Lucky
Chapter 16: Lucky
Thema Shehata-
Still sitting in her rented car with him, Thema Shehata considered Gregory’s offer - get Blanca out of the way in exchange for the Banana Fish. It was an offer that made her heart tremble. To go against Blanca - whose reputation would have him be no less than a legend - was no small thing. But she had to have the Banana Fish. She couldn’t face her superiors without it and she wouldn’t take the shame of facing Sitwell and having to admit she’d failed. And as she was convinced that Gregory was being entirely honest when he’d said that he would die before he gave her the Banana Fish if she didn’t get Blanca out of the way, she could see few other options but to agree. ‘It’s not as if I’m alone in this,’ she told herself, firmly. ‘I’m no small-time crook. I have the power of HYDRA, a virtual army. Even someone like Blanca couldn’t possibly stand alone against HYDRA.’ So she nodded and put out a hand. “You have a deal. I will take care of Blanca and you will provide the Banana Fish.”
Gregory shook her hand. “I knew you’d be agreeable. When the job’s done, bring me proof.”
“What kind of proof? Do you want his head on a pike?”
“Nothing so dramatic, I think. He wears two gold rings on a chain around his neck. I saw them, once. The rings each have a word on them - the same word written in Cyrillic. He never takes the necklace off and he won’t give it up unless he’s dead. Bring me those rings and you’ll get the Banana Fish.”
Avengers Tower-
Phil-
Ash and the newcomer, Eiji, faced each other. It was impossible to look away. The tension between the two boys was almost visible, like volts of lightening dancing between the two of them. Whatever emotion they inspired in one another, it was powerful. Phil didn’t like unexpected things happening, not with his team. A glance at Tony told Phil that he, at least, wasn’t surprised. Tony smirked at the scene before he caught Phil eye and whispered,
“Max called me during dinner. He said he had guests and asked me not to tell Ash because it was a surprise. A nice surprise.” He frowned as he watched the two boys. “At least, I think it’s a nice surprise.”
And no wonder that Tony was doubting that. Ash had gone pale and stared. He barely seemed to be breathing. And then, to Phil’s shock, Ash burst out, “What are you doing here?! You’re supposed to be in Japan. You’re supposed to be at home with your family and safe and you’re not supposed to be here! It’s still dangerous! I got stabbed and someone shot at me n’ Nadia and it’s probably going to get worse and I don’t want you here with all the danger! Why don’t you ever do what I tell you to do?! Go home!”
While he did wince at the yelling, Eiji smiled at Ash. “But you’re here, so here IS home.”
There was a long moment and Phil found that he was holding his breath, waiting as the two boys stared at each other. The part of him that was accustomed to taking control of situations, accustomed to taking care of people, wanted to say something to ease the tension, but he felt certain that it would have been wrong to interfere. It would have been an invasion of sorts. So he, like everyone else, waited and watched.
Ash softened at once at Eiji’s sweet sentiment. “Don’t get mushy.” Raising a hand to his head, Ash ran that hand over his newly shorn head in a clearly self-conscious gesture. “I cut my hair.”
“I noticed. It looks nice.” Eiji took a step towards Ash.
‘Boyfriends?’ Phil wondered. ‘Something different?’ No matter what the relationship was, Phil couldn’t deny that there was something between the two.
Ash scowled at the compliment and looked away from Eiji. “You alright? You looked like death warmed over in the hospital.”
“Yes, very much alright. I had very good doctors and I heal fast. I was lucky, bullets didn’t hurt anything too important. Ibe-san told me you were stabbed. Are you alright?”
“Yeah. Yeah. I’m good. But you really shouldn’t be here. I don’t... You should be safe. Away from me.”
“You keep saying that and I keep ignoring you.” With a light-hearted grin, Eiji said, “Maybe you should stop saying it.”
Ash smiled at Eiji and it was a glorious sight.
Eiji continued, “Max said you were going to court about Club Cod and Golzine?”
“Yeah, but you don’t have to be here for that. There’s not much you can do.”
“I will stand by you and testify, too!” Eiji said it with great determination, raising his chin as he did.
Ash sighed. “Eiji, you don’t have to testify. Dino didn’t do anything to you. You only know about him because of what I told you.”
“He did have me kidnapped.” Eiji kept smiling, but it looked rather more strained than before and Phil had a very bad feeling. Eiji looked up at the ceiling and tentatively said, “I may have neglected to tell you something.”
“What?”
“Well, the night you rescued me from Golzine’s mansion? When... when Shorter died...”
Ash didn’t wince or give any outward sign of pain, but Phil saw a tension in Ash’s shoulders and around the eyes that spoke loud and clear about how the memory affected him. His voice was flat and calm when he said, “I remember. You were fine. You said you were fine. You said Dino didn’t hurt you.”
“And he didn’t. He... ah... ” Eiji’s face slowly turned red and he cast an embarrassed look at the rest of the room and everyone staring.
Ash, too, looked around and he took hold of Eiji’s arm. “Let’s go talk. Everyone around here’s so nosy.”
They were nearly at the door when Eiji said, all innocent and concerned, “Did you tell them about the Banana Fish, yet?”
Ash froze in his tracks. “No.”
“No? But...”
Jessica, who had been watching Ash very closely and must have seen his unhappiness plainly on display, clapped her hands loudly and raised her voice. “And I think it’s time for introductions. We’re guests, so I think our hosts ought to know our friends who dropped in so unexpectedly. I’m afraid we’re going to wear out our welcome at this rate. How about everyone gather around and we can at least learn everyone’s name?” She waited while everyone did as she asked and moved closer to where she stood, which, Phil couldn’t help but notice, took all the attention off Ash and allowed him a chance to relax. When everyone was close enough for her approval, Jessica said, “Everyone, this is Ibe Shunichi, my very dear friend.”
“He’s OUR friend,” Max said. “I met him first.”
Jessica continued, “You can call him Ibe-san. Shunichi,” Jessica went to the Japanese man and put an arm around him, pulling him close to her side. “These are The Avengers.” She pointed them each out by name. “They’re helping us look after Ash while things are still dangerous. We’ve had very nice food and an excellent set of rooms given to us.”
Ibe-san smiled and gave a bow to the room. With a heavily accented voice, he said, “Thank you so much for helping to look after Ash. I hope me bringing Ei-chan over hasn’t been an imposition. He was so eager to see Ash. We were only in Japan for a short time before we’d heard Ash had gotten attacked and had to go for surgery, again...” Ibe-san shook his head, sadly. “Ei-chan is hurt, too, he was shot by people in another gang. He was to go back to Japan to recover, but when he’d heard about Ash, Ei-chan was so worried, it was hard for him to wait to get here.”
“No trouble, no trouble at all.” Tony, as he was, technically, the host, stepped forward. “Welcome to The Avengers Tower. I’ve had more visitors in the last two days than I have in years. It’s kind of weird. So, you’re Japanese by your accent, right? I’ve been to Japan a few times. Very impressive volcano.” He stopped talking and gestured to the kitchen. “You want to eat? I’m not real good at this sort of thing, but if you’re hungry we have food.”
Ibe-san said, “Thank you for the offer. I confess to being more tired than hungry, but travel is hard for me. And I find your hospitality most pleasing. I have rarely met such kindness, especially if I come so suddenly and meet with strangers. Your manners are very fine.”
It might have been flattery, but Ibe-san seemed sincere to Phil and his kindness actually flustered Tony who, Phil knew, was accustomed to disingenuous people who wanted to get on his good side for their own reasons or insults when his admittedly unpracticed people skills failed him. When Tony didn’t say anything and seemed at a loss, Phil stepped in and brought attention to himself. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Ibe-san, and Eiji, too, of course. Can I presume you’re friends of Ash?”
Ibe-san nodded and cast a look over his shoulder to where Ash and Eiji stood a little apart. They weren’t talking, but stood close together and it seemed that Ash had suddenly lost a great deal of tension. He looked more at ease than Phil had seen him since they’d first met and Phil had the sudden impression, fanciful though it was, that merely the sight of Eiji had lifted a great weight off Ash. They looked perfectly content next to one another. Ibe-san motioned to Eiji. “Come meet Ash’s hosts, Ei-chan.”
Eiji walked carefully, but steadily and leaned only a little of his weight on his cane. He, like Ibe-san had done, bowed to the room. “Thank you for your hospitality and for taking care of our friends. I hope it hasn’t been too much trouble what with all the people who want to hurt Ash and the Banana- ”
“Hey!” Ash snapped so sharply that everyone turned to him. He frowned at Eiji and shook his head.
Eiji gave Ash a questioning look. “But...”
“No.”
“We talked about this, Ash,” Max said. “We have to tell everything. ALL the truth.”
Eiji looked up at Ash. “You don’t want to talk about Banana Fish? But, there are people out there - bad people - who know about it. What if one of the people who thinks you’re going to get them in trouble knows about it and decides to use what they know? They might tell the courts that they will tell all they know about the Banana Fish if they will be set free.”
The idea of any of the suspects going free obviously didn’t sit well with Ash. “I just want that garbage to disappear.”
“I know.” Eiji put a hand on Ash’s arm and, Phil noticed, Ash didn’t make any attempt to avoid the touch. “Ash, it’s not going to just disappear. Too many people know.”
“Fine. Right.”
Max let out a huff and looked aggrieved. “How come I can argue for a week and you won’t listen, but Eiji says one sentence and you jump?”
“He’s cuter than you.” Ash walked away from Eiji. He went to the window and looked down at the city, then moved to stand in front of the assembled Avengers. He said to Jessica, “Michael doesn’t need to hear this.”
Michael, from where he still sat at the kitchen table, let out a groan. “Don’t send me away, Ash. Please. I’m big enough to hear. I already hear all kinds of things. I know bad people hurt you and mommy and they want to hurt you more so daddy is protecting you. I wanna help keep the bad guys away.”
Ash softened and went to Michael. “I know you’d help, but I don’t want you to hear sad, scary things. You go play for a while, kay? Please?”
Michael didn’t look happy, but he took his mother’s hand and let himself be led away.
Once Michael and Jessica had gone, Ash stuck his hands in his pockets, then said, “Right. The whole story. Fine. Dino was making this drug. Well, he was paying some doctor to make the drug. And it was bad stuff. Evil. It was a mind-control drug. Shoot someone up with that stuff and they’d really lose their mind. Literally. If they’re told to kill someone, even a friend or their own family, and they’ll do it. When the job’s done, they’ll kill themselves or they turn into a vegetable and get stuck in an endless nightmare and live the rest of their life in terror. Banana Fish. The drug is called Banana Fish. Dino was planning to use it on a big scale - like taking over the world’s heroin market and selling it to the U.S. government kinda big scale.”
Phil was stunned. “I’ve heard rumors of nations attempting to make a mind-control drug, but it’s never succeeded.”
“It worked. It was discovered by accident and both guys who did that are dead, now. I’m not gonna tell you how it’s made. I want that stuff forgotten. It was improved by the doctors at the National Institute of Mental Health so it didn’t have the unwanted violence, but the people who were given it were still forced to do whatever they were told. There’s no cure for it, no treatment.”
As Ash spoke, Phil felt a chill run down his spine. Uncontrollable violence? A vegetative state. His throat went dry. He looked at Max, standing just behind Ash, and saw that Max was watching him, grave and sad. Phil licked his lips and swallowed. “Max, the other day you told me Griffin had something to do with all this.”
Max said, “One of the creators of Banana Fish was... he was a military doctor and he used soldiers in the middle of the war to experiment on. Deaths could be explained as suicides or PTSD, I guess. He admitted the he used soldiers who’d been rude to him. He injected them with Banana Fish and then observed to see what happened. Griffin found out what he was doing and that doctor gave him Banana Fish to stop him from talking. For about the last eleven years, ever since that day when he broke and starting shooting everyone in our group, he was like a vegetable.”
“He used to drool on himself,” Ash’s voice was faint, almost ghostly. “I had to keep cleaning him up ‘cause he couldn’t do it himself. The military went and stuck him in this crummy vet hospital. No one cared, there. It was gross. There were bugs. The whole place was cold, too. Dark. I got him outta there. I couldn’t leave him. Damned place - those people didn’t even notice I took him. I was sixteen when I found him and I just picked him up and carried him out on my back. No one stopped me or even questioned me. They probably still don’t know he’s gone. I took him back to my apartment and I took care of him. He was so skinny.”
Phil put a hand over his eyes and counted to ten to calm himself. He thought of Griffin and realized with guilt that he hadn’t given much thought to his old friend in too long of a time. His work with S.H.I.E.L.D. and with The Avengers had taken up so much of his life. He’d just assumed that Griffin had been taken care of. A mind-control drug? Human experimentation? A wide-spread conspiracy to control the world? And all of that plotted by a pervert running a child prostitution club? Who could ever have guessed?
“I got sent to prison when I was seventeen,” Ash continued, his voice dull. “When I was in there, Griffin got killed. I left him with a doctor I knew to be taken care of when I was in prison, but Dino’s people went looking for a sample of Banana Fish that I got hold of and Griffin got shot by one of them. He died that night.”
Ash told the whole story, starting with how he’d been walking the streets one night and found a dying man, shot in the back, who gave him a vial of a mysterious powder and told him to ‘Go see Banana Fish’ and an address before he died. He told about many other people who’d been killed by Dino Golzine’s bid for power. A ten-year-old boy named Skipper, shot to death because he’d tried to defend Ash from one of Golzine’s henchmen. Ash’s step-mother, Jennifer, who’d died because the killer who’d tried to shoot Ash had bad aim. Ash’s closest friend, Shorter, who’d been killed for no other reason than Golzine had wanted to hurt Ash. Members of Ash’s gang caught up in the war, gang members from the Chinatown and Harlem gangs, all of them fighting to defeat Golzine and bring order back to their world on the streets. Ash told them about the violence and how they’d gone to California to investigate Banana Fish. He told them about being kidnapped, threatened, a knife fight, and shoot-outs and all the awful details that led up to a horrific battle inside Tony’s new department store with Colonel Foxx. Ash looked straight at Tony when he told how all those bodies had ended up in Tony’s department store. He ended by telling how Foxx and Golzine had died. “It was all for Banana Fish. In the end, all those people died for that stupid drug.”
At the end of his story, Ash was leaning against a wall, his arms crossed protectively over his chest.
It wasn’t fair. That was a foolish sentiment, Phil knew, but it was true all the same. Phil remembered when he’d last seen Griffin before that awful night when Griffin had picked up his gun and opened fire on his friends.
Memory-
“What are you writing?” Phil asked, sitting next to Griffin on his bunk.
“A letter.” Griffin had smiled as he’d written. “My littler brother is seven-years-old, now. He wrote me a letter and told me all about his birthday. Dad’s girlfriend, Jennifer, made him a cake. Chocolate Cake with coconut frosting. He got a kite and a sweater with a spaceship on it. He sounds so happy.” The look on Griffin’s face was nearly enough to break a heart. Sad and loving all at once, he wore the same look that Phil had seen on many soldiers who missed their far off children. “I can’t send him much, but I sent him some photos of the desert and he sounds like he liked them.”
“I’m sure he did. I suppose he’s also so proud of his big brother being a soldier?” Phil had meant it in a teasing way, but Griffin looked sad.
“He was crying when I left. It was hard on him. I think it still is. I only joined up for him, you know. He’s too little to understand, but this is all for him. I’m going to send him to school. He’s smart. Real smart. I don’t think anyone else really understands how smart he is, but he could really do something with his life. So, if I can make a real career here, I can make sure he can go to college, if he wants. There wasn’t enough money for me to go to college; I didn’t even get passed high school. We needed money, so I dropped out when I was seventeen and started working. Bell-hop at the local hotel.” He looked bashful and uncomfortable, as if it were his fault that he’d had to go to work. He shrugged it away. “You know, it’s life. I don’t mind working, I really don’t, but I hope with the marines that I might make more money and be able to provide more for Ash. I don’t want him dropping out of school.”
End Memory-
And that was how Phil remembered Griffin - caring and gentle, concerned for his little brother’s well-fare and willing to work hard in order to advance that well-fare. To know that he died in such a way, for what amounted to nothing more than greed... it was appalling.
Steve stood up. For a moment, he said nothing and stared at the floor, but then he finally looked up and gave Ash a smile that was clearly strained. “Thank you for telling us. I’m sure it was hard.” He looked at Ibe-san and said, “Welcome, Ibe-san. It’s a pleasure to meet you. You, too, Eiji. I hope you enjoy your stay in America and while this isn’t the best of circumstances to be in, I hope you’ll be able to find something good while you’re here. Please, excuse me. I need to go.”
It was almost rude and that, for Steve, was worrying. Steve walked stiffly out of the room without another word or a single look over his shoulder.
Ash watched Steve go and what he was thinking, Phil couldn’t guess. He certainly didn’t look happy, but neither did he look angry. He looked down and, for just an instant, Phil thought he might have seen a troubled look and guessed that Ash found it odd that his hair didn’t shield him as it used to. “Well, if story-time is done...” he headed for the door, then hesitated. He shifted from foot-to-foot before he looked over his shoulder at Ibe-san, then went to Ibe-san and held out a hand. It was a rare instance of Ash initiating physical contact with someone. “Thanks for coming, Ibe-san.”
Ibe-san shook Ash’s hand. “Of course we came. Max said you were so hurt and Ei-chan wasn’t the only one who was worried about you.”
Ash smiled for Ibe-san. “Thanks. Really, thanks.” Then he headed back out of the room and said, “Come on, Eiji. We gotta talk.”
Eiji hurried after Ash, giving the impression of a loyal dog following his master’s lead. Somehow, he couldn’t really explain it, Phil doubted that was the case. Eiji did not strike him, in even the few short minutes he’d been in the Tower, to be anyone’s dog, not even Ash’s.
When Ash and Eiji left the last Phil heard of them, Eiji said, “I think the delicate American needs to rest more. You look tired.”
“And I think the sloppy Japanese is gonna hurt himself. Shouldn’t you be in your wheelchair? I don’t want you to fall.”
When the boys had gone, Phil asked the room at large, “Should we discuss accommodations?”
Ibe-san scratched the back of his head. “Forgive me. We hadn’t meant to impose; we can certainly find a hotel room. We came straight from the airport because we were so worried, you see. Ei-chan holds Ash dear and, I’m not ashamed to say I’m fond of the boy, too. He’s such a good boy.” He looked around at Phil’s team and asked, “You see that, don’t you? I know Ash is a little rough around the edges and he can be crude when he gets in a mood, but he is good.”
It was Clint who spoke first with a cheery, “Sure we can see what a good kid he is! Don’t you worry about that. I saw first hand how he tried to help someone, even when he’s still hurt. He’s been a nice house guest. Don’t you worry about him when he’s with us.”
“Sure, sure,” Tony added. “No complaints from anyone here. I’ve lived with a lot worse people than the kid. He’s very welcome here. And of course,” he waved a hand at Max. “His entourage, is welcome, too.” Tony paused and looked behind him at the others. “Anyone object to two more visitors? I’m sure I can find somewhere to put them.” When no one objected, Tony happily said, “And it looks like you and Eiji are welcome to stay, too. If you want.”
Phil said nothing. He didn’t want to discourage Tony from being friendly. Tony wasn’t accustomed to so much socializing, but he was trying and that sort of effort had to be applauded. However, Phil worried about Natasha, still and silent, their red-haired statue. He worried for Bruce who looked troubled and appeared to be trying to hide in the kitchen. Neither of them liked people, as a general rule. Bruce’s background had only ever taught him that people were dangerous. Natasha wasn’t exactly frightened of people, but she was uncomfortable around them because, as she’d once told Phil,
“I don’t understand people. They make no sense.”
But neither of them spoke up and Phil wouldn’t embarrass either of them by drawing attention to them in that sort of situation. He would wait and deal with it privately and, if necessary, make arrangements for the both of them to have time secluded from the visitors or he would go back to his original plan and take Ash and company to a safe house far from the Tower. There was no reason in the Universe that Bruce and Natasha should be uncomfortable in their own home and he felt sure that, if he told Tony what he suspected, Tony would entirely agree with him and do whatever was needed to fix things for his team mates. In the meanwhile, Phil shook Ibe-san’s hand and excused himself to go after Steve.
The gym, of course.
There was an entire floor of The Avengers Tower dedicated to physical conditioning, whether that was the traditional gym with weights and treadmills that Steve preferred, the shooting range that both Clint and Natasha used, or the room used solely for yoga and meditation that Bruce practiced. Phil enjoyed use of the dojo, when he could get a sparing partner, and Tony... Tony had a room for playing pool in. Pool, Tony had insisted, could easily turn into a full-contact sport if one had an interesting opponent. Phil went straight to the gym where, as he’d expected, he found Steve apparently trying to kill a punching bag.
He was cautious as he approached Steve. Not that he thought Steve would hurt him if surprised, Steve had far too much control to have that sort of accident, but there was no point in taking chances. When he took in how furiously Steve punched the bags, how anger had set his face into a terrible grimace, Phil decided it was for the best to allow Steve to work out his anger. So he found a corner and prepared himself to wait. For a half-an-hour he waited. Steve broke two punching bags before he stopped. He stared down at the sand at his feet that had spilled out from the punching bags.
“It’s not right.” Steve didn’t look up from the floor. “It’s just not right. Everything that kid went through... now his brother? Those monsters were hurting little kids and experimenting on soldiers in the middle of war?” Steve walked to one side of the gym and then back the other way. “A doctor? A military doctor who’s supposed to be taking care of his soldiers? Steve glared at the wall in front of him and then, without further warning, swung his fist. He didn’t punch the wall. He stopped himself only a bare inch away, but he stopped himself from hitting the wall. But his hand shook when he brought it back to his side. He swung around and faced Phil. “Who knew about this? Someone had to know! It’s the military - there are reports and regulations! That sort of thing can’t just happen and no one finds out about it. Where were the officers? A criminal in New York just happened to be able to give an active duty doctor, in the middle of a war zone, drugs to experiment on the soldiers with? How did he get them to that doctor? Someone had to help him. Someone had to be covering up tracks and bodies.”
The outrage was understandable and expected. Steve had always loved the military, always admired soldiers who risked their lives to ensure freedom. To hear that his beloved military was, apparently, involved with Golzine’s Banana Fish must have woken a rage in Steve... it surely broke his heart.
“Phil, let me do one good thing. In all this nightmare, let me do just one good thing to make something right. I know I can’t really help the police in their work and I know there isn’t anything I can do to make Ash’s life normal, but there has to be something I can do.” Steve put one big hand over his eyes and his shoulders shook. “I can’t do nothing when everything is so wrong.”
There were no words at all that could comfort Steve. Phil had no easy answers, not a single answer that would make Steve feel better. Phil went to Steve and hugged him. Steve accepted the hug, probably better than any of the other Avengers would have. He let his body relax a bit and let Phil hold him until his breathing had evened out and he didn’t seem ready to break the next person he saw. When Phil felt Steve start to pull away, he stepped back and said, “We’ll think of something you can do to help.”
“Ash is the only survivor and and I don’t think he’ll accept help.” Steve shrugged and started to clean up the mess he’d made from the punching bags. “I have contacts in the military that I trust. I can have them start looking into how this could happen. The kids from Club Cod... not all of them were identified. If families can’t be found, they’ll still need decent burials, right?”
“Right.” Phil had, as he’d promised himself months ago, had a talk with Steve about money and informed him that he had a bank account that was currently being filled by his pay from S.H.I.E.L.D. for his work as an Avenger. He rarely used any of his money as Tony was unthinkingly generous and if he knew one of his friends needed something he would just buy it, but he knew he had it. It had turned out, thankfully, that no one at S.H.I.E.L.D. had been trying to keep his money from Steve, it had merely been an oversight that someone hadn’t told Steve about his new bank account. The result was that Steve had more money than he knew what to do with. To pay to have a bunch of nameless children buried was something Steve would happily empty his bank account for. “I know you’d like to help Ash, but I honestly think the only thing he really cares about right now is making the truth public so everyone knows what happened. To that end, making sure he gets to his court date is the best thing any of us can do.” He paused. “Although, maybe you would like to help with something else, something that I think Ash will appreciate.”
“Of course. What can I do?”
“J.A.R.V.I.S. and I found Ash’s brother. We know where Griffin Callenreese is and I think it would be good to have him buried in a veteran’s cemetery. He killed his fellow soldiers, but that wasn’t his fault. He’s still a veteran and deserves the honor of being laid to rest in a veteran’s cemetery. There’s paperwork to do and I want to ask Ash’s permission before anything is done, but would you like to help?”
A little light seemed to come back into Steve’s eyes as he considered the idea. “A decent burial. Yes.” He slowly nodded. “Yes, that would be very good. And, maybe, we can find out who else was given that drug and do the same for them?”
That Steve had to ask, as if he were afraid it would be too much trouble, made Phil’s heart go out to him. He had no doubt in the world that if he did refuse Steve, Steve would simply go out and find a way to do it on his own, but there were times when his confidence would falter in the modern world, so very different from the world he’d left behind.
“Sometimes, it doesn’t just feel like a couple of decades have passed,” Steve had once told Phil. “It feels like I’m on an alien planet where I hardly understand the language and society doesn’t make any sense. I’m not afraid of this alien world, but there are a lot of things that are still easier with help.”
And Phil would never refuse help to his team, his family. “I think we can do that. With J.A.R.V.I.S.’s help, my military connections and yours, we should be able to track down exactly what happened and find any soldiers who mysterious went on a violent rampage after coming into contact with that doctor Ash was talking about. Max told me he’d been researching Banana Fish for the last ten or so years so he’s bound to have information that will help.”
Steve retrieved a broom to clean up the sand that had spilled out of the broken punching bags (there had been more than a few broken punching bags so the broom had been deemed a logical addition to the gym) and was thoughtful as he tidied up his mess. “I think that would be good. It’s not a perfect fix, but giving those soldiers good burials will help.” Finally, he smiled. “Yes, it’s good. I’ll do it. We’ll do it.”
Ash-
Ash hadn’t expected to ever see Eiji again. In truth, he had expected to die when he’d gone in to face Foxx with Golzine as his hostage. But Eiji was back and Ash was still alive. He didn’t like that Eiji had come back to America. He’d meant what he’d said earlier, it was too dangerous. But he was selfishly glad Eiji had come back and he didn’t really understand why. Somehow, when Eiji was around, the whole world seemed to calm from the chaotic state Ash knew it to be. It was as if a raging storm settled into a gentle spring shower.
“I’ve got a room,” Ash said to break the silence. “It’s different than the one Golzine made me stay in. Everything feels warm here.” It also felt safe. It shouldn’t have. He knew that J.A.R.V.I.S. was always watching, but the room felt safe. It was such a strange feeling. With Max and Jessica in the other room, he didn’t even feel like he had to lock the door of his room. “Jessica got me pajamas. They’re flannel and really warm.” They were plaid pajamas with long pants and a long sleeve top. Those made him feel safe, too, even in his sleep he was all covered up. Dino used to like having him wear expensive silk pajamas that had been cold and felt weird. Ash liked the flannel ones much better.
“I like them.” Eiji absently reached out and touched the sleeve of Ash’s pajamas, as if to test the softness, and said, “I heard you got stabbed and I thought you’d die. I thought you’d die and I’d be in Japan. I thought you’d die alone and I was scared for you.”
“Yeah, well, when you got shot, I kinda lost it for a bit.” That was an understatement. He’d killed the people who’d shot Eiji and he had tried to shoot Blanca. “I’m glad you’re alright. I’m really glad.”
“Well, I’m glad you’re alright, too. So,” Eiji put his hands on the bed beside him and closed his eyes. “Are we going to keep being awkward or do you want me to tell you what Dino did?”
No. Ash didn’t want to hear it. He definitely didn’t want his happy delusion that Eiji had merely been held prisoner spoiled by whatever Eiji was about to tell him. Ash stood up and stared at one of the pictures on the wall without really seeing it. “He touched you?”
“No.”
And Ash let out a breath, a quiet sigh of relief. “What happened?”
“He said he had a special job for me. His men made me go to a bedroom and they took my clothes.” Eiji’s voice went quiet and Ash didn’t turn to look at him. “I tried to fight, but they were bigger than me. I wasn’t strong enough.”
Ash winced. Those words were too close to home, too familiar. ‘They were bigger than me. I wasn’t strong enough.’ How often had he thought that?
“They tied me to the bed. They were laughing. Yut-Lung was there. He didn’t laugh. Then Dino came in and he was... he took off his clothes, too. He told Yut-Lung to take off his clothes and he did. Dino didn’t touch me, I promise, but he said he was going to and he told me what he was going to do and I was so scared. I don’t have the right words to tell you how scared I was. Dino was called away before he could do anything to me, but I saw him with Yut-Lung. He did touch Yut-Lung. Yut-Lung didn’t want it, didn’t like it. There was a moment when Dino turned away from him and Yut-Lung got a look of such sadness and pain on his face. I know he’s done awful things, but... oh, I wanted to cry for him. The second Dino looked back, Yut-Lung was all sweet smiles, again. Like he’d put on a mask.”
Ash rubbed his face with his hands. “Damn it. I don’t want to feel bad for that guy.”
“I’m not sure, but I think... I think maybe he grew up sort of like you did. Some of the things he’d said to me makes me think he wasn’t treated too nicely, either.”
“It’s still his fault Shorter died.” It didn’t feel right when Ash said it. He stubbornly held onto that thought, but it didn’t seem right. His mind began to run over everything he knew about Yut-Lung and everything he’d seen and heard since they’d found him in California. Yut-Lung had helped Ash get free at Dino’s mansion so he could save Eiji as well as Max and Ibe-san. If he’d really wanted them all dead, he wouldn’t have done that. He’d gotten Eiji and Sing out of jail and, apparently, Sing was helping him. Shorter had trained Sing, so it was likely he’d taught Sing good sense and he wouldn’t blindly trust someone entirely evil. Not to mention the fact that Eiji had told Sing everything that had led up to Shorter’s death, including Yut-Lung kidnapping them, and Sing, fiercely devoted to Shorter, still worked with Yut-Lung. “Maybe it’s his fault Shorter died. Maybe I need more information. I still don’t like him. And I still mean it when I say it’s too dangerous here. You should leave.”
“I know everything is dangerous, but I will stay. Do you remember what I promised? That night at the condo?”
“You’d make me keep eating those nasty tofu sandwiches?”
Eiji rolled his eyes. “No. The other promise.”
“You said you’d stay.”
“Even if the whole world turns against you, I will be on your side. And if you allow it, I will stay by your side - forever. I meant it then, Ash. I still mean it now. My word is my honor.” Eiji slipped a hand over Ash’s and gave it a squeeze. “I will stand with you and testify. You’re not doing this alone.”
Ash smiled. His heart felt warm. It was such an amazing, marvelous feeling. But, no matter what he wanted, he said, “You still shouldn’t be here. It’s not safe. I don’t want to see you hurt, again.”
Eiji sniffed and put his nose up in the air. “Too bad. You’re stuck with me.”
“You’re not listening!”
“Don’t care. You hungry? I’m getting food. Going to ask to use kitchen. Want nato? I want nato.” And Eiji used his cane to slowly stand and headed for the door, happily ignoring Ash’s protests.
Ash watched the door close behind Eiji and fell silent. Eiji and Ibe-san’s arrival had surely complicated things. Ash let his hands rest on his lap. Ash felt desperately unworthy of Eiji’s unfailing friendship and kindness. It was almost too much. Max, Jessica, Ibe-san, Captain Jenkins, Charlie, Nadia, all The Avengers, and Eiji... how could anyone deal with so much kindness? He was happy. Such a strange feeling! He was so very, very happy. Ash smiled to himself. “I’m the luckiest guy in the whole world.”
Later-
Michael-
It was late when Michael woke with tears running down his face. There were monsters. Monsters were everywhere. He pulled his teddy bear to his face and sobbed into it. Monsters. Under the bed, in the shadows, monsters everywhere. When he finally stopped crying he realized his bed was wet. He’d had an accident and that almost set him off crying, again. Not fair. A nightmare and a wet bed. Not fair. He wanted mommy or daddy, but they were probably sleeping. Ash. He went to find Ash.
Michael crept into Ash’s bedroom, but Ash wasn’t there. Eiji was sleeping in Ash’s bed. Michael was half-asleep and it scared him that Ash wasn’t where he was supposed to be. But he wandered into the living room and saw that Ash had fallen asleep on the couch. He was covered up in blankets, too. It wasn’t even cold, but he had three blankets covering him up so much that Michael could hardly see Ash’s face. He was going to wake Ash up, but he felt bad about doing that because Ash was still hurt and he’d heard mommy and daddy talking and they said Ash wouldn’t get better unless he rested.
Michael probably wasn’t supposed to know that. He had known for a while that grown-ups would change the subject if they knew he was listening and they never talked about important things around him. He knew things, of course. He heard things and saw things. He knew bad people wanted to hurt Ash and he knew Ash had been hurt a lot, just like mommy had been hurt. He knew daddy was angry a lot because of all that. He knew the policemen kept coming around to talk to Ash and he knew Ash was going to tell everyone about the bad people. He knew all of that, but he didn’t really understand and that made him nervous and worried. He wanted to wake Ash, but he shouldn’t because he wanted Ash to get well. He tried to puzzle out what to do when Ash rolled over, turning so Michael could see his back.
Ash had a gun. Michael saw it tucked into the back of Ash’s pajama pants. Michael knew all about guns. Mommy and daddy used guns and so did Ash. To keep safe. They weren’t toys, Daddy had once told Michael. Michael didn’t want to play with Ash’s gun. He wanted to be safe from the monsters and he just knew that if he had a gun, he would be safe. So he reached out for the gun.
To be continued...
A/N: Dear readers, sorry but the next chapter will be a little delayed. It should be posted the week after next Saturday.