Breakneck Café (Continued)

Insta-Pet...

A trip of only a few minutes is sufficient to bring the party into the Plaza of Flowers - a traffic round surrounding a central plaza.  In the center of the plaza is some sort of odd, twisted metal sculpture.  The plaza itself is mostly deserted at the moment, with only a few street performers hanging out and playing various instruments.  Around the outside of the circle are numerous small shops, save for the Northwestern quarter, where a large building, apparently a hotel, stands.

Despite the traffic, which is as high speed and reckless as anywhere else, there are actually parking spaces available and the Dart careens into a parking space, slamming to a stop just past the last possible instant and adding another mild dent to the already twisted but nonetheless functional parking meter and bouncing both Leo and Ghishu out of their seats (you didn't think there were SEAT BELTS, did you?).

Li stops singing and points through the windshield.  "Breakneck Cafe!" she says, pointing to a collection of tables, most unoccupied, lining a section of the street and a small artsy looking cafe behind them decorated with a sign depicting two gallows, each sporting a hung figure (one man, one woman, - the man wearing the smiling mask of comedy, and the woman the crying mask of tragedy).  "If you want, I wait - 'specially for Burger with cute butt!  Hey Burger, you want to buy me dinner?  I don't eat much!"  She cackles again.

Leo notes with some surprise that Insta-Pet is directly adjacent to Breakneck Café.  He unfolds from his seat and exits the Dodge Dart as gracefully as possible.  He takes a second to orient himself, his brain still bouncing around in his rattled skull.

"Go ahead, invite her," he whispers in Ghishu's ear, his eyes twinkling with mischief.

He looks at the café, then at Insta-Pet.  "Oh," he sighs, apparently to himself, "I'd better take care of this quickly before I go on with business.  I promised..."  He gestures towards the pet supply store and explains to Ghishu: "I'll just get that account taken care of for Hop Sing and then I'll go see if Ms. Stuidhuist is at Breakneck's."

He walks up to Insta-Pet, opens the door and walks in.  Approaching the doors, he notes the prominently displayed ram's head sticker on the front door, identical to that seen on Li's car (though in this case, larger).

When he opens the door to Insta-Pet, Leo's nostrils are immediately assailed with the smell of animals, a smell which is surprisingly familiar from his days with the circus.  The shop itself, however, is tiny - little more than a counter with a computer terminal and two screens (one facing out, one facing in) on it, and racks of animal food and animal accessories: fancy collars, leashes, combs, etc.  Leo notes that there is a 50 lb bag of Purina Bear Chow in one corner.

The woman behind the counter is in her early thirties, dressed in a peasant skirt and a belly dancer top, complete with tassels.  She has piercings clearly visible in her bellybutton, septum, one side of her nose, and several in each ear; the one on her tongue isn't visible until she speaks.  A swirling celtic design tattoo encircles her left upper arm, and a bracelet with bells on it encircles her right wrist; there's another around one ankle.  She has numerous rings on each hand.  Her hair, which is dishwater blonde, is wrapped in a scarf, though the occasional whisp peeks out.  A pair of headphones are stuck in her ears, apparently leading to some sort of portable stereo under the counter.

As Leo enters she looks up at him and says in English accented heavily by her native Swiss German, "Welcome to Insta-Pet, what are you looking for today?"

"Hello!" salutes Leo.  "I just want to set up an account with.  It's for Kuan Tun's Black Belt Academy."  He pulls out his crumpled bills and smiles, his eyes crinkling.  "I lost a bet, and now I have to pay for ten bucks worth of bugs for Hop Sing over there...  Mavis said you could set it up here."

He leans on the counter and looks around a bit, idly curious to see what kinds of animals are currently in vogue on Al Amarja.  Leo glances about, but no animals are in evidence, though animal-like sounds emanate from a door behind the woman.

The woman herself appears completely unfazed by Leo's statements, and in fact appears rather distanced from the whole conversation, more interested in the world as perceived through her headphones than the one Leo occupies.  She types some information into the computer and murmurs "OK, ten dollars please."

"Hmmm, I'll need a receipt stating clearly what this was paid on, please," Leo asks.  He leans on the counter while the woman types on her keyboard.  "So," he enquires, "what kind of pets are popular on Al Amarja?"

The woman puts a professional smile on her face, but clearly isn't much interested in the current topic of conversation.  "Oh, all kinds.  Here's your receipt.  Thank you for shopping at Insta-Pet."

The receipt has Insta-Pet's address on it, and says "$10.00 on account".   Leo hands the receipt back to the clerk.  "Could you specify that the account is Kuan Tun's Black Belt Academy, please?"  He gives his best smile.

With nary a blink, still seemingly far away, the woman reaches under the counter, withdraws a pen, and scrawls "Kuan Tun's Academy" across the receipt.

Leo thanks the colourful clerk profusefully, and heads out to Breakneck Café.
 

...Insta-Date

Li's face loses its leer and becomes momentarily solemn.  She shakes her head slowly from side to side.

"That is the WORST rejection line I ever heard Burger," she says slowly.  "I heard better than that from guys half your age and a quarter of your chi.  Your yin and yang are pretty out of alignment.  Better get your chakras checked and get things in order quick, or this place will eat you alive."

Hearing Li's answer, Ghishu's face wear a surprised expression which in turn is replaced by a sincerely honest one.  "Oh no, miss Li. This is not what I meant."  He then seems to struggle with himself to find the right words for this awkward situation.  "I really meant what I said. I would love to have dinner with you tonight.  It's only that we have to take care of some business now and I know you have a job to do and ..."

He then pauses a second time, again pondering with his naive mind how to express himself.  "It would be very kind of you to stay and wait for us here while we go into the cafe, but I just thought that you'd rather get on with your day".  Again a short pause.  "After all - you have your job to think about, right?"

Li shrugs, digs around in the glove box for a moment, and eventually comes up with a stub of pencil and a scrap of paper.  She scribbles a telephone number on it and hands it through the window to Ghishu, then gets back to business.

Ghishu takes the piece of paper from Li, looks into it and smiles "Thank you.  This is great. I'll call you tonight."

"The clown said that he was paying by the hour," says Li, "then that he wasn't paying by the hour, then that he was paying by the hour.  You saying that he's changed his mind again?"

Ghishu shrugs and looks towards Instapet's entrance, where Leo was last seen. Thinking to himself for a couple of seconds he replies to her "We might be here for a while.  It would be nice if you waited, but I can't offer to pay you while you wait. You might as well try to find someone who needs a ride."  He is about to leave when he remembers to ask, "Oh... Ummm...  How MUCH do we owe you?"

"Twenty bucks an hour - you go over the hour by one minute and you owe me another twenty bucks," replies Li.

At about this moment Ghishu sees the big Thunderbird carrying Ben, Bruce, and Kitty pull in a couple of spaces down.

Ghishu pays Li the cab fare and departs with an "I'll call you tonight"  He then waves at the rest of the group as they exit their cab and starts walking towards them.
 

Return of the Fare-Weather Friends

Kitty walks over to Bruce and Ben and peers in where the driver is. "Thanks for letting me sit up front, the air did me good".

Bruce steps out of the cab, and pulls out his wallet and empties his pockets.  "This is all of my money" Bruce says, handing Sally more lint than actual money.  Bruce turns to Kitty and says, "Leo said 'eed buy a shout at the pub!  You comin'?"  He leans in close to Kitty and says, "Maybe if ya bat yer eyes a bit, Ben will pay for the cab!"

Ben's eyes narrow and his hands unconsciously clench into fists.  "So, Sal," he says very quietly, his eyes never leaving Bruce. "Did he cover the fare?"

Kitty rolls her eyes at Bruce and looks over to Sal, but stops because Ben must have read her mind.  She smiles slightly at Ben's squirming.  Then looking at Bruce, she comments, "Leo, buying a stout a beer...  Great."

At that point, Leo walks out of Insta-Pet with a spry step, still busy shoving his wallet back into his pocket.  He looks over to where Ghishu and Li are still chatting, and notices that the Thunderbird has reappeared next to the Dodge Dart.  Bruce, Kitty and Ben seem to be discussing something.  Leo shouts a "Hello!" and waves to attract his companions' attention, then points to the café with a smile.  "Ghishu, why don't you invite Li in?" he suggests, just loud enough for his voice to carry that far.  He continues on to walk into Breakneck Café.

Just as Ghishu was departing from Li, he hears Leo's suggestion and turns back to her.  "On second thought, maybe you'd like to join us into the cafe?"

Li shrugs.  "Meter's running anyway, whether I'm here or there."  She gets out of the cab and heads for the door of the Breakneck Cafe.

Kitty waves at Leo and then walks toward the cafe, playfully mouthing towards Leo, "Ghishu's got a girlfriend".

Sally sifts through Bruce's lint and pocket gunk with the ease and skill of a true professional.  Her lips move but no sound comes forth.  "Nope," she says after a moment, "just his share.  He even gets seven cents back."  Sally hands the coins to Bruce.  She looks from Kitty to Ben.  "Pay up," she says cheerily.

"So, let me get this straight," says Ben, still staring at Bruce.  "When you said 'I'll bloody well pick up the tab' you knew ya didn't have enough money ta cover it.  Fuckin' burger. You must really want a beating badly."

Kitty shrugs at Bruce.  "Man, you really know how to call attention to yourself, don't you."  She reaches into her khaki short pocket and pulls out her share of the fare.  She then proceeds to tie her shirt around her middrif, lets her hair out of the rubberband that its in and unbuttons  a button on her shirt and pants to show more midrif and cleavage.  "I'm getting a drink."

"Oh for heaven's sake," says Sal, "Is that the only way you can resolve inner conflict Ben?  Beat this, break that, and a bit of whacking and pummeling on the side?  When will you escape from the chains of your suppressed anger?  Don't you ever want to grow up?  Become an adult?"

She points at Bruce, "He's just a BURGER for crying out loud, and a poor one at that.  In another couple of days he'll be sleeping in the Ramble, and inside of six months he'll be just another Low Life or Zero if he hasn't been turned into an Empty or a Latah or rat food.  We both know it - we've both been around long enough to see it happen a thousand times.  Doesn't that move you to a bit of compassion?  Stimulate your superego to look at the big picture?  Be NICE to him Ben - its good for you."

She glances over at Kitty.  "That'll go over REAL well in Breakneck," she comments, pausing momentarily to belch loudly.  "If you're trying to look sexy, go for the gothic look, not that any of the emasculated Starvers in that hole would notice in any event."

Looking over Kitty's shoulder she spots Ghishu and Li going into the Breakneck together and guffaws loudly.

Kitty covers up her eyes slightly and when they appear again, there are dark brown rings around her eyes and against her cheekbones.  "Is this Goth enough?"  She chuckles slightly.  "Whatever, I can still buy my own."  She walks off to the café, leaving Ben and Bruce to finish settling accounts.

"First off," says Ben to Sal, "there ain't nothin' suppressed about my anger.  And second, I gotta be a hard ass.  I can't afford ta be compassionate.  If I get a rep as a nice guy, I won't get much work."  He reaches into his jacket and fishes around a bit before pulling out a few bills.  "Speaking of work," he says while handing the cash over to Sally.  "I don't suppose you know whether or not Giovanni's looking for anybody?"

Sal holds up two fingers, using them to tick off her points.  "Two things, Ben.  First, you don't strike me as the sort to drive a cab, especially not while you're being a hardass.  Second, if you are talking about anything else, I'm not the one to ask.  If I pull away from this curb and ten minutes from now someone gets into my cab and asks what we talked about and waves a knife around, well, I'm going to tell him.  What we don't talk about I can't tell him.  That's policy.  It keeps me and all the other Giovanni's cabbies alive and out of trouble.  We just drive cabs is all.  You want somebody more talkative, try Total Taxi.  Or just stop by the office when you get back to Sunken."

She turns to Bruce, and hands him his seven cents, and a $5.00 bill with it.  "Have a couple on me Burger," she says, not unkindly.  Done with the cabbie, Bruce immmediately follows Kitty to the Breakneck.

Sally turns back to Ben.  "You want me to wait, Ben?"

Ben shrugs. "Don't worry, I know better than to tell a cabbie anything important. The fact that I'm lookin' for work isn't somethin' that I'm tryin' to keep a secret." Ben slides across the backseat and climbs out of the thunderbird. "Wait if ya can Sal. I shouldn't be to long."  He turns and heads for the Breakneck in turn.
 

Into Breakneck Café

There are around a half dozen people sitting at small tables around the room, though it is pretty clear that the place could hold perhaps 50 in a crunch.  Over in one corner is an expresso bar where stands a young man, About 5’10”, black hair with a dark blue streak over the left ear. His eyes wander about the room, fastening on Leo for an instant, then glancing longingly at one of the computer screens nearby before resuming their disinterested roving of the room. He's actually pretty good looking, with a really deep green eye color and fairly sharp features.

No waiter is currently in evidence.  There is a sign that says "Seat Yourself - it's your life"

Leo looks around; with so few patrons right now, it is easy to commandeer two small tables and push them together so five or six people can sit together.  He looks around, particularly at the women, wondering if any of them is Sigourney Stuidhuist.  He considers just walking over to the man behind the counter, but decides to wait a short moment for his companions to come in.  He expects it will be easier to ask about specific patrons after he's ordered the promised round than if he barges upon him like the skinniest narc in the world.  He smiles, trying to imagine himself in the role and failing.

Ghishu, closely followed by Li, steps into the café.  Leo can be seen over by one wall, pushing two tables together.  Behind them, Kitty walks in a moment later.

Leo notes Ghishu's entrance, and the fact that Li is with him, but the fact is almost immediately obliterated from his mind when Kitty enters.  Her shirt is tied around her midriff, her hair is tumbling down over her shoulders, and the top couple of buttons of her shirt, as well as the top button of her shorts, are unbuttoned.  There are dark brown rings around her eyes and along her cheekbones.  If not for her swollen nose she would look...  not nearly as good as Serena Dandelion, but still pretty good.

Ghishu, still looking about, hears someone enter behind him and turns to behold Kitty in all her glory.  Li immediately slips one arm around one of his and tugs gently.

Ghishu, obviously never having seen an Internet cafe, is trying to suppress the fascinated expression that's starting to take over his face.  He then spots Leo and walks over to help him with the tables.  "This place is a little morbid, don't you think?  I wonder who this Sigourney is, hanging around in a place like this."

Leo gestures for the others to come and join him.  He coughs mildly to hide his confusion at Kitty's entrance, and promptly sits down.  "Let's have a drink," he suggests, "and I'll ask about Ms. Stuidhuist."  He glance towards the door.  "What's holding Bruce and Ben?" he asks.

As if Leo's words were prophesy, Bruce enters the Breakneck, followed seconds later by Ben.

While walking over to the tables Leo has put together, Kitty quietly looks around at a couple of the computer screens.  Bored with the atmosphere, she rubs her eyes and walks over to Leo.  "It was warm outside, Leo, and I had another run for my money while you guys were getting taxis."

Leo waves to Bruce and Ben, and the group finds room around the two tables.  "Maybe they'll have iced coffee, that would be a good way to cool down," he comments in answer to Kitty's previous words.  "Let's see what they serve here."

Ben stands just inside the door for a few seconds taking in the decor.  He has a look on his face that says 'what the hell am I doing in here?'.  Taking a seat, he joins the others.  "So, does this place even serve beer?"
 

Orders?

Appetizers

       Melitzanosalata
       Koupepia
       Elies Tsakistes
       Havuckizartimasi
       Yerepouni
       Baba Ghannouj
       Batata Charp
       Achar Lefet
       Lahuh with Hawayij
       Semit
       Boolawnee
 

Main Courses
(Unless otherwise specified, all main coursed are $12.95)

1. Greek Dinner (specify beef, chicken or lamb)
2. Cyprus Dinner (specify beef, chicken, or lamb)
3. Turkey Dinner (specify beef, chicken, or lamb)
4. Armenian Dinner (specify beef, chicken, or lamb)
5. Iraqi Dinner (specify beef, chicken, lamb, or seafood)
6. Iranian Dinner (specify beef, chicken, lamb, or seafood)
7. The Emir's Feast (contains beef, chicken, lamb, seafood) [$25.00 per person, minimum 2 people]
8. The Cook's Choice [$8.00]

There is also an extensive list of coffee and tea drinks written up on a blackboard behind the expresso bar, and numerous cookies and sweet things displayed under glass there.  There does not appear to be a drink list, dessert list, or salad list on the menu, which was apparently run off on plain paper on a laserjet printer.  There is no description of the items featured

Leo reads the menu with curiousity, then peers back at the coffee and tea list behind the espresso bar.  Suddenly, his stomach emits a loud, prolonged growl.  Leo blushes with embarassment.  "I, uh, I guess I hadn't realised how hungry I was!" he says sheepishly.  He checks his watch, then glances at the menu again.

"Hmm...  the Cyprus dinner?" he muses, talking to himself.  His stomach gurgles again, though not as loud this time.  "Unless somebody wants to split the Emir's Feast?"  He glances around.  "Meanwhile, what would people like to drink, since the first round is on me?  I think I'll have a turkish coffee."

Ghishu browses the menu with a raised eyebrow.  He then looks at the list of teas on the blackboard and says, "I'll guess I'll have one of those herbal teas."  Turning to Li, he asks her, "Do you know what a Yerepouni is?  Sounds interesting."

Looking at the menu, Kitty chuckles at the appetizers' several names.  Scooting out of her chair, she comments: "Leo, anything cold and not jumped or deep would be awesome."  She walks over to the guy behind the bar.  "Excuse me, how much is it to rent a computer station for a while?"

The employee jumps, apparently startled by Kitty's presence.  "What?  Oh yeah, uhh..."  He starts sniffling as if he is going to sneeze, covers his mouth turns to the side, and indeed, does sneeze.  He snuffles a little, looks down at his feet, and says, "Uh...yeah, pardon me.  The computers..."  He sneezes again, snuffles, "they're five bucks an hour...  You can get an hour for," sneeze, snuffle, "free if you buy dinner or something..."  He looks up, smiles.

"Um, thanks," Kitty answers.  "I just wanted to know, just in case I come in later.  Sounds like a nasty cold you got there."

"Cold?" repeats the guy behind the bar.  "Oh, no...  I'm pretty sure it's just ah... ahhh... alrhhphoooees!!!"  He finishes his sentence as he sneezes and the last word is concealed somewhere within those nasal projectiles...  The guy shakes his head, "Sorry... can't help it."  He looks down again.  "Uh, do you guys want anything?"

Kitty looks up at the board behind the gentleman.  "Allergies, even more of a pain in the butt.  Do you have anything cold to drink?"  She continues to check the place out but backs away a little.   She checks to see if she can see anything behind the counter, and glances quickly over at the computer screen that he was looking at, to see if she can catch any words on the screen.  At first, Kitty sees some sort of spreadsheet (it definitely isn't Excel) but quickly, this is replaced by a very entrancing screen saver.

Leo walks up to the bar and leans on the counter next to Kitty.  He addresses the sneezing employee.

"This lady's drink is going to be on my tab; I'd like to add two herbal teas and on Turkish coffee to that, as well as a Cyprus dinner, lamb."  He smiles and pulls a few bills out of his pocket.  "Is there any sales tax on Al Amarja?" he asks.

"Cold drinks? Yeah, ah..." he starts into an amazing display of sneezing prowess (amazing in that he isn't knocked over by the force of the fit) as he gestures at the blackboard behind him.
 

Iced Mocha                3.75
Iced Strawberry Mocha     3.75
Iced Mint Mocha           3.75
White Ribbon              4.50
Mochachino                4.50
Espressochino             4.50
Vesuvius                  6.75

Special orders upon request.
Iced teas                 1.75

In addition, there are a variety of flavored syrups that can be added to any drink at an additional 50 cents.  Extra shots of espresso are $1.00 per.

When The Guy finally gains control of himself, he closes his eyes and takes a few really deep breaths.  Then, he opens his eyes and looks at Kitty.  "I suggest the White Ribbon.  As for you..." he turns to Leo, but suddenly his face contorts as he fights for control of his sinuses.   He wins, then continues, "Do you want those deep or jumped?"

"Maybe some other time..." says Kitty.  "Mmmm, ice tea for me, Leo, thank you," she says, almost singing the last part and then waits around, perhaps to carry drinks.

Leo turns around to his companions and raises his voice a bit to ask: "Anybody wants anything deep or jumped?"

Great quiet answers him.  He turns back to the barrista and smiles.  "No deep, no jump for me," he answers.  While the man prepares the drinks, Leo stays at the counter to wait.  "Cool place you have here," he comments.  "It's nice to find some place where I can get on the 'Net and have a mocha!"  He exchanges a glance with Kitty.

"Say, I've heard that I'd be able to get in touch with Ms. Sigourney Stuidhuist here," he continues.  "I understand she very connected in the artistic community.  Is she here, and could you point her out?" he asks the bartender.

"Suit yourself," says the Guy Behind the Bar.  "That'll be $22.75, then..."  He proceeds to ring Leo up on the cash register.

At the mention of Sigourney, he sneezes.  "Sigourney?  No... no, she isn't here."  A slight (oh so slight) pall of some sort of emotion begins to fall over his face, but this is quickly stifled by another sneeze.  The force of the sneeze causes his head to travel an arc coming to a stop only when he is looking at the ground. A smile crosses his face, "Oh, hi kitty.  What are you doing here?"

"Uh, wait..." says Leo, trying to retain Sneezy the barrista's attention.  "Can you tell me when Ms. Stuidhuist can be expected to drop by, or where to find her, or at least what she looks like so I can recognize her?"

The Guy bends down behind the bar and continues the conversation from there...  "She's in and out...  Listen, if you don't mind me asking, what exactly do you want with 'Ms. Stuidhuist'?" Even though they can't see him, they'd swear he was raising an eyebrow...

Leo's own eyebrows definitely shoot up.  "Why, do you know her personally?" he asks in turn.  "I just hear she THE person to talk to in the artistic community."

The Guy Behind the Bar stands up, and is now holding a calico cat in his arms, stroking and happily muttering to her...  Without looking at Leo he replies, "Did you?  Well... I don't know if she's THE person..."
 

To Be Continued...