A Bitter Pill To Swallow

ANNESBURG, 4 NOV 2023
The Brewseum Restaurant

"Sooo ... would I be fighting evil or would I BE the evil?"

Melissa wondered who the big cheeses would be that were pulling the strings up on top.

ANNESBURG, 4 NOV 2023
The Brewseum Restaurant

"That's a complex question." Dave answered her as honestly as he could. "Most of the time, you'll never be able to tell. The only guidance I can offer is this: do whatever you think you can live with..." He gave her a bit of time to mentally digest that nugget of advice while he waved over one of the waiters.
"No matter which way you chose to go, you need to know how to protect yourself and the sooner the better. Next time you have a couple of days off, let me know and I'll take you to 'The Range' and teach you a bit about firearms. Maybe try some more stuff with your abilities..."

"It's a date!"

Whatever I think I can live with, huh?

She lets that stew for a bit and decides she will embrace all of it. Perhaps it's a bit naive but she was ready for a massive change and this was what was called for. Or at least that's what she thought.

GRAYBRIDGE, 4 NOV 2023
Bree's Apartment

Augusta giggles and leans her forehead against Bree's. She uses this ruse to catch her breath, and to regroup. Her heart races, her skin sings, and she is unsure of anything.

Her instincts pull her in two directions: should she give in to this temptation, seek what comfort and pleasure she can in this woman, or should she tear the place apart and demand answers to every conceivable question involving Brian and Plaxo? She can see it then, unleashing her fury on this possibly hapless pawn.

She lurches to her feet and staggers backwards. She holds a hand to her mouth. "Āi yě!" Her knees shake and she closes her eyes, whispering, "I'm sorry, I..." but she can't explain.

GRAYBRIDGE, 4 NOV 2023
Bree's Apartment

Augusta relaxes. "I'm not sure what came over me. I had a sudden violent memory, and didn't want to hurt you. I've had too much to drink. But, I'm not ready to leave yet. Is it too late for coffee? Lots of sugar?"

She's not ready to leave, doesn't want to scar this woman with her own baggage. And there is something here worth pursuing, even if she's normally more reserved with those with whom she has very recently been strangers.

GRAYBRIDGE, 4 NOV 2023
Eva's Apartment Building
As they approach the back of the squat, brick, four story building where Eva has an apartment, the drenched blonde points to an iron railing she’s seen other people lock their bike to. "This isn’t exactly the best neighborhood, Tanya. Hopefully you have a lock — otherwise we should we quick so it doesn’t drive off."

Once they get inside, Eva immediately starts to feel self-conscious about where she lives. Their environs don’t help: the peeling paint and mold on the baseboards, the smashed windows on the front and back entrance doors, the out-of-service elevator. The strong-limbed barista climbs the stairs easily, two at a time, even as she apologizes for the smell of urine and the trash in the stairwell. When they finally reach her door, 4D, she gets out her keys and opens the lock.

"Uh, lower your expectations," she says to her companion. "This is my place and everything, but I don’t have any money to really decorate or fix it up. And Dave says I shouldn’t fix the things that are broken, that my landlord should be the one who fixes the leaks. And the heat. And the fridge."

Inside the room, it’s more of the same. Damp, moldering carpet, cracked and peeling paint, clear water damage on the ceiling and walls. There’s a narrow passage that takes the two women past the clean but way out of date bathroom with the avocado green sink, tub, and toilet, to the single room Eva has been living in. There’s a mattress on the floor, a recliner that the woman rescued from the garbage, and an old coffee table the blonde uses for meals and as a workspace. There’s a little kitchenette on one side of the room — essentially a counter, sink, hot plate and 3/4 size fridge. Cheap cabinets are closed, concealing the canned food and dried noodles that Eva normally lives off of. There’s a closet without a door where Eva’s few clothes hang and are stacked, and two small windows overlook the street below. A Bluetooth speaker and a tablet with a large crack down the middle of it rests on the table and Eva throws her hands wide as she spins and shows off the room.

"Welcome to chez Eva… not much, but mine. That’s what they say, right?"

GRAYBRIDGE, 4 NOV 2023
Eva's Apartment Building
As Tanya is looking around, Eva is apologizing further. "I’m sorry… that it’s kind of… yeah. Like this. Sorry to disappoint you. Living on the outside, Tanya, is so worth it. It’s just expensive and hard to make a lot of money when all you know how to do is break and enter and kick the shit out of people. They didn’t give us a lot of life or professional skills, right? Me, at least."

Accepting her sister’s awkward hug equally awkwardly, Eva bites at her lower lip and doesn’t say anything when the other blonde voices that she wishes she could live out here. "Um. So, yup. This is it. Should we hit the movies? The local theater is pretty grungy too, but the popcorn is cheap…"

On the way out the door, she quietly adds, "And maybe afterwards we’ll talk about getting you out of there for real…"

ANNESBURG, 5 NOV 2023
Hu's Golden Fist Restaurant



The Golden Fist drew a decent sized crowd from St. Javelina's a couple of blocks over. The giant neon walking rooster along the front of the establishment was difficult to miss. The Sunday post-Mass crowd had mostly dissipated by the time Dave had arranged for everyone to get together.
For Graybridge, the restaurant was in relatively good shape. The buffet was the big draw during lunch and dinner with something fur just about every appetite. It wasn't high brow haute cuisine by any stretch of the imagination. Instead, the Fist served a wild array of simple but filling staples. Simple and sturdy wooden tables, bolted to the floor, and equally robust chairs cluttered the front half of the establishment and the buffet steam tables and kitchen took up the rear half. The place had the worn, lived-in feel of having been around a good while. The reds and golds of the chair cushions and booth upholstery were worn and faded, the table tops lightly scarred and pitted. The drywall around the walls had obviously been patched and repainted numerous times where it wasn't covered with dated wooden paneling. The warm lighting inside and gentle kitchen noises gave the place a familiar, cozy almost homey feel as opposed to the brisk, chill wind and light drizzle outside.
Dave lived in the upstairs storage loft of The Fist, and the place had become a bit of an occasional meeting place for the Support Group. He'd cleared out a nice table with enough chairs for everyone with a few extra spaces in case anyone brought a 'plus one'.

Melissa had plenty of time to think about her conversation with Dave and it excited her and petrified her at the same time. She decided a chat with Augusta would be just what she needed so she texted her.

Hey Augusta. I figured since we are all meeting at this place called Hu's Golden Fist, we could ride together. Your car is probably in the shop anyway. Sound good? I can pick you up in an hour. Got the address or GPS coordinates?

OK CYA soon. she texted back attaching a GPS pin.

Later in Melissa's car...

"Thanks for the ride. I'm close to buying that bike, or one like it, but been busy. How have you been? Oh, take the other bridge, this one gets jammed up this time of day."

"Oh!" Melissa slams on the brakes and takes the bridge. "Good call."

Once on the bridge she smiles excitedly. "That's really great. How exciting. A new bike and a sexy one at that."

Melissa thinks about the conversation with Dave again and her heart flutters with a sliver of anxiety. "So Dave wants to recruit me for something. He's training me to learn how to use my powers properly with some degree of control. He ... well ... he isn't a good person is he? It sounds like majorly illegal stuff and he thinks I would be a great asset for these nefarious activities. It both thrills me and scares the living shit out of me. But it's income. The kind that can get me to where I want to be. I hope to have expensive taste. You know?"

She chuckles at that revelation, or maybe the perceptive Augusta already knows that about her.

Augusta frowns. "Is the the point in our relationship where we both look back and say 'that was it,' this was the moment? Maybe two years from now you've got a big bag of drugs you're selling to nuns, and I'm holding you by the neck over the side of the bridge screaming, 'It didn't have to be this way! Why didn't you make better choices?' I mean, obvs you would have tried to fight me, and Dave is probably broken in half lying by his rusty Corolla. But it comes down to just you and angry me."

She pats the girls arm. "Do what you have to, but make good choices."

Nodding she replies, "Yeah. It always comes down to that, doesn't it?" She maneuvers the car into a parking space. "Maybe you want in?" It was more of a statement than a question.

"Hmm," Melissa observes as she looks at the joint, wrinkling her snobby nose. "Looks a little diveish."

"Well of course I want in. I don't want to be on the outside, getting bitter. Causes age lines, you know."

She gets out and closes the door. "The food is good, but it's different. Haven't you been? Dave lives nearby I think, so they know him here. The Vietnamese tapas are shockingly good."

"Naaa, never been." Melissa drops the keys into her faux Prada and follows her in feeling a little apprehensive.

She stops the blond outside the restaurant. There's a smell somewhere so she instantly regrets not saying this in the car.

"Melissa, a question. Have you ever been with a woman?" She purses her lips, and adds, "I went to the girl's house, and we'd been drinking, and it was clear that she was into me, and we kissed. It was strange."

"What? God no. Ewwww. I love men too much. But each to their own. So how was it? The kiss. Were you into her too? Why strange? Sorry. So many questions but now I'm curious. I mean, Brian was ... well he was all man. "

Melissa waves her hand as if that will batt away her barrage of questions.

"By the way, Dave told me things. He's a bad man our Brian. Fuck him if I ever lay eyes on him again. Wait that didn't come out right. He's an ass and we are done."