The Murder of Marvellous Marv, Part 7


    Beth Zemo strolled into the Bean & Donut with a small entourage and looked around.  The entourage took notes, trying to follow what she was looking at, and her immediate expression.

    There was a strange cat-girl with long hair working at the counter.  She went wide-eyed, shrieked, and ducked beneath the formica surface.  Her only momentarily visible name tag said ‘Violet’.

    Visionary was wearing his trademark yellow and green sweater, sitting in a booth, and chatting with another waitress named ‘Sarah’.  Across from Visionary was that android with deep blue hair and eyes, named Anna, who said nothing as she clutched a coffee cup and looked downward into it.

    With her most pleasant yet condescending voice, Beth announced, “Good afternoon, grimy pastry shop patrons.  I’m looking to offer someone a job.  A very good one, that pays well.”

    Violet didn’t rise from her hiding place.  Visionary tried to reach for another cruller while Sarah was distracted, but Anna slapped his hand.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“I’ve decided I don’t want to make decisions for this city anymore.”  Beth said.  “Instead, I’ve purchased Paradopolis, it’s now part of my empire.  I wish to hire someone to make decisions for me.  Any questions?”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“You can’t do that!”  Visionary protested from his booth.  A few low voices agreed reluctantly.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Oh, but I can, and I did.”  Beth Zemo produced a notarized document and held it up for all to see.  “I thought to myself, if that dimwit Kim Basinger can do it, why can’t I?”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“I’ll take the job, then.”  Sarah announced.

    Beth narrowed her eyes and thought about it for a moment.  She’d been to the Bean & Donut before, though, and recognized its most popular and highly vocal waitress.  “No.  No, I need someone more...malleable.  Smart, but not too much common sense.”

    She approached one of the booths, where Tandi was quietly sorting napkins, stared for a moment, and then shook her head.  “This is proving much more difficult than I thought.”

    Just then, Al B Harper burst into the Bean & Donut and headed straight to the counter.  He didn’t seem to notice Beth as he approached Violet, who was just barely peeking over the counter to see who came in.  “I need something with lots of sugar!”  he told the Part-Time Cat.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Perfect.”  Beth said.  “Congratulations, Harper, you’re hired.”  She motioned to her entourage.  “Take him with us.”

    Al B Harper protested as he was being dragged backwards from the counter.  “But...wait...I’m still hungry!”

    Violet vaulted over the counter and triumphantly handed him a bag of cupcakes as he was pulled out the door.  “Good luck Al!”  she called after him.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Thanks!  I love ya Violet!  You rock!”  Al yelled as loudly as he could while he was being dragged out the door.


---


    An eternity of silenced passed between Jay Boaz and the Chiaki Bushido as they met at her penthouse apartment in central Paradopolis late in the evening.  She looked at him with a stoic expression and firey eyes, a mixture of seriousness and a little warning not to betray her trust.

    And this time, unlike when he first sat down, he accepted a glass of wine from her.  She stood behind him as he sat on the couch, and halfway filled the glass over his shoulder.

    The movie they were to watch hadn’t been started yet.  Before that it was story time - Chiaki told Jay what she knew about Marvellous Marv’s death, on the condition that he tell no one.

    As he sipped his wine, the newly acquired facts weighed heavily on his mind.

    Then Chiaki’s expression softened, as did her voice.  She asked, “Would you like to see the movie now?”

    He nodded silently.  Anything to take his mind off.  He then watched as she put down the bottle of wine on the table behind the couch, and stepped over the back to sit next to him.  She had such perfect balance, being able to do that without spilling her glass.  She picked up the remote, and started the movie.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“So who talked to--?”  Jay started to ask.

    Chiaki interrupted him.  “Liu Xi is handling it.”

    He paused for a moment, a little taken aback at that reply.  “Really?”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Yes.”  She looked at him and finally smiled slightly.  “You still think of her as the same insecure, impatient, and frightened girl, don’t you?  She has changed, and matured.  She wants to contribute something now.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“She still doesn’t have much experience, though.”  he pointed out.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Neither did you, once.”  Chiaki said.  “Neither did I.  We all started somewhere.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Yeah.”  Jay agreed with a nod.  Chiaki had a point.  “Let’s hope she learns faster than I did.”

    Chiaki smiled and nodded, and tapped her glass against Jay’s as a silent toast of agreement.


---


    Liu Xi stood with her arms crossed, frowning directly in front of Vinnie De Soth’s desk, and he couldn’t help but feel a little intimidated.  While she was small, she was also powerful.  Though he knew he wasn’t at much risk from her elemental magic, or the spells she learned more recently, her wrath made him worry nonetheless.

    She brought up that topic.  The one he hoped that everyone would just sweep under the rug and never speak of again.  She asked about Kerry Shepherdson.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“It’s...complicated.”  Vinnie began, in the absence of being able to come up with any coherent thoughts.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“No, it’s not.”  Liu Xi reached up and swept one side of her hair behind her ear, and then she sat on the edge of the desk, sideways, crossing one leg over the other.  “Look, I obviously understand the basics of it.  What I don’t understand is why you and Kerry don’t simply talk and decide what to do to stop it.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“It’s--”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Complicated, I know.”  Liu Xi interrupted.  “Don’t be afraid to tell me.  I’m not here to punish you, I want to help and understand.”

    Vinnie bit his lip and thought hard about what he was going to say.  He finally responded with, “I guess...it’s too much...fun.  I know it’s wrong, but Liu Xi...I don’t get much of that kind of attention from girls that nice.  It’s too difficult to say no.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“What do you mean by ‘girls that nice’?”  Liu Xi caught on to.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“I...I mean...it’s mostly been girls who have had some kind of agenda,”  he carefully replied, “that behave like that around me.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Oh.”  Liu Xi nodded.  She then sighed, and looked down so some of her hair nearly fell across her face.  “I suppose...I can’t fault that, if it makes you both happy.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“It kind of turns into a crisis afterward, though.”  Vinnie admitted.  “I mean, being that it’s really just a diversion, for her, and then reality hits home later on.”

    She looked up again, and directly at him.  “Yeah, and you should probably talk with her about that, instead of just ‘gotta go’ and race out of there.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Probably.”  Vinnie agreed reluctantly.  “If you don’t mind me asking...how did you become so insightful?”

    Liu Xi responded at first with a sad smile.  “When I lived with Danny for a while, it taught me a lot about communicating.  I know him so well now...I kind of miss him.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Is that why you keep your distance from me?”  Vinnie asked.  He then looked embarrassed to have said that.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“No.”  She had an amused look as she replied.  “That is because you don’t feel that you deserve me.  I like to be treasured, but I don’t want to be worshipped.”

    Vinnie thought about that, and looked confused.  Just when he was about to ask about it, though, she anticipated the question and answered.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“When you learn what that means, perhaps I might consider you.”  she said.  “If you’re not too involved with Kerry by then.”

    That last part surprised Vinnie, until he looked at her and realized she was joking.  She was smirking, amused by his initial reaction.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Anyway, it looks like you have work to do.”  she said as she slid off the desk.  She quickly glanced at the entrance to the book shop, where a customer was talking to its other employee.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Wait!”  Vinnie urged her as she turned to leave.  “Um...if it’s a customer for...you know...me.  I’d like you to come along and help.”

    Liu Xi turned around.  She spied a small chair wedged against a bookshelf near Vinnie’s desk.  “Okay.”  she said as she sat there quietly.  “I’ll help.”

    As it turned out, the ‘customer’ was Jack Burns, someone Liu Xi recognized, though she sat quietly as she watched him ask Vinnie to find out how Marvellous Marv’s body turned to ash.


---


    The woman Vicky told Jack was named Catherine was working the night shift alone again in the morgue.  So he didn’t have to explain his presence all over again, Jack brought his blonde partner with him.

    She played her part nicely, waving energetically through the window to get Catherine’s attention.

    The city morgue worker looked a little perplexed at the size of the visiting group.  She wasn’t sure if she was supposed to let four people in to look at a body at once.  Especially a crumbling one like Marv’s.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“This is Vinnie De Soth, an occult expert.  And his friend, Liu Xi Xian.”  Jack summarized.  “You know Vicky Cameron already, and I’m her partner, Jack Burns.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Please to um...meet you all.”  Catherine raced back to her desk to move the comic book she was reading to the chair, so nobody could see them easily.  She then quickly returned.  “I’ll show you where the body is,”  she said, adding a nervous laugh.  “Or what’s left of it.”

    The four followed Catherine through a metal door she had to open with a digital code.  Then into a very cold, large room with metal gurneys scattered about, and what looked like large drawers in a file cabinet covering one wall.  She led them directly to one of them.

    Unlike the last time, Catherine opened the drawer very slowly.  Marv was degrading quickly, and she didn’t want to clean up more ash residue.

    Vinnie gently blew on the surface of the ash, just enough to send a small amount of it airborne.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Hey!  Stop it, or you’re cleaning that up!”  Catherine protested.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Sorry.”  Vinnie said, looking at Catherine.  He then perceived a shadow behind him, one that gave him a strong chill that made him shiver.

    He turned around and looked up at the darkness descending upon him...and the lack of reaction from everyone else made it clear he was the only one seeing it.  That’s how he knew what it was.  

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Uh-oh.”  he said.

    Vinnie then collapsed and fainted.

    That’s when Liu Xi recognized what had just happened.  “Marv’s spirit attacked him...I think.”  she said.  “Close that drawer, quickly!”

    Against her better judgement, Catherine slammed the drawer, sending a sudden cloud of ash airborne.  She then stifled a scream as the dust churned violently, and she could see an angry face, and a human form move toward her.

    The churning stopped, and the ash all fell on top of the unconscious Vinnie.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Oh, no.”  Liu Xi whispered, horrified.  “I...I need...handcuffs, or chains!  I have to bind him!”  she said quickly to Jack.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Look, Liu Xi,”  Jack protested, “Handcuffs aren’t toys.  We can’t just lend them to people--”

    Vinnie rose suddenly, and a burst of energy flowed from him, knocking down Liu Xi, Jack, Vicky, and Catherine.  There was an explosion of noise and light that left the room shaking for several seconds afterward...

    ...and then Vinnie was gone.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“I have to find him.”  Liu Xi whispered.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Vinnie?  He probably went to his house.”  Jack pointed out.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“No.”  Liu Xi shook her head.  “Not Vinnie...Marv.  He’s going to seek revenge.”

    The Chinese girl’s eyes widened as she figured out the first place she needed to go.  “I have to find Kerry!”


COMING UP NEXT:  The Spirit of De Soth!


-- Story written and copyrighted (C) 2009 by Jason Froikin, and may not be 
--    reprinted without permission.  
-- Yuki Shiro designed by Jason Froikin, based on designs by Masamune Shirow
--  Liu Xi Xian and the Psychic Samurai are original design by Jason Froikin
--  Lara Night is an original creation by Jason Froikin

Some interesting twists leading directly into a new adventure.  You'd think Vinnie would know better than to get himself possessed, but then I guess he does have a lot on his mind these days.  As for Beth, I suppose the real estate market must have some real bargains right about now...

Looking forward to seeing where this is going...