right away.  The patrol car was still burning in a few spots, but it had mostly burnt itself out.  Dale felt the last strip give way, and he slowly stood up, with Garrett watching the whole time.  “Are you going to be okay?  You’ve got a few holes in your pants that look like they were burnt in.”

“I’m fine…just some debris from the car” Dale was looking around, and saw his badge, gun, belt and ticket book in a neat pile just a yard behind the sign, just out of his sight.  “I owe you one mister…”

“Garrett.  Agent Raymond Garrett, N.G.A.”  Garrett handed him his ID.

“Pardon me Agent Garrett, but I’ve never heard of the N.G.A.”

“We don’t get a lot of press, and we don’t get to South Dakota too often.”

“So, you guys fight terrorists like Jack Bauer?”

“Not exactly.  N.G.A. stands for National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency.”

Dale’s face went blank.  “So…what do you do?”

“We work with the F.B.I. and C.I.A. on geographical data from airplanes and satellites.”

“Oh…what about her?”  Garrett looked over as Lewis walked towards the pair, her hair hurriedly pinned back in several spots.

“She’s N.R.O.  They handle satellite intelligence.  Now, what happened here?”

“I…I was pulling over…I mean…somebody…they tasered me…I woke up a bit ago…”

“So, you were tasered, tied up and somebody set your car on fire, left your badge and gun behind you?”

“More or less…”

“Did you get a good look at them?’

Dale swallowed and looked around at the dark prairie, the smoldering car, then back to the faces of Garrett and Lewis.  “No…I…I don’t remember.  It all happened so fast.”  Dale sunk down and sat back on the ground.

Garrett turned to Lewis.  “Call Aberdeen and tell them to move in.  We’re not leaving the scene until the help gets here.”

***

Risa kept doodling on her notepad, even though she could feel Amber watching her.  “Did you make the eyes big enough?”

“They’re doodle of a Japanese cartoon I like.  The eyes have to be big.”

“They look bigger than normal.”

“I’m trying a chibi style in my doodling today.  How was your shift at Kmart?”

“Mostly boring, but a cute guy came through today.  He said he was looking at one of our big-screen TVs.”

“Amber, do you fall for every guy who’s not butt-ugly and has money to burn?”

“No, just most.  Any cute guys check in today?”

“Just one…Eli Elson.  I should have known though.”

“Known what?”

“He was trouble.  The police have called to ask about him at least three times.  They haven’t called in a while, and now he’s out.”

“Where did he go?”

“I think he and some other g-”  Risa stopped talking as four police officers walked in.

“Ma’am, we have a warrant to search room 133, where one Eli Elson is staying.”

149 (9)

“What…what does that have to do with me? I never saw Jer hook up…well, I mean, I…”

Jebediah slapped Phil with a light but firm open hand across the face. “I’m not here to ask about who Jer was banging the last few years. What, you think I’m some kind of jealous boyfriend of Mokoto’s?”

“I’m trying to think of any reason why I’m here.”

“You’re here…to play a game.” Jebediah walked out of Phil’s sight for a moment, but he soon returned with another chair. He sat, facing Phil directly. His jacket was now off, and Phil could see the gun holster firmly in place atop a black t-shirt. Jebediah didn’t look any bigger than Phil, except that he was taller and his body looked like it belonged in a marathon, rather than sitting in front of Phil with a scary look on the head it was connected to.

“Okay…game…so…”

“Here’s the deal. I’ll ask a question. If I think you’re lying, you’ll know. Understand?”

“Yes” Phil replied quickly, almost feeling the need to scoot his chair away as quickly as possible.

“Were you friends with Jer?”

“More or less…we weren’t as close as Jer and Bob.”

“Did Jer ever come to your apartment?”

“Usually every Friday.”

“What all did he do?”

“He and Bob sat around, drinking beer and playing X-box until it was time to hit the bars around ten PM.”

“What did you do?”

“Sometimes I hung out in my room, sometimes I hung out with them.”

“Did Jer ever give you anything?”

“He bought pizza?”

“Anything not food or drink related.”

“I don’t think so.”

Jebediah hesitated for a moment, and Phil was worried he didn’t believe him. Phil tried to look confident but wasn’t succeeding, at least in his own mind.  “Did Jer ever talk to you about Mokoto?”

“No.”

“Never?

“Nope.”

“Did you ever hear him talk about old girlfriends?”

“Not really. He seemed to pick up his fair share of one-night girlfriends.”

“Were any of them Japanese?”

“Look, I didn’t go out with them more than maybe once a month. Besides, Sioux Falls doesn’t have a high number of Japanese people.”

“Are you avoiding the question?”

“No…not at all. How about I just say to the best of my knowledge, Jer went for the blond-hair, blue eyed type? Because from the times I was out with him, that seemed to be the type.”

“I see.”

“Were Jer and Mokoto engaged or something? Look, if Bob got him out of getting married, I had no idea.”

“Married?” Jebediah started laughing loudly. “Hell no. Nobody in our line of work gets married.”

“What…you’re in the same bureau or something?”

“Bureau?” Jebediah had stopped laughing.

“Aren’t you with the C.I.A. or the F.B.I. or something?”

“Us? No. We’re not.” Jebediah stood up and walked up to Phil. “We aren’t with any group you’ve heard of. We’re not with the government. We’re here representing our boss, who you’ve never heard of, and you should thank whatever you believe in that you haven’t heard of him. Do you get me?”

“Y…y…yes.”

Jebediah punched Phil square in the stomach. Phil wasn’t ready for it, and he was left gasping for air. “I don’t think you do, so we’ll start over” Jebeidah said.

148 (8)

Michelle felt two hands grab her shirt and violently yank her and the chair she was tied to back up.  Her cheek stung and her world was fuzzy, since the woman who struck her hadn’t picked up her glasses.  She could barely make out the female figure walking away.  “Was it something I said?  Isn’t that the point of this, to talk?”  Mokoto crossed her arms and remained silent, keeping her back to Michelle.  “Well?”

“I doubt you have anything useful to tell me.”

“So, if that’s the case, how about untying me?”

“Yeah, right.  Good idea.”  Mokoto turned and walked to Michelle’s right.  She bent down and picked up Michelle’s glasses.  She slowly placed them back on Michelle’s face, bringing everything back into focus.  Mokoto’s hair looked greasy, and her bare arms were covered in bruises, scrapes, and streaks of dirt.  A pair of sunglasses were tucked in the collar of Mokoto’s black tank-top, which looked as new as the cheap jeans she was wearing.  Michelle tried to gage Mokoto’s mood from her face, but there were no hints to be given.  Her eyes told another story, one of conflict, sadness, and anger.

“Is this so I can see you better when you slap me again?”

“You’ve got quite a mouth on you” Mokoto said as she straightened her shoulder holster.  Michelle realized she didn’t notice it until Mokoto started messing with it.  Maybe she didn’t want to notice it.

“I figure you’ve brought us here by gunpoint to talk, so I’m in the mood to talk.  What about you?”

“I’m just keeping an eye on you until we switch dance partners.  You’re nothing more than a bargaining chip to us.”

“You really think Phil knows something you want to hear?  Hell, he didn’t even know I wanted him back until tonight.  He’s never been too observant.”

“That wasn’t Phil’s fault, from my understanding.”

“Well, you found the letter.”

“Yes, taped to the bottom of a trash can.  A can that had been moved with a full bag recently, causing most of the tape to break.”

“What were you doing there?”

“Looking for something.”

“Something Phil has?”

“Something either Phil or Bob have, or they know where it might be.”

Michelle looked away for a moment, then looked back to Mokoto.  “Are you going to kill us?”

Mokoto looked away, then down towards her gun.  “Look, nobody else has to die.  I can talk my boss into letting you all go, and this time I want to.”

Michelle swallowed hard and took a deep breath.  “I take that as you’ve done this before, and not let everybody go.”

Mokoto sighed.  “Yes, that’s correct.”

“So how do I know you’ll let us go?”

Mokoto didn’t answer.  She walked towards the far wall, then she turned around and sat.  She pulled her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around them.  “You don’t” she said, as she rested her head on her knees.  Michelle stared at her for a few seconds, then looked down while her hands began working on a knot that was left a bit too close.

147 (7)

“Why are you doing this?”

Julio Perez took a long, slow sip from his Styrofoam coffee cup.  He closed his eyes, choosing to enjoy the gas station coffee’s bitter flavor rather than the bitter barbs of a crazy old man.  He sipped for a good ten seconds, then lowered the cup.  The old man’s face was still a portrait of anger, while his female friend was a look of concern and confusion.  “Because” Julio said, as he rested his elbows on the table of the small booth, “I’m looking for answers as much as you are, and I know the S.F.P.D. is looking for your friend, if she’s the one who screamed at the station.”

“You don’t have to answer that Mabel.  He’s railroad security…a rent-a-cop of the rails.”  B’s hand was in front of her face, but she reached up to lower it slowly. 

“Calm down.  I think he just wants answers, and yes, I am the woman who screamed” Mabel said quickly, before she could change her mind.

“Your friends are in Aberdeen” Julio said, before taking another long drink of coffee.

“They aren’t…how did you know that?”

“I was at the station helping with their investigation.”

“So why come here, if you knew where they wound up?”

Julio took another drink of coffee, and his cup was almost empty.  “I just need to know how much BNSF is going to get in the news because of your crazy idea of shoving two people into a boxcar.  Two people that have the police station buzzing like a nest of angry hornets.”

“There are men looking for them” Mabel said with a blank stare on her face.

“I know, the feds” Julio said as he started to get up for more coffee.

“No” Mabel said quietly, almost as if she thought the walls had ears.

***

“BOB!”  Bob looked up as something hit him in the face.  It surprised him more than anything, and he watched it fall to the floor.  Bob recognized the item as a matchbook that was in his pocket.  The matchbook had several phone numbers written on it.  “Is that your little black book?”

“Just a couple go to numbers for luck.”  Bob watched as Jeremiah started removing all the cards and things from his wallet.  Once he was done, Jeremiah held up Bob’s sunglasses.

“These aren’t bad.  Where’d you get them?”

“They were a gift.  They bring me luck.”

“I’d recommend a new pair” Jeremiah said, as he sat the glasses on a small table.  “Now, again, tell me where you met Gerrard, or Jer as you called him.”

“It was a poker tournament at Nutty’s.”

“Was he good?”

“Not good enough.  We tied for second.”

“How is that even possible?”

“We both had the same two pair with the same kicker.  The other guy had three of a kind.”

“You know, we were four of a kind at one point.”

“Excuse me?”

“Gerrard, Mokoto, Jebediah and I.  We worked together.”

“Get out…”

“No, I’m very serious…” Jeremiah said, as he stood up.  “…but we didn’t part on the best of terms.  Since he’s not here for me to air my grievences…that leaves you.”  Jeremiah started walking towards Bob, who was struggling harder than ever against the ropes holding him in place.

146 (6)

“Is it really necessary for me to ride back here?”  Eli was resting his head on his hands from the backseat of a police cruiser.  He didn’t expect an answer.

“Sorry, police procedure” Officer Bucholz replied.

“How do I talk my way into riding in the front seat?”

Bucholz checked Eli in his rear view mirror and shook his head.  “Well, there’s always the police academy.”

“How about I buy you supper, or lunch, or forth meal, or whatever?”

“Sorry, I don’t eat in my cruiser.”

“Do you like working for the Sioux Falls Police?”

Bucholz looked at Eli in the rear view mirror as the car came to a stop.  “Mostly.  Is this going to be in your blog?”

“Ah” Eli said as he relaxed and took a comfortable posture on the back seat.  “So, you know my work?”

“No, the captain said not to say to much.”

Eli frowned and watched the streetlights go by.  The trip back to Dell Rapids was going to take a while, and he still had to see if his attempt to get the word to Bob had succeeded.

***

Phil’s world was a dark, confusing place right now.

His mind was still racing with the events of not just the last twenty-four hours, but of the last hour.  He had found his long lost fiance Michelle, and found out the reason he had not heard from her in months was the friend who had dragged him from the edge of his life falling completely apart.  He had little choice but to think about all of that, as he was tied to a chair with a cloth sack over his head.  His breath was hot against his face every time he exhaled, and the ropes had almost no give on his arms and legs.  Suddenly, the makeshift hood was ripped off of his head, and the darkness gave way to a different kind of darkness.  The kind where shapes are visible, and where he could get around if only he knew the layout a bit better.

“Phil, right?” came a voice from behind him.

“That’s right” Phil said, not sure of what question would be next.

“What do you know about Gerrard?”

“You mean Jer?”

“Sure.”

“Well…” Phil tried to consider his answer carefully but he heard footsteps behind him drawing closer.  Thoughtful answers suddenly seemed like a luxury.  “…he was a good poker player.  He always bought pizza…he could hold his liquor?  Am I saying anything remotely helpful?  Believe me, I want to help.”

“Why so eager to help?” the voice said, as the footsteps moved closer, but now to Phil’s right.

“I’m sick of riding around in boxcars and watching policemen get shot.  I’m ready for this ordeal to be over with.”

“Ah yes, the police officer.  You saw that?”

“Yeah.”

“What did Mokoto tell you about Jer?”

“She said she…she didn’t know him or something.  Just that she knew of him.”

Phil heard laughter, and more footsteps.  He couldn’t see who was walking, but he heard them circling around.  “Is that what she told you, for real?”

“I’m fairly confident that’s what she said.”

“What if I told you he used to have a different name, and back then she did know him?”

“How well?”

“Very” came a voice so close to Phil’s left ear that he could feel the hot breath on his neck.

145 (5)

Alison Lewis eased her seat up as Raymond Garrett pulled the car onto I-29. She was mostly dressed, but her hair was a mess and her glasses were somewhere in the backseat. Garrett looked almost exactly the same as before they had taken their brief detour. He had a bit of sweat around his hairline that was being caught by the light of the dashboard. She opened her bottle of water and took a long drink as the car raced up over 100 miles per hour. She began screwing the bottle on tightly as she cleared her throat. “So, are you trying to make up for lost time?”

“This isn’t much faster than I was going before. Besides, we need to get there soon.”

“Do you think the local law enforcement has moved in already?”

“I hope not. Check my cell phone. Maybe somebody called.”

Lewis reached into the compartment between the seats and pulled out a cellphone.  It was blinking steadily, and Lewis flipped it open.  “One missed call from Sioux Falls.”

“Do you want me to call?”  Garrett’s hand reached towards the middle compartment, but Lewis quickly shut the compartment.

“No, I’ll take care of it” Lewis said as she placed the phone by her ear.  After a few rings, a raspy, slightly familiar voice came across.

“Captain Hale speaking.  Is this Garrett?”

“No, this is Lewis.  I’m sorry we were out of range for a bit.  What’s the latest?”

“The Aberdeen police are ready to move in.  They have a car watching the hotel, but they’re waiting until you get there, or give them the word.”

“Hold on a sec” Lewis said as she put the phone against her shoulder blade.  “Raymond, the Aberdeen force has a car outside, should we send them in?”

“No.  They wait until we get there.  We’ll be there soon enough.  Tell them to hold them if they leave the hotel.”

“Captain” Lewis said, almost before she had the phone back to her head.  “are you in touch with Aberdeen right now?”

“No, but Felix has them on the line.”

“Tell them to wait for us, but to bring Anderton and Fulton in for questioning if they leave the hotel.  Is that clear?”

“Crystal” came the dry response from Hale.

“Why don’t you give the Aberdeen police my number…and maybe give me theirs.”

“Sounds good.  Hang on, I’ll page Felix and tell him what you said.”

Lewis had her eyes closed, but she felt the car slowing rapidly.  She opened her eyes and saw a flickering orange light in the distance.  “What is that?”

“It looks like a car fire…or something.”  Garrett pulled to the left lane and kept slowing down as the car got closer to the orange light.  Soon, Garrett was able to make out a burning car, and one that looked like it had been burning for some time.

“Agent Lewis, do you have a pen and paper handy?  I can give you some numbers to connect with the Aberdeen police.”

“Captain Hale, I’m gonna need to call you back” Lewis said, as she spotted a South Dakota Patrolman tied to a mile marker.

144 (4)

“How did I figure it out? Let me tell you all about it.”

“Please.”

“First off, I figured out that this Dinkley fellow was not only still alive, but was smuggling drugs with his landlord Geoff Pryb-whatever. So, from there, I figured out that these to jokers, Phil and Bob, were working with him, but badly.”

“How so?”

“The feds were in on it too. Phil and Bob were told to make a pick up, and they shot Stevens and decided to call in the frame job to teach their other pushers a lesson. Dinkley faked his death earlier that day, and Geoff brings him back in the same apartment in a few months, with a new name and probably a hair color.”

“How did you know which of the feds was in on it?”

“Simple. One of them knew about my brother. That was a plant to get my dander up and to throw me off the case, by clouding my judgement. That told me Garrett was stringing along Lewis. Thank goodness you came to town, otherwise this might have taken me longer.”

“Really? I helped?”

“Of course Clayton. I kept you away from them, and when you got into a gunfight with their heavies that allowed me to go off on my own to stop a courier from catching a plane. Then, I tracked them to Aberdeen and with the help of the force, we nailed them all!”

“Maybe I could get you in at the F.B.I. You’d be perfect!”

“Oh Clayton, I’m happy with keeping the peace in Sioux Falls. Thanks for the kind words.”

“Well, if nothing else, you should answer your phone.”

“Excuse me?”

“I said ANSWER YOU DAMN PHONE!” Clayton was almost yelling in his ear. Will snapped forward and looked around. The car wasn’t moving, and Will was looking around with a very confused look on his face.

“Where…”

“Huron”

“How?”

“My car.”

“Why?”

“To beat Garrett and Lewis to Aberdeen. Now answer your damn phone.”

Will pulled out his phone and flipped it open. “Hello?”

“Detective Hetfield, this is Doctor Henriquez. You asked me to call if there was any change with Officer Vig?”

Will sunk as deeply as he could into the Crown Victoria’s passenger seat. “Yes…what’s the latest?”

“We need to perform some surgery. She should make it, but her condition makes it very dangerous. I just thought you should know.”

“Thank…thank you doctor. Good luck.”

“I have a good feeling she’ll make it. I don’t want to lose one of you. You probably don’t hear this often enough detective, but I appreciate all the Sioux Falls Police do for our community.”

“Thank you doctor. I’m confident I’ll be appreciating your work soon as well.”

“Good night Detective Hetfield.”

“Good night.” Will closed the phone and took a deep breath. He heard the door open and shut. Clayton tucked a credit card receipt under his sun visor and started the car. Soon they were speeding northward on US-281.

“Who was that?”

“The hospital. Tina needs more surgery.”

“She’ll be fine. Did you talk to her?”

“I…was…right before the car exploded.”

“You should get back to sleep. It’s going to be a long night.”

143 (3)

“I know, but I can tell you have a good tama.”

Mokoto heard Sakura’s words in her head as she stared at the picture.  Her words had been running through her head since she first saw the girl in Sioux Falls.  Even with everything that had happened, she still had the small picture the young girl gave her.  She held it tightly in her right hand, while she rested her chin on her left forearm.  She was sitting on a chair backwards, and her back was arched over so no one else could easily see what she was looking at.

“I know, but I can tell you have a good tama.”

The room had a smell, like old appliances, dust and neglect.  The power was still on for some reason, and there were still a few good light-bulbs.  It was hard to believe just a few hours ago she broke in, determined the site perfect, and had set it up for the eventual capture of Bob and Phil.  She’d found the chairs abandoned in a nearby alley, and Jeremiah and Jebediah finished what she had started while she was still trailing Michelle.  The fact J & J found Mokoto in Aberdeen was still a bit surprising, but she was for once thankful to have them around.  They had split up Phil and Bob to other rooms for the moment, leaving her alone with Michelle.

“I know, but I can tell you have a good tama.”

Mokoto was getting a little frustrated.  She couldn’t get Sakura’s words out of her head.  She was almost wishing she’d picked a different street to attempt to intercept Bob and Phil on.  One devoid of naive young girls who put ideas and emotions into her cold, harsh reality.  She’d killed a police officer less than an hour before she’d even gotten this picture, but the words hung in her head anyway.

“I know, but I can tell you have a good tama.”

“I do NOT have a good tama.  I’m a killer, at least a hundred times over!  I’ve worked for the yakuza, for governments and now for an American businessman who needs me to do things to insure his interests.  I’m very well paid too!  If he offered me enough money I’d probably kill you too!  MY TAMA IS NOT GOOD.  I AM AN EVIL, EVIL PERSON WHO DESERVES NOTHING, LEAST OF ALL YOUR KIND WORDS.”  Mokoto opened her eyes.  She knew imagining the response to Sakura’s words wouldn’t go back in time and change them, but she had to try and get past them.  She looked up, and then back to the picture.  Sakura’s old phrase didn’t enter her mind, but something else Sakura said did.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make you sad.”

Mokoto took a deep breath, and slowly exhaled.  She slowly tucked the picture back into her holster.  Mokoto’s back straightened, and she pushed herself up to a standing position.  Next, she slid her arms out of her jacket and gently rested it on her chair.  She turned around and saw Michelle.  She was tied to an old, ugly kitchen chair, and she hadn’t moved since Mokoto tied her up, and she hadn’t said anything since she drove them to the abandoned pawn shop.

“You look like you’re the one who’s tied up” Michelle quipped, with almost a look of concern on her face.

Mokoto walked up to Michelle and slapped her face as hard as she could.  Michelle’s chair tipped and fell to the floor.  “No talking until I ask a question, got it?”

“I know, but I can tell you have a good tama.”

The phrase was back in her head, even as her hand stung.