Chapter 368. Operation: Fatman (10/10)
‘I get it.’
‘You agree?’
‘Yes. In exchange for all of the ‘anything goes’ coupons you’ve stocked up.’
‘It’s about time. So when are we going to do it? Right now?’
‘You’re in the mood right now?’
‘This little operation left me with a lot of extra energy and I’ve got nowhere to let it all out.’
‘You can’t wait a bit longer?’
‘How long do you want me to wait?’
‘... until we get through this situation.’
‘Just how much time are you trying to buy here?’
‘You’re my first love you know. I at least want it to be a good memory for both of us. Not one where it’s rushed.’
‘Answer the question. How long?’ She wasn’t having any of my bullshit.
‘It will be before the start of our second year, that’s for sure. This will not be dragged out for the entire summer. Right now we’re buying time. By the end of June, I hope we can wrap this all up.’
‘So you’re telling me I have to wait all the way until the end of June?’
‘It’s only about two months, it’s a lot better than two years, don’t you think? It’s a pretty good compromise if you ask me.’
‘Haaaaaaah. And what do I get in return for waiting two months? If you have no bargaining chips, how do you expect to negotiate?’
‘I do have something I think you’d want though.’
‘And what is that?’
‘Two weeks of paid vacation.’
‘Huh? Go on… you’ve got my attention…’
‘We can go on a trip together, out of the city, maybe travel across the country with just the two of us on my motorcycle. How does that sound for a bargaining chip?’
‘That… sounds pretty good actually. And you’re saying during those two weeks we can do it?’
‘As much as you want, to your heart's content, until you’re satisfied.’
‘That is quite the tempting deal you’ve presented to me.’
‘Well, do you accept, or not?’
‘Haaaaaah… you win. It looks like I’ll be using my fingers while imagining it’s you tonight…’
‘You didn’t need to tell me that last part.’
‘Well too bad, I did. Did you want to watch or something?’
‘No.’
‘How boring, you should have said yes. It’s unfair how Wisteria has done that sort of thing with you and I haven’t.’
‘I’m not responding anymore. I’ve got something else to take care of before I can head home.’
‘Fine, fine. You go ahead and do that while I make myself feel good on your bed while hugging your pillow and wearing your shirt.’
I already said I wouldn’t respond anymore. I wanted to tell her to leave my pillow alone, but we’d end up going on like this forever. I’m sorry, my pillow, you’ll just need to take one for the team.
I closed out our conversation and opened my pictures. I keyed in Jass’s phone number and initiated the call.
“...” When the call connected, it was silent at first.
“... hello? Who’s… this?” He asked hesitantly while sounding as if he’d just been woken up.
“Jass, it’s Ran.”
“Ran? Look, whatever you’re selling, I’m not interested. Anyway, how’d you get that name and how’d you know I know someone named Ran? Ran doesn’t have my number and he’d never call me even if he did.”
“You’re right, I wouldn’t call you unless it was something important.”
“Huh? Wait… is this… really Ran and not some sketchy telemarketer on the other side of the world trying to sell me some crappy product?”
“I’m not trying to sell you anything.”
“Oh, did you get my number from Rosa or Alicia?”
They both had his number? Well, they did try to help him out with Izora, it made sense.
“Yeah, I got it from Rosa.”
“Oh, did you, now?”
“Yeah.”
“You’re sure about that, you got it directly from Rosa?”
“Uh… yeah, I’m sure. Why, is something wrong?” Was he doubting me?
“No, nothing’s wrong. What’d you call me for so late that it couldn’t wait until tomorrow? It’s 11:00 PM at night already.”
“Well, the thing is, I need your help with something.”
“And what did you need my help with?”
“I’d like to discuss this with you in person. Can you text me your address?”
“It’s something you can’t say over the phone?”
“Yeah.” It was unlikely, but you never knew who was listening. There were surveillance programs like PRISM that existed after all. It was better to be safe than sorry, especially with what I was doing.
“Alright, I texted you the address. How long will you be?”
“One sec.”
I plugged in the address to get directions.
“I’ll be there in 20 minutes.” That was the estimated driving time the app displayed.
“Are you walking?”
“No.”
“Taking a bus?”
“No, I’m driving.”
“You’re pretty far away then.”
“Sort of.”
“Hey, are you… actually… never mind.”
“What were you going to ask?”
“It’s nothing.”
“I lied. I got your number from Izora. That’s what you were really wondering about, isn’t it?”
“Huh? How’d you figure me out? Man, I was totally going to confront you when you got here and reveal my amazing deduction prowess.”
“You’re easy to read. Your line of questioning made it way too obvious what was on your mind.”
“Then… were you at her place right now?”
“Look, it’s definitely not what you’re thinking so don’t be quick to jump to conclusions on your own.”
“You mean you’re not two-timing and cucking me behind my back?”
“I’m not two-timing or cucking you behind your back.”
Haaaah. It was sad since I wasn’t lying, it’d long gone beyond simply two-timing. It seems you gravely underestimated how much of a piece of shit I really was.
“Alright then. Hurry up and get over here.”
“Sure. I’ll be there soon.”
…
Twenty minutes later, right on time, I came to a stop outside a moderately sized house. Though his house wasn’t comparable to Izora’s, it was still quite respectable for this area in the city.
Jass was waiting outside for me leaned up against the front door. When I removed my helmet and he realized it was me, he ran up to me with his eyes gleaming.
“Dude, get the hell out of here. You own a motorcycle?”
“Yeah, I do. It was cheaper than a car.” He still hadn’t ever seen me on it before now.
“And looks way cooler! Don’t act like that didn’t influence your decision in choosing it.”
“It didn’t…” I averted my eyes to the side.
“Bull shit it didn’t.”
“Okay, it did… just a little bit.”
“Dude, can I go for a ride on it?”
“No way.”
“What the hell man, you came out here to ask me for a favor and you won’t even let me take your motorcycle out for a spin as compensation?”
“You don’t have a motorcycle license, do you?”
“No, so what?”
“Then you don’t even know how to drive it. What happens if you crash and wreck it?”
“Come on! Just a little. I’m not going to crash it. I swear I’ll be careful.”
“Look, I can’t afford to lose this right now. It’s a lifeline of mine. If it’s gone, it could mean my death. I can let you ride it another time. Now is just really bad timing.”
“Your death? You in trouble?”
“Yeah. And it’s nothing to joke about. One misstep and I could lose my life.”
“Is this related to why you contacted me?”
“Yeah. It could put you in danger though… but, if you don’t help me… Rosa could be in danger.” Of killing someone. That part naturally went unsaid.
His gaze turned serious as he asked, “What’s going on exactly?”
“A lot. But to sum it up, the Swastika gang is involved. That should be enough for you to figure it out, right?”
“Swastika, as in the gang filled with nothing but murderers and rapists?”
“Yeah.”
“Bro! How the hell did you get caught up with them? It’s literally been less than a week since school went out! You’re already chronically ill and now you’ve got Swastika out to kill you? Bro, just pack your bags, move out of this city, and live out the rest of your life in a retirement home, please. Your short handicapped lifespan is begging you for mercy. Actually, what the hell man? It slipped my mind but of all the vehicles you could get, you got a motorcycle? Dude, are you even taking life seriously, or are you just suicidal?”
‘Haaaaah. Look, the whole chronically ill thing was a bullshit story I told the school so I could skip as much as I wanted without worry.’ If I really said that, I wonder how he’d react.
“Got nothing to say?”
“My motto is to live life free and to the fullest while laughing death in the face. Nature won’t decide how I die. I’ll decide the day I die myself.” Perhaps that sort of mentality is what got me into this situation where I found myself back in high school. Nature got pissed, threw a tantrum, and said no, I want a redo. I’ll definitely kill you myself next time. Here, you can even have a lifespan as long as you want by collecting souls, but even with it, I’ll kill you properly this time around.
What’s with nature? Please stop acting like a child and don’t send people back to high school casually because you’re salty over not being able to personally kill them with your own hands. You’re seriously going to break the space-time continuum one of these days if you’re not careful. Please grow up and be more responsible, Nature.
“Trying to sound cool? Seriously, just what the hell do you want me to do? Tell me first and I’ll decide whether to help after you tell me.”
I looked at Jass seriously, opened my mouth, then explained the situation and what it was I needed him to do starting tomorrow.
…
In the early morning, the following day, it was Monday when I received an email. It was before my shift at work and from the last critical piece I needed in play on the chessboard.
The email I received contained a phone number. It requested I call them and have a chat directly. I found a payphone before work and called them as requested.
The only thing I’ll say about our conversation is, it went well enough. They would need to verify some things before cooperating, but once they did, they were on board with my plan.
They would send me another email when they were ready to talk next. That next call would be when I’d find out for certain whether they would join my side.
The plan had come together beautifully.
Chapter 368. Operation: Fatman (10/10)
‘I get it.’
‘You agree?’
‘Yes. In exchange for all of the ‘anything goes’ coupons you’ve stocked up.’
‘It’s about time. So when are we going to do it? Right now?’
‘You’re in the mood right now?’
‘This little operation left me with a lot of extra energy and I’ve got nowhere to let it all out.’
‘You can’t wait a bit longer?’
‘How long do you want me to wait?’
‘... until we get through this situation.’
‘Just how much time are you trying to buy here?’
‘You’re my first love you know. I at least want it to be a good memory for both of us. Not one where it’s rushed.’
‘Answer the question. How long?’ She wasn’t having any of my bullshit.
‘It will be before the start of our second year, that’s for sure. This will not be dragged out for the entire summer. Right now we’re buying time. By the end of June, I hope we can wrap this all up.’
‘So you’re telling me I have to wait all the way until the end of June?’
‘It’s only about two months, it’s a lot better than two years, don’t you think? It’s a pretty good compromise if you ask me.’
‘Haaaaaaah. And what do I get in return for waiting two months? If you have no bargaining chips, how do you expect to negotiate?’
‘I do have something I think you’d want though.’
‘And what is that?’
‘Two weeks of paid vacation.’
‘Huh? Go on… you’ve got my attention…’
‘We can go on a trip together, out of the city, maybe travel across the country with just the two of us on my motorcycle. How does that sound for a bargaining chip?’
‘That… sounds pretty good actually. And you’re saying during those two weeks we can do it?’
‘As much as you want, to your heart's content, until you’re satisfied.’
‘That is quite the tempting deal you’ve presented to me.’
‘Well, do you accept, or not?’
‘Haaaaaah… you win. It looks like I’ll be using my fingers while imagining it’s you tonight…’
‘You didn’t need to tell me that last part.’
‘Well too bad, I did. Did you want to watch or something?’
‘No.’
‘How boring, you should have said yes. It’s unfair how Wisteria has done that sort of thing with you and I haven’t.’
‘I’m not responding anymore. I’ve got something else to take care of before I can head home.’
‘Fine, fine. You go ahead and do that while I make myself feel good on your bed while hugging your pillow and wearing your shirt.’
I already said I wouldn’t respond anymore. I wanted to tell her to leave my pillow alone, but we’d end up going on like this forever. I’m sorry, my pillow, you’ll just need to take one for the team.
I closed out our conversation and opened my pictures. I keyed in Jass’s phone number and initiated the call.
“...” When the call connected, it was silent at first.
“... hello? Who’s… this?” He asked hesitantly while sounding as if he’d just been woken up.
“Jass, it’s Ran.”
“Ran? Look, whatever you’re selling, I’m not interested. Anyway, how’d you get that name and how’d you know I know someone named Ran? Ran doesn’t have my number and he’d never call me even if he did.”
“You’re right, I wouldn’t call you unless it was something important.”
“Huh? Wait… is this… really Ran and not some sketchy telemarketer on the other side of the world trying to sell me some crappy product?”
“I’m not trying to sell you anything.”
“Oh, did you get my number from Rosa or Alicia?”
They both had his number? Well, they did try to help him out with Izora, it made sense.
“Yeah, I got it from Rosa.”
“Oh, did you, now?”
“Yeah.”
“You’re sure about that, you got it directly from Rosa?”
“Uh… yeah, I’m sure. Why, is something wrong?” Was he doubting me?
“No, nothing’s wrong. What’d you call me for so late that it couldn’t wait until tomorrow? It’s 11:00 PM at night already.”
“Well, the thing is, I need your help with something.”
“And what did you need my help with?”
“I’d like to discuss this with you in person. Can you text me your address?”
“It’s something you can’t say over the phone?”
“Yeah.” It was unlikely, but you never knew who was listening. There were surveillance programs like PRISM that existed after all. It was better to be safe than sorry, especially with what I was doing.
“Alright, I texted you the address. How long will you be?”
“One sec.”
I plugged in the address to get directions.
“I’ll be there in 20 minutes.” That was the estimated driving time the app displayed.
“Are you walking?”
“No.”
“Taking a bus?”
“No, I’m driving.”
“You’re pretty far away then.”
“Sort of.”
“Hey, are you… actually… never mind.”
“What were you going to ask?”
“It’s nothing.”
“I lied. I got your number from Izora. That’s what you were really wondering about, isn’t it?”
“Huh? How’d you figure me out? Man, I was totally going to confront you when you got here and reveal my amazing deduction prowess.”
“You’re easy to read. Your line of questioning made it way too obvious what was on your mind.”
“Then… were you at her place right now?”
“Look, it’s definitely not what you’re thinking so don’t be quick to jump to conclusions on your own.”
“You mean you’re not two-timing and cucking me behind my back?”
“I’m not two-timing or cucking you behind your back.”
Haaaah. It was sad since I wasn’t lying, it’d long gone beyond simply two-timing. It seems you gravely underestimated how much of a piece of shit I really was.
“Alright then. Hurry up and get over here.”
“Sure. I’ll be there soon.”
…
Twenty minutes later, right on time, I came to a stop outside a moderately sized house. Though his house wasn’t comparable to Izora’s, it was still quite respectable for this area in the city.
Jass was waiting outside for me leaned up against the front door. When I removed my helmet and he realized it was me, he ran up to me with his eyes gleaming.
“Dude, get the hell out of here. You own a motorcycle?”
“Yeah, I do. It was cheaper than a car.” He still hadn’t ever seen me on it before now.
“And looks way cooler! Don’t act like that didn’t influence your decision in choosing it.”
“It didn’t…” I averted my eyes to the side.
“Bull shit it didn’t.”
“Okay, it did… just a little bit.”
“Dude, can I go for a ride on it?”
“No way.”
“What the hell man, you came out here to ask me for a favor and you won’t even let me take your motorcycle out for a spin as compensation?”
“You don’t have a motorcycle license, do you?”
“No, so what?”
“Then you don’t even know how to drive it. What happens if you crash and wreck it?”
“Come on! Just a little. I’m not going to crash it. I swear I’ll be careful.”
“Look, I can’t afford to lose this right now. It’s a lifeline of mine. If it’s gone, it could mean my death. I can let you ride it another time. Now is just really bad timing.”
“Your death? You in trouble?”
“Yeah. And it’s nothing to joke about. One misstep and I could lose my life.”
“Is this related to why you contacted me?”
“Yeah. It could put you in danger though… but, if you don’t help me… Rosa could be in danger.” Of killing someone. That part naturally went unsaid.
His gaze turned serious as he asked, “What’s going on exactly?”
“A lot. But to sum it up, the Swastika gang is involved. That should be enough for you to figure it out, right?”
“Swastika, as in the gang filled with nothing but murderers and rapists?”
“Yeah.”
“Bro! How the hell did you get caught up with them? It’s literally been less than a week since school went out! You’re already chronically ill and now you’ve got Swastika out to kill you? Bro, just pack your bags, move out of this city, and live out the rest of your life in a retirement home, please. Your short handicapped lifespan is begging you for mercy. Actually, what the hell man? It slipped my mind but of all the vehicles you could get, you got a motorcycle? Dude, are you even taking life seriously, or are you just suicidal?”
‘Haaaaah. Look, the whole chronically ill thing was a bullshit story I told the school so I could skip as much as I wanted without worry.’ If I really said that, I wonder how he’d react.
“Got nothing to say?”
“My motto is to live life free and to the fullest while laughing death in the face. Nature won’t decide how I die. I’ll decide the day I die myself.” Perhaps that sort of mentality is what got me into this situation where I found myself back in high school. Nature got pissed, threw a tantrum, and said no, I want a redo. I’ll definitely kill you myself next time. Here, you can even have a lifespan as long as you want by collecting souls, but even with it, I’ll kill you properly this time around.
What’s with nature? Please stop acting like a child and don’t send people back to high school casually because you’re salty over not being able to personally kill them with your own hands. You’re seriously going to break the space-time continuum one of these days if you’re not careful. Please grow up and be more responsible, Nature.
“Trying to sound cool? Seriously, just what the hell do you want me to do? Tell me first and I’ll decide whether to help after you tell me.”
I looked at Jass seriously, opened my mouth, then explained the situation and what it was I needed him to do starting tomorrow.
…
In the early morning, the following day, it was Monday when I received an email. It was before my shift at work and from the last critical piece I needed in play on the chessboard.
The email I received contained a phone number. It requested I call them and have a chat directly. I found a payphone before work and called them as requested.
The only thing I’ll say about our conversation is, it went well enough. They would need to verify some things before cooperating, but once they did, they were on board with my plan.
They would send me another email when they were ready to talk next. That next call would be when I’d find out for certain whether they would join my side.
The plan had come together beautifully.
