[Chrome Head]

Joe naturally helps out with the dishes. More and more he was wondering if she wasn't waiting for Tommy to be off to bed before telling him her story. Joe, patient, didn't mention it, simply returning every smile.

"Tell me more about your visions, Tommy. Do they come to you in dreams? Is everything you're drawing coming from a different vision?"

Joe was actually trying to find the answer to another question, Is it magic?

[Mercy Merchant]

Tommy hands you dishes and points to where they go as he talks. "Yeah.  They usually come in dreams........"

His mother interrupts him.  "Tommy, please use the correct words."

The boy blushes.  "Sorry.  Yes, the dragons usually come in dreams.  But not every night.  Sometimes it is weeks between the times I see a dragon.  The dragon comes first, followed by the knight, who tries to stop the dragon."

Myotama turns to put something away and you find yourself face to face with her, mere inches apart.  From this distance it is easier to see the bruising around her left eye that is mostly concealed by make up.  It is also easier to smell the scent of flowers.  Tommy breaks the short spell by saying, "Hey.  Excuse me but you two are standing in the way."

Myotama blushes and moves sideways around you.  Soon the last of the dishes are washed and put away and you all go out to the living room.  Myotama tells Tommy, "You need to go get ready for bed.  You have a big day tomorrow."  Tommy looks like he is about to argue, but stops.  He bows to his mother then you and goes off into the bedroom.  His mother shakes her head.  "He tries so hard to be the man of the house.  I just do not want him to have to grow up too fast.  He is only ten."  She pulls out one of the dining table chairs and motions for you to take another.  "Please sit here.  These are more comfortable than the couch and Tommy will need the couch for his bed.  You have graced our humble home, Joe-san.  I am now almost too embarrassed to tell you our problems.  Please, are you sure that you want to get involved?"

[Chrome Head]

Joe sits down very straight but as a manner of respect and seriousness, not in an intimidating or authoritative way. He bends forward a little to answer. "Ma'am, you're a graceful host and a good person. I'm humbled by the courage you two display, and so it will be an honor if I can help at all."

[Mercy Merchant]

Myotama nods but still looks down at the table before looking back up at you.  “I will try to keep it short.  Please ask questions if you need to.”  She lifts a hand to the neck of her blouse and pulls it down a bit to show a small mark.  It is a Japanese character of some kind and you rack your memory for its meaning.  Just as she lets the blouse back up you recall that this is some sort of Yakuza mark.  She puts her hand back on the table and continues.  “Are you familiar with that mark?  It is a sign that I belong to the Yakuza.  It was branded into my neck when I was ten years old.  That was the year my father sold me to them.  I could tell you of my family but it does not matter any more as I lost them and was dead to them from that day.  I was trained in the many ways to please a man and I am sure that you know what I mean by that.”  She blushes and leaves the table to get two glasses of water.  She seems to be back in control as she sits down and pushes one to you.  “When I was seventeen, the Seattle Yakuza was trying to make nice with the O’Reagan Family of the Mafia here in Seattle.  Sean O’Reagan was offered a prize bride for his son, Mickey, as part of the arrangement.  Information and photos were exchanged and I was selected to fill the role of wife to Mickey O’Reagan.  I seemed to meet the requirements they were looking for; I speak English quite well, am well read, and had proven to be docile enough.  Hand shakes were done and money changed hands and I was shipped to Seattle to be Mickey’s wife.”

“Mickey was a monster.  He was bad enough when his father was around to keep him in check, but one day Mickey had had enough parental control and killed Sean.  Tommy was three when his grandfather died.  Not that he ever really knew Sean.  The man was cold and always looking for ways to expand his turf at the expense of the other Mafia Families.  His deal with the Yakuza made some of that possible.  After Mickey took over, he purged the Family of anyone who was not solidly in his camp.  He did not like that I was Japanese and that his son is half Japanese.  He took to sleeping with other women, which pleased me since he was not at home to hit me or Tommy.  One of his own men killed him three years ago when Tommy was just seven.  I have thanked God every day since then.  Not that God has paid too much attention to my prayers.  Most of the O’Reagan Family was taken over by the Lacostas Family, and they are not an improvement over the O’Reagans.  Tony Lacostas made it quite clear to me that he knows that Tommy is Mickey’s son, but I have been able to convince him that we have no interest in re-establishing the O’Reagan influence.  We are left mostly alone, although I know that Tony has people watching us.  I am hoping that if I can raise Tommy right, he can avoid being caught up in these gang things.”

“I have a job as a……………waitress in a small bar just a couple of blocks away.”  She blushes and looks back down at the table again and her voice goes a bit softer.  “I am sometimes asked to dance if one of the girls calls in sick and……and I do other things with some of the customers if required to.”  She looks back up at you.  “I am ashamed of my life, Joe-san, but I am trying to do better.  And I do not want Tommy to know that his mother is a prostitute.  I take classes at the university to learn to be something better.  I study to be a graphics artist and already have things up on the matrix in some shows.”  She actually smiles, “Yes, I know that you saw me fumbling with my ‘link earlier.  Tommy likes to be the man of the house.  He is so bright and knows so much more than I do about the matrix and electronic things.  It is a small thing to have him think he can do something to help his mother.  I will have a degree in another year and then can try to move from here and be someone Tommy can be proud of.  Someone that I can be proud of.”

“But I have strayed from the conversation.  The boss of the bar is Aldo Lacostas, the nephew of Tony.  He is very hands on and likes to sample the girls when they are not with another client or out hustling drinks.  We try to keep busy to avoid him, but sometimes he catches one of us.”  She touches her eye.  “Aldo is a violent man, much like Mickey and Sean were.  He likes to hit the girls for no special reason.  Last night I was his girl of the hour and he hit me while he was……with me.  I can take it, but Tommy gets so concerned. He wants to train with you so that he can beat up Aldo and take me away from here.  You and I know that would not be the answer.   Anyway, I do not know what you can do.  I certainly do not want you to go to the club and try to “sort out” Aldo.  Tommy says that is what the trid stars say about the bad men; that they are going to sort them out.  I would understand entirely if you just leave the table and walk out the door.  These are very bad men and I do not want you to get hurt trying to help me.”  She stops and looks at you.

[Chrome Head]

Joe was focused and concentrated, giving the Japanese woman his full attention. There is a meditation technique he knows where you try to forget your self and empathize fully with the other, trying to think and feel what the other person says without filters, sort of like a perfect, zen listener, and the adept was trying to apply this technique right now. There was a lot to take in, and he couldn't help feeling saddened by the story. He really felt compassionate to the woman's plea and decided that he had to help her, however he could.

"I understand your situation, and I'm really sorry for you. And ..." he made eye-contact at this point, "I really want to help you."

"Problem is, I'm not sure how just yet. Ideally you'd need to relocate some place else than here, without being followed by Tony's men. You're on Tony and Aldo's turf and you work for them, both of these things need to change to find peace. If you were to leave, do you think Tony would send men after you?"

Joe was trying his best to find a solution for her, but he suspected that things were more complicated even than what she had already let on.

[Mercy Merchant]

Myotama lowers her head and you see a tear wetting the table beneath her face.  She quietly wipes her eyes and looks up.  "You are a good man, Joe-san.  Thank you.  Yes. that would mean a move, but that would mean talking to Tony and Aldo to make sure that they do not want to keep me.  Would you consider talking to them on my behalf?"

[Chrome Head]

Joe closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. "Yes, I can do that. I can even go tonight, but I imagine you might want to make some preparations. Are you ready to leave what you have here behind? Do you have money put aside for emergencies like this? And just what do you think they'll say?"

[Mercy Merchant]

Her eyes brighten a bit at your words.  "Tonight would be wonderful.  Mrs. Wallace will be here in about thirty minutes to watch Tommy while I go to my shift.  You could walk me there."  She waves her hand at the small apartment.  "And this palace?  I could give it up in a heartbeat.  I would need some preparations.  I have very little money put aside because I use most to buy food and pay Tony the rent.  Plus there are my classes at the university and Tommy's lessons with you that seem to conspire together to keep us just above living in the streets.  I could put off my studies for a bit to give us something, but I will need a job to replace the income I would lose by quitting at the club.  I would, of course, look for some sort of waitress position that does not include prostituting myself on the side."

Tommy comes running out of the bedroom at that minute.  "Did I miss everything?  I tried to hurry." 

Myotama looks closely at her son and motions for him to breath on her.  She shudders, "I am not sure that you even gave your teeth a once over, young man.  Now off to clean them."  The boy groans but heads back to the bedroom.  His mother calls out to him.  "And change into your pajamas.  Mrs Wallace will be here shortly."  She stands up and walks out to the couch, bending over to pick up the sheet and blanket stashed behind it.  As she begins to make a bed on the couch, she says, "You have been very kind, Joe-san.  May I ask why you are doing this?  You do not know us and I cannot believe that just one meal would convince you to help."

[Chrome Head]

"I don't think it should matter to you. But since you ask, let's just say that I'm always looking for ways to test myself. It's sort of like in Tommy's drawings, I see myself being a bit like the knight. I don't think the knight does what he does for the glory or the princess, I think he does it first to prove to himself that he's not afraid of the dragon."

[Mercy Merchant]

Myotama smiles and nods her head.  "Very well said, Joe-san.  Yes, I would think that you are the knight.  And in some of the stories, rescuing the princess is the dragon that must be defeated."  At that moment, Tommy runs back into the room.  His mother stops him and checks his breath then tells him to bid Joe-san a good evening.  Tommy looks from his mother to you then fold his hands together and bows to you.  "You have graced our home, Sensei-Joe.  Thank you for coming."  Myotama kisses his cheek and sees him into the bed she has made on the couch.  After he is settled, she turns the living room light and takes her coat from a closet near the front door.  As she does, there is a soft knock and she opens the door to let a small, elderly woman into the apartment.  She introduces you to Mrs. Wallace, who spends time with Tommy when Myotama has to work.

The woman gives you an accusative glare as she nods in your direction.  It is almost a statement that you are under observation and had better behave.  She turns to Myotama and says, "I worry about you, dear.  Be careful out there."

Tommy's mother thanks her and promises that she will be careful and leads you from the room.  As you close the door, you notice the old woman staring at you.  Myotama laughs on the way down the stairs.  "She means well, good soul.  She has been watching Tommy when I need someone for years now."  Even at this hour, there are a number of people about on the streets, mostly in groups of two or more.  The walk is less than a block and you can see the line forming at the entrance as you turn the corner and head that way.  The bouncer at the door nods to you and Myotama as you approach and lets you both inside.  The room beyond the door is flashing from some sort of sparkly ball hanging from the ceiling.  The music is loud and the men louder as they call out to the nude girl on the stage.  A mug approaches you and tells Myotama to get dressed and takes you to into the room, asking if you want a seat at the stage or farther back until your favorite comes out.  A scantily clad girl comes over and asks what you would like to drink.  The mug leans over and tells her that you are with Cali and the girl smiles and nods before walking away, wiggling her ass quite seductively.  You see three other women dressed just like her waling about the smoky room with drink trays in their hands.  There are probably fifty people, mostly men but a few women, in here already and more coming if the line out front is any indication.  The room is dominated by a single large stage which is currently occupied by a cute redhead who is bending over to show the appreciative audience everything mother nature gave her.

[Chrome Head]

As they enter the establishment, Joe is taken aback. He had hardly been in places like this before, and he was a bit shocked by the amount of flesh exposed and the almost complete lack of AR. This really was the barrens, in its absolute rawness.

When Myotama is told to get dressed, Joe takes her by the arm softly, to stop her auto pilot to the dressing room. "Don't you want to do things differently tonight? Shouldn't we do this right now?"

[Mercy Merchant]

The woman replies, "Yes, Joe-san.  I do want that.  But they will not talk with me in the room.  I am their property, not a person.  And I need to work.  If you can change that tonight I will leave with you."  She gently moves away from you and disappears in the crowd.  The mug in front of you looks at you with a question.  "You going to try to buy her?  Have a seat and I will let the boss know.  I am sure that he will be right with you."  He hands you a round chip.  "For you, the first drink is on the house.  Just give that to the girl that comes by."  Shaking his head, the man walks away.

[Chrome Head]

Joe sighs. This isn't going to be easy.

When the next scantily clad girl comes by, he asks for a beer and gives his chip, waiting for the boss (will that be Aldo or Tony?) to see him. He has no intention to do much more than take a few little sips, just enough to look like he belongs in this disreputable place. The faster he'd be out of here, the better.

[Mercy Merchant]

A girl wearing a pair of very tight jeans and a thin see-through blouse walks up to you and asks if you would like a drink, and perhaps some company to drink it with.  As you open your mouth to say something, Myotama appears at the girl’s side and takes your chip.  “This one is mine, Darla, do you mind?”  The other girl smiles and says, “Not at all if you claim him.”  She puts a finger against your chest and draws it down a few inches, “But if you lose interest in her, you can always ask for Darla, OK?”  She moves off with a smile, leaving Myotama in front of you.  She is dressed just as the other woman and blushes as you look at her, but does not drop her head.  “Like I said, Joe-san, I am not proud of my life, but it has put food on the table for my son.  And that counts more than anything to me.  The beer is actually pretty good, but I would not trust the heavier spirits, as they are all watered."  As she turns, you notice, perhaps in spite of yourself, that she looks plenty good in the painted-on jeans as she walks away.  She returns quickly with the beer and leaves it with you to go in search of other men who need some liquid refreshment.

The girl on the stage changes twice before a large man comes to sit next to you at the small table.  He does not have a drink in his hands and waves off the girl that looks like she is coming over.  Leaning closer, he says, “Mister Aldo would like to speak with you if you have the time.  You may bring the drink.”  He rises and waits for you to do the same, then leads you through the crowd of people eagerly waiting to see Ivory strip off the last bit of her clothing and show them what they have been wanting to see from the moment she took the stage.  He takes you to a stairway that is guarded by two men who frisk you for weapons before letting you past.  Your guide takes you upstairs and to an office, knocking at the door and opening it for you to go through.  Inside is a large, well decorated office.  A large faux wood desk sits facing the door and several other chairs are scattered about the room, all with hard looking men sitting in them.  The man behind the desk is heavy-set and has a florid complexion and his bald head reflects the light above him.  As you enter, he raises his hands to you and calls out.  “Ah, the man who would deprive me of my favorite girl.  Come here young man, please.  Let me look at you.”  The man’s beady eyes seem to bore into you as he motions you closer.  He holds out a hand as you approach the desk.  “That is fine, now please turn around.  I would like you to see something very nice.  Only take a few minutes of your time.  But maybe you have seen it before?  But I bet not like this.”

When you turn, you are facing a bank of monitors adjacent to the door way.  Each is oriented to a different part of the bar below, with three focused on the stage area from different angles, and he tells you to watch screen three.  On it, you observe Myotama step onto the stage to cheers and applause.  She is fully clothed and begins to dance.  You have seen three of the other girls dance as they stripped, but this is erotic dancing at its best and you cannot take your eyes from her in spite of yourself.  She moves with a grace that none of the others were able to display.  The crowd goes wild, demanding that she lose something and pieces of clothing begin to fall off.  It is a mesmerizing act and totally engrosses you, leaving you wanting to see more of the dancing and more of her.  It takes several minutes before she takes the last bit off, revealing her body to all below and to all in the office.  She artistically moves her body to show off her assets to good advantage as she collects the nuyen that have piled up on the stage from the appreciative audience.  She is an exquisite doll of a woman and most of the men below seem entranced by her performance.  Aldo calls you back to reality as Myotama leaves the stage.  “Hey, Gino, let the man have your chair for a bit.  Then you and the rest of you mugs get lost.  I want to chat with my young friend here.”

Aldo waits for everyone to leave then motions you to take a seat as he opens a drawer in his desk and pulls out a bottle and two glasses.  “This is the real stuff, not the drek I sell to the customers.  Hell, most of them are so drunk that giving them this would be a waste of it.”  He pours you one and pushes the glass over to you.  Raising his he toasts to Myotama and drinks half of it down.  “Ahhhhh.  Good fragging stuff.  Now, let’s talk about little Myotama.  I understand that you are interested in freeing her from all of this.  You saw her.  Were you also watching the men watch her?  Did you see the money those mooks were tossing at the stage?  She is my best girl.  My biggest earner.  Why would I want to give that away?  Come on, I like you already for showing the moxie to come to my own place with this.  I want to help you.  So help me figure it out.  Why would I or should I consider letting her go?”

[Chrome Head]

Joe coldly left the poured drink untouched. He hadn't anticipated that she was that valuable. He wished she'd told him in advance. Well, there's no going back now, I gave her my word. Okay, what should I do? The carrot or the stick?

"Aldo, it's a pleasure to meet you. As you know I want to acquire her from you, and I'm looking for a way for both of us to come out ahead. There's many ways in which I could have done this, and I chose to come to you directly, out of respect." Joe bows his head slightly.

"I'm here to offer you a trade. You give her to me like I ask, and in exchange I'll do something for you. As the businessman that you are, I'm sure we can find something that's of equal value to you. Deal?"

Joe stares straight at the made man's eyes, trying to get a read on him. Will he bite?