Monsters
Chapter 17: Monsters
The Avengers’ Tower-
Ash-
The first night Eiji arrived at the Avengers’ Tower, he slept in Ash’s bed and Ash, after leaving him there to sleep, went to the sofa in the living room of Max and Jessica’s apartment. Everyone had long since gone to sleep. All was quiet and dark. Alone, but for his own thoughts, Ash put his elbows on his knees and leaned forward to rest his head on his hands.
Eiji was back.
Safe.
Healthy.
Breathing.
Alive.
He hadn’t died. Ash had been so scared when he’d left Eiji in the hospital, pale and weak from a bullet that had been aimed at Ash, that Eiji would succumb. He had survived surgery well, Jessica had later told Ash, but Ash knew very well that there was possibility of infection after surgery and there was always something that could go wrong. But it hadn’t and Eiji had come back. He’d gotten back to safety and people he loved and he had come back to Ash. It felt like there was a weight on Ash’s shoulders that pressed at him to make sure nothing bad ever happened to Eiji, that he would get back to his parents and his sister. At that same time, deep in his heart, there was a warmth that terrified Ash because he wasn’t sure what it meant and it felt very important.
Ash sat up and rubbed his face. “Right. Enough of that. J.A.R.V.I.S., let’s see what that drone’s doing.”
He spent a couple of hours searching for Gregory and had to admit that J.A.R.V.I.S. was pretty damned amazing. He could search all of New York without much effort. As soon as he found Gregory - and he would find Gregory - he was going to have to kill him. Not only did Ash have to get the suitcase and destroy everything in it, but Gregory undoubtedly wanted Ash dead and Ash wasn’t ready to die - at least not until he’d given his testimony in court. He’d never fought Gregory, had never even seen him fight, but his instincts told Ash that Gregory was dangerous. Still, Ash was nearly recovered so he’d be able to put up a good fight. He’d checked, earlier, and both of his currently serious wounds - one from Foxx and one from Lao - seemed almost fine, to him. Max still worried about it. “Your definition of ‘fine’ and mine are a little different. It’s only been a few days, give yourself some time,” Max had said when Ash had mention how he was nearly healed. Ash had worked with worse wounds.
Several times in the night, Ash got up from the sofa. He peeked into Eiji’s room to make sure he was alright and each time he did, Eiji was sound asleep. It was very reassuring. He checked in on Michael, too, and he seemed fine. He considered checking on Max and Jessica, but he was very well aware that those two were getting remarried. Jessica had never gotten rid of her engagement ring after she and Max had divorced and she’d started to wear it, again. All things being considered, Ash most certainly didn’t want to walk into their bedroom and see... eww... marital relations. Gross. Besides, Max was as big as a barn and getting hit by him was like getting hit by a sledgehammer. Jessica had a pistol and a hand grenade in her purse and wasn’t afraid to use either of them. As far as Ash was concerned, anyone fool enough to attack them deserved everything they got.
It was near midnight when Ibe-san walked into the living room. There were circles around his eyes and his hair was messed up. “You should be sleeping, I think.”
Ash turned his attention away from the drone’s holographic view. “I’ll sleep, soon. I’ve got stuff to do.”
Ibe-san sat next to Ash on the sofa and yawned. Then he smiled and patted Ash on the shoulder. “I was very happy when I heard you would survive the attack. I was worried.”
Ibe-san confused Ash. He was an adult, but his bearing was so like Eiji that just being around him made Ash feel more at ease. He wasn’t like Max or Jessica, at all, he was soft-spoken and so gentle that he’d never even held a gun and Ash didn’t know anyone else he could say that about. Ash had the strange impulse to apologize, but he hadn’t done anything wrong and it wasn’t as if he’d wanted to get hurt. “You didn’t have to come back. I don’t want you n’ Eiji getting hurt, again.”
But Ibe-san chuckled. “You say it like I could stop him. Ash, don’t you know our Ei-chan? He makes up his mind and no one will change it for him. But I will tell you he is happy to be here. It was all his mother could do to convince him to take an airplane rather than trying to swim to America.”
Ash felt his stomach sink. “Ugg. His mom must hate me.”
“Why?”
“He almost died because of me. And now he ran away from home just because...”
“Because his very good friend, someone he likes and admires, was hurt and needed help. I will tell you that his mother sent him away with a hug and his father wished him well. They are proud that Ei-chan is decisive and strong-willed and able to see his way in life so clearly. And he told them about you. He is so proud to tell all about his treasured, precious Ash.”
Ash balked and leaned away from Ibe-san. “What? He said that? Why’d he say that? I ain’t done nuffin’ ta- ” Ash stopped himself when he heard his language falter. He took a breath. “I didn’t do anything to make him think we’re like... like... I didn’t touch him. I swear.”
But Ibe-san blinked, the very image of innocent confusion. “Sorry. Very sorry. Did I use the wrong word? English is so hard. Maybe I should say, ‘his dear friend’? Is that better?”
With a hard swallow, Ash nodded. “Yeah, that’s better.”
“How are you about going to court? Max and Jessica told me everything that is going on. It must be scary.”
Ash shrugged. “Not really. All I have to do is tell the truth. There’s more than enough evidence to put all those slime balls away for the rest of eternity. Unless someone’s bought the judge... or the jury... or evidence goes missing.” He didn’t say that there were people out trying to kill him, that they’d almost succeeded the other day in Chinatown and he didn’t say that his injuries had slowed him down so much he almost hadn’t been able to dodge the shot. He didn’t say that, in all honestly, he was terrified. He hadn’t told anyone that and he knew he probably wouldn’t. He was so scared that, as always, he kept thinking about everything that might go wrong. He should be trying to make Eiji and Ibe-san leave, again. He shouldn’t have involved Max and Jessica and Michael. He should have tried harder to keep them out of the whole mess because if anything happened to them...
‘All these people to worry about... they should all go. If they go away, they’ll be safe. It’s better if they all leave me or if I leave them.’ Ash thought that just before a traitorous little thought screamed, ‘I don’t care, they’re my people and I want them! Can’t I have what I want - just once? No.’ Ash reprimanded himself. ‘It’s more important that they’re safe. Please, God, give this me this one thing and let Eiji stay safe. Let them all stay safe.’
Ibe-san said, “You’re a very brave young man. I’d be so scared I would shake. Jessica said the final battle was bad.”
“Doesn’t matter. It’s over, now.” And Ash really didn’t want to think about it much. It made him think of Foxx leering at him, laying on top of him. It made him think of Dino falling... Ash bit the inside of his cheek. He did NOT want to think about it! “Say,” Ash smiled at Ibe-san. “I’ve got a present for you. Everyone’s getting some, but this is yours.” Ash went to a duffel bag that held all his stuff - a change of clothes, a canvas wallet, and a small pile of envelopes. He took out one of the envelopes with Ibe-san’s name written on it. He gave the envelope to Ibe-san and said, “This is yours. Enjoy.”
Ibe-san smiled when he took the envelope, but that smile evaporated when he looked inside. “Ash... what is this?”
“My winnings. I robbed Dino and now everyone who helped me out gets some. It was stolen in the first place, so don’t feel guilty about it and...”
Ibe-san held up a hand. When Ash stopped talking, Ibe-san closed the envelope and he handed it back to Ash. “Ash, I know you mean well, but I am an adult. I don’t need your money.”
“What?” It was Ash’s experience that pretty much everyone wanted money. He tried to give it back to Ibe-san, but Ibe-san wouldn’t take it. “Look, it’s a present.”
“I’m not poor, Ash. I have a job and I’m very good at it. I am comfortable enough in life that I am able to bring Ei-chan and myself to America, live without an income for more than a year, fly Ei-chan and myself back to Japan, and then bring us both back here. I have money.” He looked confused. “Ash, I didn’t help you because I thought you would give me something. I helped because you are a good boy and you needed help. I wasn’t looking for a reward or... or payment.” He laughed at the idea, but Ash went cold.
‘Reward? Payment?’ Ash looked away. ‘Is that what this is? Is that what it looks like?’ Ash had a sudden flash of a memory. He’d been sitting in his room with Blanca, working on his strategy for his play-war with Blanca about the Battle of Thermopylae, when Dino had come in and given Blanca a pair of diamond cufflinks. “You’ve done such good work. You deserve it.” But Blanca had waved off the gift. “Thank you, but it’s not necessary. It is my great honor to be his teacher and you pay so generously. Besides, I don’t wear cufflinks.” When Ash had later asked why Blanca wouldn’t accept the gift, even if only to sell them and get some cash, Blanca had said, “Always be careful about gifts when they come from certain people. There are usually invisible strings attached. I don’t want the monsieur to think I owe him any favors.” And he went right back to helping Ash plan out a supply chain for the Persians.
Ash felt cold and ugly inside as he stared down at the envelope in his hands. “It’s just a present. I’m trying to be nice.”
“You ARE nice. I don’t need presents to know that.”
But Ash barely heard it and said, in a rush, “Look, it’s not about a reward or payment or bribe or whatever else you’re thinking! Dino used to give things to people who made him happy. Gold money clips, jewelry... that kind of garbage. He gave me stuff, too. Expensive stuff. He only did it to make people feel indebted to him or to make them want to do things for him in the future so they’d get more stuff. That’s not why I’m giving you this.” He held up the envelope and shook it at Ibe-san. “That’s not what this is about. I’m not like Dino! I just... I don’t want this money and it should do some good. So, you can have it. And I want to do something nice for Eiji but I don’t want him to think I’m being like Dino and if you think I am then maybe he’ll think that too, and...”
Ibe-san held up both hands. “Hey, now! Don’t get upset. I never thought you were anything like Golzine! Ei-chan certainly wouldn’t think that, either. I think a gift would make him happy, but it seems that you want to give Ei-chan something because you think you are obligated to - because he helped you. You aren’t. He made the choice to stay with you. It was his decision, not yours. He made the decision to fight for you. And, even if you don’t want to hear it, he made the decision to shield you from that bullet. You didn’t force him to do anything. So, if you’re going to give him something, do it because you want to, not to pay some kind of debt that only exists in your mind. And it’s very kind that you want to give me a gift, but I am being honest when I say I don’t need it. I wasn’t trying to insult you or imply anything. If it means so much to you, then I will take it, but I will probably give it to charities who will need it more than I do.”
Ash shrugged, as if the whole conversation didn’t matter. “I don’t care. Do whatever you want with it.” He picked up the controls of the drone. “Don’t think I’m like Dino, though. Please.”
“Of course not. I had only seen him a couple of times, but I know you are nothing like him. Nothing at all.” Ibe-san took the envelope from Ash. “There is an animal shelter I give to every year on New Year’s Day. This year, they will have a fine donation from my American nephew. Yes?”
A rosy blush rose up on Ash’s cheeks. Nephew? He wondered if Ibe-san had used the wrong word, again.
Ibe-san left after that. He looked about two minutes away from ruffling Ash’s hair, but restrained himself and left the room with a simple, “Get some sleep. You’ll feel better for it. Pleasant dreams.”
Ash waited until Ibe-san had gone before he looked back at the image of the drone’s view of the city. “Let’s start hunting.”
“Shouldn’t you sleep, Ash?” J.A.R.V.I.S. asked when it was nearing midnight. “Ibe-san is quite correct when he said you will feel better with sleep. Studies indicate that lack of sleep leads to many physical as well as psychological difficulties. If you are experiencing difficulty sleeping, you may find it helpful to know that common causes of sleep problems include stress, nightmares, physical pain, and depression. I believe you may have all these problems.”
“Thanks for the diagnosis.”
“You’re welcome. I will keep attention on the drone’s surveillance and will record anything I can reasonably assume you may wish to know about. I can also assure you that since you told everyone about that Banana Fish drug and that you suspect Gregory Dufort of having the research on it, Sir and Phil have also been searching for him. He will be found even if you sleep for a few hours.”
That seemed reasonable and Ash couldn’t think of anything to argue about. Logically, he knew he should sleep, not just rest, but really sleep. He also knew it would make Max and Jessica happy and he’d found that, as time went on, their opinion had started to become important to him. He wasn’t sure when that had happened, but it was a fact. He wanted to please them and, perhaps, to make them proud. So he sighed and lay down on the sofa. “Okay. You win. Wake me up if anything happens.”
“I will wake you if I feel it’s necessary.”
Ash frowned. “That’s not what I said.”
“No, it isn’t.”
“You’re pretty sassy for a computer, know that?” Ash crossed his arms over his chest and tried to get comfortable.
“I merely state the truth. If you chose not to like the truth, that is hardly my fault.” A few minutes passed and J.A.R.V.I.S. said, “You are not asleep.”
“Give some time!”
“Would you like me to talk to you? I can be very dull. I can recite the encyclopedia if that will help.”
“Which one? Have you got Encyclopedia Britannica? Last time I read that, I left off on an article about the Tripillya culture. You got that one? If you don’t, there was a good section about infrared astronomy. I wouldn’t mind that one, again.”
J.A.R.V.I.S. was quiet for a moment. “Given our game of Go, earlier, as well as your abnormal ease in solving the Rubix Cube, I had suspected that your I.Q. was above average. Your reading choices appears to confirm that. Am I correct?”
“I’m smart enough.”
J.A.R.V.I.S. let the subject drop and read to Ash about the Tripillya culture until Ash lay down and closed his eyes. He was comfortable enough on the sofa; he’d certainly slept in worse places. Everything was quiet. Everyone was safe. He still had things to do, but at that moment, it would be good to rest for a couple of hours. Eventually, he told J.A.R.V.I.S., “You can stop reading. I’ll sleep, now.”
J.A.R.V.I.S. quietly said, “As you wish. Pleasant dreams.”
Ash slept.
There were footsteps. Light, hesitant. Ash pushed himself away from sleep. His eyes opened and he found that he’d rolled onto his side while he’d slept and was facing the back of the sofa. His shoulders tensed when he heard another footstep creeping closer. Who? Max wouldn’t try to sneak up on him - he understood why that was a bad idea. Jessica wouldn’t because she didn’t sneak anywhere, she’d have walked right up and given him a shake if she wanted him to wake up. Eiji? No. He couldn’t sneak to save his life. Small, warm fingers brushed against Ash’s back right where his gun was. In a flash, Ash rolled over and lashed out a hand to seize the intruder and, at the exact same moment, the lights in the room all flashed on at once and J.A.R.V.I.S.’s voice loudly said,
“MICHAEL! STOP!”
Michael. Ash blinked and focused and saw that he held Michael by the wrist. Michael blinked at Ash and smiled. “You’re awake!” Then he frowned up at the ceiling. “Don’t yell at me, please. It’s not nice.”
J.A.R.V.I.S. apologized for yelling and Michael forgave him and all the while they were talking, Ash felt like his brain was still half-asleep. He rubbed his face and tried to wake up, but it was so hard. “Michael? What... what d’you want with my gun?”
“I need to scare away the monsters.” Michael rocked back and forth on his feet. “I had a bad dream and there were monsters and mommy and daddy are sleeping so I want your gun so the monsters will go away. And I had an accident.” He said it with the open trust of a child who needed help and knew that help would be provided without punishment. He didn’t show any sign of shame or fear and Ash remembered his own childhood. There had been so many times when he’d been in Michael’s position, times when he hadn’t dared to ask for help, when he felt he’d drown in shame. Ash would chew off his right arm before he would break Michael’s trust.
Ash sat up and blinked. He rubbed his eyes and rolled his shoulders to wake himself up. A glance show that, yes, the front of Michael’s pajamas were wet. “No problem, kid. We can fix that.” Ash took Michael’s hand and they walked back to Michael’s bedroom. Ash changed the bed and put the dirty sheets in a pile in the corner. He discovered Michael didn’t have any extra pajamas and paused to consider for a moment before he went back into the living room and returned with his t-shirt. He was still wearing the sweat pants and shirt Jessica had gotten for him when he got out of the hospital, so his t-shirt made a fine nightshirt for Michael and covered him right to his knees. He used a towel from the bathroom to dry out the mattress of Michael’s bed as best as he could and, when that was all done, he said, aloud, “Where can I wash the sheets?”
J.A.R.V.I.S. answered, “There is a laundry room I can direct you to, but if you wait until morning, cleaning services will take all things away to be washed.”
“Naw. Why make extra work for them? I’ll deal with it.” He held Michael’s hand and they went to the laundry room. Ash let Michael help put in the laundry soap and turn the dials to start the machine going and Michael seemed to enjoy the new activities. They didn’t meet any of The Avengers in the halls and Ash, who couldn’t help the almost primal fear that Michael was going to get in trouble, even though good sense told him that was foolish, was relieved when they finally got back to their borrowed apartment. The mattress would take a while to dry so Ash took Michael to the sofa where he’d been sleeping and they sat together. “You sleep here, alright?” Ash said. “It’s real comfy and your bed will be dry tomorrow night.”
Michael nodded. “Thanks for helpin’. I don’t wanna sleep. There are monsters in my dreams.”
Ash sat next to Michael and nodded. “Yeah. That happens, sometimes. I dream about monsters, too.”
It made Michael smile and Ash was happy. Whoever would have thought that he’d be able to make someone feel safe? Talking to Michael made Ash feel strangely big and strong. The way Michael looked at him, as if he could solve every problem, fix everything that was wrong... he felt so important and that, honestly, worried him. He knew he was important, of course. There was no reason for false modesty. His gang needed him to keep their often hectic lives stable. He was smart and strong enough to keep the street gangs reasonably at peace and he knew they all looked to him for leadership. But for an innocent little child to look at him with those big, trusting eyes... it was an almost overpowering feeling but, without warning, the feeling twisted and Ash was suddenly small and not worthy of that trust.
“So, yeah... uh, you wanna talk about the monsters?” That was what people said when kids had nightmares, right? He was pretty sure that was what he was supposed to say - Jennifer used to say stuff like that when Ash had bad dreams about what might happen to Griffin in the war.
“They hurt people.” Michael inched closer to Ash. “What kinda monsters do you dream about?”
“Scary ones.” Dino... Marvin... Frog... Arthur... Foxx... his baseball coach...so many monsters. He dreamed of eyes watching him in the dark, he dreamed of being weak and he dreamed of watching other people get hurt. He dreamed of Dino’s laugh, big and booming and echoing against the walls of Ash’s mind. He dreamed of becoming Dino. He dreamed that one day all Dino’s work would succeed and Ash would turn into a copy of Dino, doing whatever Dino wished not because he was forced to, but because he wanted to. He dreamed that he would be the next monsieur and he would be smoking cigars in the den and he would be ordering people to be killed while he sipped his brandy and he would like it, revel in the power... he dreamed he was the monster. But he smiled for Michael. “Don’t worry. I’m way scarier than the monsters so I won’t let them hurt you. Monsters have nightmares about me.”
That made Michael giggle. “You’re gonna be the best big brother ever. When mommy and daddy adopt you we can be real real brothers.” Michael took Ash’s hand and played absently with his fingers. “I always wanted to have a big brother and you’re the best.”
Ash swallowed hard passed a lump in his throat. “Aw, buddy, I don’t think that’s going to happen. I’m too old. No one wants to adopt someone my age. I’m a grown-up, now. They won’t want me.”
“Sure they will.”
Ash sighed and tucked the blanket he’d been using around Michael. “Tell you what - if your mommy and daddy say they want to adopt me and they really mean it, they aren’t just teasing me or something, then I think I’ll say ‘yes’.”
Michael’s eyes lit up. ‘Really?”
“Really. I think you’ve got an awesome family.” But he knew it wouldn’t happen. They had enough stuff to deal with and no sane person would want to invite all Ash’s problems into their family.
“Where’s your family?”
Ash went quiet for a time. He put his elbows on his knees and his chin on his hands. “My mom left. I don’t know where she is. My dad doesn’t want me around - I’m too much trouble.” He smiled at Michael’s shocked face. “Oh, don’t get upset. After my mom left, my dad got a girlfriend and she was super nice. Her name was Jennifer and after my big brother went off to war, she’d make me brownies every Friday because she knew they were my favorite. She’d read stories to me and she walked me to school every day. She was real sweet, too. I never once heard her raise her voice, even when I was being a little brat and she probably should have yelled at me. She’d have loved you.”
Michael slipped off the sofa and ran back to his bedroom.
J.A.R.V.I.S. quietly asked, “Ash, would you like to me wake his parents?”
“No. I’ll take care of him. Let them sleep.”
“I am sorry to have yelled, earlier. I know you asked me not to watch Michael, but I felt it was important to let it be known that he was putting himself in danger.”
“Hey, you don’t see me blaming you.” He didn’t say how scared he’d been when he’d seen that it was Michael who’d tried to touch his gun. He didn’t say that he hadn’t been much older than Michael when he’d first picked up a gun and shot a man dead. He did not want Michael to have to pick up a gun. “I don’t want him hurt. I’d rather die than have him get hurt.”
“I’m sure it won’t come to that.”
Michael came back into the room, carrying his teddy bear and another one. The other one looked new and Ash hadn’t seen it before. Michael handed Ash the new teddy bear, then got back up onto the sofa. “Mister Rogers gave me that one, but he said I could give it to you and you look sad so you should have a teddy bear.” Michael leaned against Ash. “Are you sad ‘cause your Jennifer isn’t here?”
“Yeah. When I left home, I really missed her.”
“Where’s she now? Will she be mad when mommy and daddy adopt you?”
“... No. She won’t be mad. She only ever wanted me to be happy.” Then Ash grinned and ticked Michael on the ribs and let him giggle. “Are you sure you don’t want to sleep?”
“I’m sure. I’ll have more nightmares, again, and I’m not tired.” He yawned as he said it.
“Sure you’re not.”
Max-
It was late when Max woke up, almost morning. He got up as quietly as he could so as to not disturb anyone and went to check on the kids. Max stared at the scene he found in the living room for a moment before he started to grin. As quietly as he could, he found his cell phone and aimed it at the couch where Ash slept sitting up, his legs stretched out in front of him and his head tilted slightly to the side, a teddy bear held loosely in one arm. Michael lay curled up on the couch with his head on Ash’s lap. Max aimed the cell phone to take a photo, but stopped and frowned.
He put the phone away.
Ash didn’t like having his picture taken and he sure as heck wouldn’t want his picture taken when he was asleep. Max remembered what Ash had said about that Frog who’d snatched Ash off the streets and how he and his buddies had taken pictures while they’d raped little Ash. He remembered seeing the photographs they’d taken from Frog at gunpoint and how Ash had been unable to even face them when they’d had to look at those photographs. He’d hidden himself away in a shadow and kept his back to Max and Robert, ashamed and hurt.
No. No pictures - no matter how cute the scene or how much Max wanted to frame the picture of his boys and hang it on a wall, he wouldn’t do that to Ash.
Phil-
Considering all things, the morning went well. Eiji and Ibe-san slept late and Max asked that no one wake them. They both probably had jet-lag and Eiji was still healing. “At least Eiji’s bright enough to stay in bed when he’s told to.” Max said with a teasing smile aimed at Ash.
Ash made a rude gesture and drank his milk. He looked exhausted, but seemed steady enough. Not surprising when J.A.R.V.I.S. told Phil everything he’d observed the previous night with Ash staying up late with Eiji, then looking for Gregory, then taking care of Michael until nearly dawn... he hadn’t gotten more than an hour of sleep. That, like everything else in Ash’s life, would have to be addressed sooner or later. Slightly less worrying and more amusing was little Michael, sitting on his dad’s lap, his eyes half-closed as he made a valiant attempt to stay awake long enough to eat his oatmeal. Unlike Ash, Michael was clearly not accustomed to staying awake all night and desperately needed an early morning nap.
“He’ll be asleep within the hour,” Jessica judged, confidently. “So long as this doesn’t become a habit, I’m not going to worry.”
After breakfast, Tony made an offer for Michael that woke Michael up and nearly made him squeal with excitement. “Ash!” Michael tugged on Ash’s hand. “Let’s watch a movie! Mister Iron Man,” he pointed at Tony. “Said we can watch the really big T.V.!” He pointed enthusiastically at the huge television mounted on the wall of the common room. Ash allowed Michael to lead him over to the television.
“We have access to many movies you might be interested in, Master Glenreed,” J.A.R.V.I.S. announced. On the television screen, images of movies posters began to scroll slowly by. “Just say when you would like me to stop.”
Michael bounced up and down on his toes, but kept a firm hold of Ash’s hand. “Oh! Annie’s fun!”
J.A.R.V.I.S. froze the television on the image of a little red-haired girl standing next to a man.
Ash went pale and swallowed hard. He looked away from the television.
“You know,” Max spoke up. “I think Ash might like to see your favorite show, kid.” He knelt down next to his son and shot a look at Ash before he told Michael, “I’ll bet he’s never see it.”
But Michael frowned and whispered so loudly that everyone in the room could hear him. “But, dad, he’ll think I’m a baby!”
“Naw,” Max made an effort to laugh it off. “Everyone likes ‘Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood’.”
Michael’s eyes went suddenly wide and he peered around his dad to look at Steve. Michael seemed to hold his breath for a moment, then breathed out, “Mister Rogers!”
Everyone laughed. “Not the same one,” Max told him.
But Michael was tickled pink by the realization that there was a real Mister Rogers in the room and he decided that it was a good idea to watch that show. Before long, only Max, Jessica, Michael, Ash, and Phil were left in the room as everyone else gone off to take care of their own business. Twenty minutes later, Michael had fallen asleep on Ash’s lap. It did not escape Phil’s notice that Ash had stared at the television just as intently as Michael had while the show had played.
“People aren’t that nice.” Ash whispered the words when the show ended. He put his arms around Michael in an undeniably protective gesture. “That’s not real life.”
Jessica patted Ash on the arm and picked her son up. “I’ll put him to bed. Thanks for looking after him, Brat.”
Ash didn’t reply, but watched as the credits ran by at the end of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood and, when it was over, stared at the empty screen. “Stupid show. No one is that nice. Not really.”
And it was at that very moment that Eiji, with his hair an untidy mop, walked in. He barely looked awake and looked around with half-opened eyes until he saw Ash on the couch. He didn’t say a word as he slowly went to the couch and sat next to Ash.
It seemed that Max couldn’t resist a chance to tease and he said to Ash, “You sure there’s no one in real life who’s that nice?”
Again, Ash said something rude, but then he turned his whole attention to Eiji. “Who’s the fragile little girl with low blood pressure now?” Ash laughed.
Eiji yawned and closed his eyes. He said something in Japanese and Ash poked at him and demanded to know what Eiji had said. Eiji smiled and didn’t open his eyes. “And you’re an elderly old man. You get up for early morning croquet?”
Max sat next to Ash on the couch. He made no move to touch Ash, no friendly pat on the shoulder or a hug, just sat there. “You never got to watch that show when you were a kid, did you?”
“We didn’t have a T.V.; there wasn’t enough money.” Then he went quiet and turned his face away from the television. “Dumb show.”
“Michael likes it. Maybe you could humor him once in a while and watch it with him.”
Ash shrugged. “Maybe. Once in a while.” He gave Max an amused look. “I learned how crayons are made.”
“Always a fascinating episode. Maybe next time, you’ll learn about playing the piano.”
Ash gave a half-hearted smile and settled in comfortably next to Eiji, who appeared to have fallen back asleep, and, as Phil watched, the troubled look on Ash’s face slid away and was replaced with contentment.
In an effort to give the boys a little solitude, Max and Phil left the room and went to Phil’s apartment. Once there, Phil said to Max, “He didn’t like ‘Annie’ for a reason.”
Max didn’t bother to refute it. “Hey, J.A.R.V.I.S.? Can you bring up a photo of Dino Golzine?”
The computer monitor on Phil’s desk turned on and J.A.R.V.I.S. put the image on. Immediately, Phil could see the resemblance between Dino Golzine and the character of Daddy Warbucks on ‘Annie’. Big men, bald, very wealthy. Max glared at the image of Golzine. “Golzine used to make Ash - all the kids - call him ‘Papa’, so yeah. Papa Dino and Daddy Warbucks? No. No, Ash didn’t like it. He wouldn’t do well with a movie showing a bald, rich guy bringing a love-starved orphan into his house. I don’t think it would matter how sympathetic they make him, Ash wouldn’t like it.”
“So you put on ‘Mister Roger’s Neighborhood’ and let him have a little quiet time?” To most people it might have seemed like a ridiculous idea to have Ash - a teenage trauma victim, an admitted killer, a gang-leader - watch ‘Mister Roger’s Neighborhood’, but Phil could see the sense it in. ‘Mister Roger’s Neighborhood’ was quiet and peaceful. The main adult was soft-spoken and remarkably gentle. To give Ash a calming twenty minutes with the benefit of showing him an example of how kind an adult could be... it was necessary.
Max shrugged. “Not me. Michael wanted to watch it and Ash will watch if it makes Michael happy.”
“You suggested it.”
“Yup. Now ask me if I feel guilty. He’s got to have some stress relief and if a little t.v. will help, I’ll give him all the t.v. he wants. And now Eiji’s here... I can’t tell you how glad I am that he came back. They’ll both be better off by being together. Everything’s bound to get easier, now.”
Elsewhere-
Sing-
Alone on the streets, Sing was looking for Gregory. Looking alone and not telling any of his gang what he was doing probably wasn’t the brightest thing he’d ever done, but there wasn’t much choice. Like Ash had once told him - if anyone knew about Banana Fish, they’d die. It hadn’t been a threat, but a warning and, in hindsight, Sing could understand it. Such a powerful, horrible drug was valuable to certain people and those people were more than willing to kill to get it. If he got his gang involved, now, then it was too likely that the whole war might restart and more of his people would die. So he looked alone. Just after the attack at the Chang Dai he started looking for Gregory and he’d hunted through all of Chinatown, every street and alley, every building he could get into. Nothing. He’d then started looking outside Chinatown, slipping into other parts of the city because if there was any chance of finding the damned suitcase, then it had to be found. He would not let what happened to Shorter happen to anyone else if he could prevent it.
It was night when Sing heard the gunshot. It wasn’t unusual, of course, but it was close enough to catch his attention. When he heard the second gunshot, he started to move in that direction. Darkness had set in hours ago and the city was lit with streetlights and neon signs and the headlights of vehicles as they roamed the streets. The sounds of gunshots had come from a dark alley where the only light came from a security light hanging over the back door of a shoe store. The alley was filled with garbage cans and a couple of dumpsters, just like most alleys.
Sing looked into the alley and saw nothing. In the sleeves of his jacket, his hands wrapped around his blades. His whole body was tense and ready to move. He stepped into the alley and then saw, from the shadows at the opposite end of the alley, a figure stagger into view. It was a big person and, when that person moved under the security light, he saw that it was dark haired man. That man took only a few further steps before he fell to his knees and then collapsed entirely. Sing ran to him.
“You alright?” But when he got close, he saw blood all over the man’s back - gunshot wounds. “Guess not.” He knelt down next to the man and put his fingers against the man’s throat, but couldn’t feel a pulse. He turned the man’s head to the side and put his hand over the man’s mouth and nose, but didn’t feel any breath. Dead.
Voices from where the man had come from made Sing look up. He quickly got to his feet and hid behind a few garbage cans, watching.
“Is he dead?”
“I didn’t miss.”
Two men walked into the alley, confident and easy. They didn’t even bother to conceal the guns in their hands or lower their voices and it seemed to Sing that it was blatant carelessness. The two men walked over to the dead man and rolled him over onto this back. One of them looked at the other accusingly. “This isn’t Blanca!”
Sing felt every hair stand up as a chill ran through him.
“Well, it looked like him. How many people in one city are this big?”
“Apparently more than one.” He stood up and snorted. “You can’t just go around shooting everyone you think might be the target. Madam Shehata was very specific with her instructions and do you really want to go back to HYDRA headquarters and report that we ‘almost’ killed the right target?”
Sing reached into his pocket and found his cell phone. He discretely pulled it out just far enough to see the screen. He hit a few buttons and the cell phone started recording.
“Of course not, but it’s an easy mistake to make. Don’t worry about it. This city has enough murders, one more isn’t going to catch anyone’s attention. Have you had word from the other teams? Someone must have found him, by now. How hard can it be to kill one man?”
“I haven’t heard anything yet, but we’ll meet up at the rendezvous point and compare notes. And don’t dismiss Blanca like that. I’ve heard things about him. They say he’s a perfect weapon created by the Kremlin. Unstoppable and merciless. He’d as soon kill a person as look at them. A completely heartless monster in the form of a man. But he’s clever, too. He’s a doctor, a psychiatrist, and holds degrees in subjects ranging from ancient history to astronomy. He’s also charismatic. One smile and he has anyone he wants falling over themselves to get in his bed.”
“No one’s that good.”
“He is. That’s the rumor, anyway. What I’m getting at is - don’t think he’s like any other man. He isn’t. He doesn’t have feelings like normal people and he doesn’t think like us, either. He’s a weapon - nothing more.”
“You sound scared of him.”
“That’s because I’m not stupid.”
“We’re HYRDA soldiers. A single man, no matter how well trained, isn’t a match for the fifty soldiers sent out to find and eliminate him. Thema Shehata wants Blanca dead, so we kill him. His reputation is probably nothing but lies he told about himself in order to make himself more intimidating. I’m not falling for any such thing.”
Sing, still crouched in his hiding spot, glowered. Blanca, he knew, was not just a weapon. He wasn’t a heartless monster. He didn’t know Blanca well, had only met him a couple of times and fought at his side once, but Blanca was good. He had compassion and mercy. Sing knew that because when they’d rescued Ash from Golzine’s grip at a party Golzine had thrown, he had seen Blanca restrain Yut-Lung when Yut-Lung had tried to get involved with the fighting. That had shown his goodness in letting Ash escape as well as saving Yut-Lung’s life because Yut-Lung was certainly no fighter and would have been killed if he’d rushed into the battle without thinking. And, besides that, Blanca might be a real good shot, but he wasn’t some inhuman tool. Blanca smiled and laughed, he had a real soft spot for Ash and, from what Sing had seen, Yut-Lung. He was NOT a monster.
HYDRA. They’d said they were with HYRDA and they were trying to kill Blanca. Sing fingered his blades and got ready to attack. There were only two men and once they were dead on the ground with their victim, Sing would have time to contact Blanca and tell him he was in trouble. HYDRA, the well-known enemy of The Avengers... who were currently guarding Ash...
Sing wasn’t entirely sure what was going on, but it was bad. He would have to contact Ash, as well, because it seemed that HYDRA wouldn’t get involved with a small time bodyguard like Blanca unless it was for a bigger prize. It couldn’t be to get at The Avengers because how would they know a simple bodyguard? It seemed much more likely to Sing that HYDRA had somehow found out about the Banana Fish and were out to get Ash, targeting Blanca to do it. Perhaps HYDRA was trying to goad The Avengers into some action that would leave Ash vulnerable. No matter how hurt Sing was about Lao’s death, he wouldn’t - couldn’t! - allow any possibility that Ash might be killed. Ash stood the best chance of finding Gregory and putting a final stop to Banana Fish and destroying Banana Fish took priority over Sing’s emotions.
Memory-
Eiji cried.
Sing had watched, uncomfortably, and couldn’t think of anything to say. He wasn’t used to people crying around him, especially not older guys.
“It was my fault.” Eiji put his hands up and covered his face. “All my fault. What happened to Shorter wasn’t Ash’s fault, he’d never have willingly hurt Shorter. Golzine’s people injected Shorter with the Banana Fish drug and he... Shorter just...” And Eiji started to sob. Eventually, he’d told Sing everything from the moment when he’d first met Ash to when Shorter had, under the influence of Banana Fish, tried to kill him. “He said he was in pain. He begged Ash to set him free.” Eiji took his hands away from his face and looked at Sing with such earnest eyes, as if pleading with him to understand. “It nearly killed Ash to do it, but that drug ruins people. Shorter might have survived, but his whole life would have been torture. Ash wouldn’t let anyone live like that; he’s too kind.”
There was something about Eiji, something that made Sing believe him. His explanation made sense and he didn’t see any sign that Eiji was lying. But it hurt, all the same. To think that Shorter, so strong and good, had been reduced to little more than a pitiful beast in the grips of Banana Fish... it was painful. Sing’s heart hurt just trying to imagine what Shorter must have been like in his last moments.
Sing had nodded. “I believe you. Thanks for telling me.” It still hurt, but the pain was better than not knowing, better than wondering what had happened and fearing he would never know. “Look, don’t cry. Alright? Shorter wouldn’t cry.”
Eiji looked aghast and stared at Sing with tears on his cheeks and bloodshot eyes. “Of course he would cry if his friend died! Shorter was a very kind, gentle person. Very sensitive. And I’m not just crying for Shorter, I’m crying for Ash who had to pull that trigger and for you because you look like you want to cry but you won’t let yourself. And I’m crying because if we can’t stop him, Golzine will let that drug loose on the world.”
End Memory-
And all that pain Eiji had shown when he’d spoken about Shorter’s death had made it clear that Banana Fish could never be allowed to be distributed into the world. Sing hardened himself and narrowed his eyes at the two killers in front of him. He raised his blades and...
His hands were seized without warning and Sing realized too late that there weren’t just two killers in the alley. A third man stood just behind Sing as he held onto Sing’s hands and yanked them up, far above Sing’s head.
“And looks like I found a little alley cat.” The man holding Sing’s hands grinned down at him. “And what are you doing prowling around here?” He almost laughed when he spoke and it angered Sing, stinging his pride. “Poor little thing, you’re going to get hurt creeping around in the dark.”
Sing sucked in a deep breath to whistle, knowing that he was near enough to a busy street that at least a few of his guys would hear and come running. He didn’t get so far as a single sound when one of the first two men Sing had seen slapped a hand over Sing’s mouth.
“No noise, alley cat. We wouldn’t want a commotion.”
Sing kicked out and kicked the man in front of him in a delicate spot which made him grunt in pain and stagger away. Sing then used the fact that his hands were being firmly held above his head to pull his feel up off the ground. Once off his feet, Sing kicked backwards and caught the man behind him in the knees. That man, too, let go of Sing. He was ready to run, but the third man swung a fist and caught Sing in the side of the head. Sing went down like a ton of bricks. He saw stars, actually saw little sparkling lights all around.
That third man knocked over one of the garbage cans Sing had been hiding behind and, from the rubbish that spilled out onto the ground, he picked up a broken broom handle. With that in hand, he looked down at Sing, not a trace of any emotion on his face - no anger or fear or even the sick glee some people got when they had the chance to hurt someone. He said, “I don’t think I’ll waste a bullet on you.”
Sing tried to whistle, again, but the man raised the broom handle over his head with both hands before he brought it screaming down at Sing and, suddenly, everything hurt.
To be continued...