Lunch & Preperation
Lunch was simple, they ate at a small cafe near their hotel. While they ate, they went over their notes of the warehouse. There were more than a few strange things surrounding the building they felt they needed to take into account.
“What puzzles me are the small explosions the newsie talked about.”
“This whole thing rubs me the wrong way, Hitomi. It’s not just the dream thing. The records of this warehouse show it as being derelict for over two years. Not up for sale, no owner listed. Not even our Mr. Joop.”
“What? Really?” Alana nodded and handed Hitomi her handheld. Hitomi looked it over and nodded, “Yeah, this is odd. No record of Joop ever owning it. Could have a partner?”
“That would make sense. I’m sure a museum, even a small-ish one like Joop’s would need investors. Should we go back and talk to him?”
Hitomi shook her head, “No. I don’t think we’ll have to. Look at this,” she handed Alana’s device back over to her. “See the blueprints?”
“Yes, what am I looking at?”
“The original builders filed amendments to the city for layout changes.”
“So?”
“This area was built up mainly in the 1920’s and ‘30’s.”
“Prohibition.” Alana whispered. “These plan changes could hide secret rooms for smugglers and storage of alcohol.”
“Right. Someone could have gotten the idea that there’s money or something hidden in one of these rooms, but don’t know exactly where they are.”
“And these plans wouldn’t help them much, would they?”
“Nope. Not without originals to compare them to. They could have them, I suppose.”
“If they have been using explosives, this building could be unstable.”
Hitomi nodded. “Right. We’re going to need to be very careful.”
“Very.”
“Almost wish we had one of Jerry’s robots to check the place out first.”
Once she said it, Alana’s eyes dropped to the table, and Hitomi felt bad. “Jeeze, I’m sorry.”
“No, don’t be,” She sighed, “I have to get used to it. Honestly, I should have seen something like this coming. I was hardly subtle, and no one is that oblivious.”
Hitomi chuckled. “I’m sorry, girl. I do know how you feel. I’ve had a rather large crush on my own partner, pretty much since I laid eyes on her.”
Alana’s eyes widened, and her brows went up to her hairline. “You and C.J.?”
Hitomi nodded, “Yeah, but don’t let it get out, okay? I don’t talk about it, and C.J., bless her, respects that. I know nothing could ever happen. She was very cool with the whole thing when I told her, years ago.”
Alana whistled, “I never knew. I promise it stays at this table. It must be torture.”
“Nah,” Hitomi waved it away, “She’s my best friend. She does love me like a sister, and that’s good enough. It helps that she never freaked out about it. She’s probably the most accepting person I’ve ever met.”
“C.J. is an amazing person. I think most of us are lucky to call her friend.”
“Salute,” Hitomi help up her glass, and Alana clinked them together. “You are correct. So, see, it does get better.”
Alana smiled, “Thanks.”
“Anytime. Let me ask you something. How likely is it that people develop feelings during a stressful situation?”
Alana frowned, “Well, it’s fairly common. Though I think you’ve been through enough of those that it would have happened by now.”
Hitomi shook her head, “No, that’s not what I mean. You ever hear how I first met C.J.?” Alana shook her head, “It was more than ten years ago, I was going to be used as a sacrifice for an Aztec death cult.”
“You?” Hitomi nodded, “Hard to imagine.”
“Now, sure, but then,” she shook her head, “I was a different person. Fresh off the boat from Japan. I was probably an easy mark for these guys.”
“The Aztec death cult?” Hitomi nodded again. “Does every ancient culture have a death cult associated with them?”
“Seems that way, doesn’t it? Anyway, they had me chained hand and foot at the top of this mini pyramid they had built for their rituals. The head priest,” she made air quotes around the word priest, “was in full regalia and was standing over me with an obsidian knife ready to cut out my heart,” Hitomi winced. “Real whack-a-loons, these guys.” She paused, taking a sip of her water. “Then, suddenly this angel grabbed the knife and knocked out the priest. Then, she ripped the chains from the stone slab, slung me over her shoulder and jumped off the pyramid to the floor near where her partner was standing. And believe you me, this wasn’t a small structure. She set me down and broke the chains and took off my gag. I swear, my eyes must have looked like cartoon hearts as I stared at my savior.” She laughed, and looked at Alana. “I was entirely fixated on C.J. and not Buck, who was still going out on runs at the time.”
“Wow. Amazing. That certainly would engender a deep infatuation at least. The multiple stressful situations you’ve been through since would certainly deepen it. Left alone, it usually fades.”
Hitomi shrugged, “So I read. In truth, it probably has cooled over the years. It doesn’t hurt nearly as much, but it’s still there. Doesn’t help that this life isn’t really made for dating.”
Alana laughed, “Oh you are right about that.” This time Alana offered her glass in toast, “To us.”
“Us.” They clinked, “May we both get off our butts and get real dates!”
They both laughed.
“What puzzles me are the small explosions the newsie talked about.”
“This whole thing rubs me the wrong way, Hitomi. It’s not just the dream thing. The records of this warehouse show it as being derelict for over two years. Not up for sale, no owner listed. Not even our Mr. Joop.”
“What? Really?” Alana nodded and handed Hitomi her handheld. Hitomi looked it over and nodded, “Yeah, this is odd. No record of Joop ever owning it. Could have a partner?”
“That would make sense. I’m sure a museum, even a small-ish one like Joop’s would need investors. Should we go back and talk to him?”
Hitomi shook her head, “No. I don’t think we’ll have to. Look at this,” she handed Alana’s device back over to her. “See the blueprints?”
“Yes, what am I looking at?”
“The original builders filed amendments to the city for layout changes.”
“So?”
“This area was built up mainly in the 1920’s and ‘30’s.”
“Prohibition.” Alana whispered. “These plan changes could hide secret rooms for smugglers and storage of alcohol.”
“Right. Someone could have gotten the idea that there’s money or something hidden in one of these rooms, but don’t know exactly where they are.”
“And these plans wouldn’t help them much, would they?”
“Nope. Not without originals to compare them to. They could have them, I suppose.”
“If they have been using explosives, this building could be unstable.”
Hitomi nodded. “Right. We’re going to need to be very careful.”
“Very.”
“Almost wish we had one of Jerry’s robots to check the place out first.”
Once she said it, Alana’s eyes dropped to the table, and Hitomi felt bad. “Jeeze, I’m sorry.”
“No, don’t be,” She sighed, “I have to get used to it. Honestly, I should have seen something like this coming. I was hardly subtle, and no one is that oblivious.”
Hitomi chuckled. “I’m sorry, girl. I do know how you feel. I’ve had a rather large crush on my own partner, pretty much since I laid eyes on her.”
Alana’s eyes widened, and her brows went up to her hairline. “You and C.J.?”
Hitomi nodded, “Yeah, but don’t let it get out, okay? I don’t talk about it, and C.J., bless her, respects that. I know nothing could ever happen. She was very cool with the whole thing when I told her, years ago.”
Alana whistled, “I never knew. I promise it stays at this table. It must be torture.”
“Nah,” Hitomi waved it away, “She’s my best friend. She does love me like a sister, and that’s good enough. It helps that she never freaked out about it. She’s probably the most accepting person I’ve ever met.”
“C.J. is an amazing person. I think most of us are lucky to call her friend.”
“Salute,” Hitomi help up her glass, and Alana clinked them together. “You are correct. So, see, it does get better.”
Alana smiled, “Thanks.”
“Anytime. Let me ask you something. How likely is it that people develop feelings during a stressful situation?”
Alana frowned, “Well, it’s fairly common. Though I think you’ve been through enough of those that it would have happened by now.”
Hitomi shook her head, “No, that’s not what I mean. You ever hear how I first met C.J.?” Alana shook her head, “It was more than ten years ago, I was going to be used as a sacrifice for an Aztec death cult.”
“You?” Hitomi nodded, “Hard to imagine.”
“Now, sure, but then,” she shook her head, “I was a different person. Fresh off the boat from Japan. I was probably an easy mark for these guys.”
“The Aztec death cult?” Hitomi nodded again. “Does every ancient culture have a death cult associated with them?”
“Seems that way, doesn’t it? Anyway, they had me chained hand and foot at the top of this mini pyramid they had built for their rituals. The head priest,” she made air quotes around the word priest, “was in full regalia and was standing over me with an obsidian knife ready to cut out my heart,” Hitomi winced. “Real whack-a-loons, these guys.” She paused, taking a sip of her water. “Then, suddenly this angel grabbed the knife and knocked out the priest. Then, she ripped the chains from the stone slab, slung me over her shoulder and jumped off the pyramid to the floor near where her partner was standing. And believe you me, this wasn’t a small structure. She set me down and broke the chains and took off my gag. I swear, my eyes must have looked like cartoon hearts as I stared at my savior.” She laughed, and looked at Alana. “I was entirely fixated on C.J. and not Buck, who was still going out on runs at the time.”
“Wow. Amazing. That certainly would engender a deep infatuation at least. The multiple stressful situations you’ve been through since would certainly deepen it. Left alone, it usually fades.”
Hitomi shrugged, “So I read. In truth, it probably has cooled over the years. It doesn’t hurt nearly as much, but it’s still there. Doesn’t help that this life isn’t really made for dating.”
Alana laughed, “Oh you are right about that.” This time Alana offered her glass in toast, “To us.”
“Us.” They clinked, “May we both get off our butts and get real dates!”
They both laughed.
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