New Story: "Tricolore" (Straight)

[VernalTiger]

Oh no no no! I need more!

 

[nikubashira]

Part X​

Ten days passed. Natsumi was finished her classes, which unfortunately meant she had more than enough time to dwell on the events of the past few weeks. She had talked to the police again about her encounter with Bastien Jakes, and they had eventually made a positive ID from the photo she had snapped of him, but this did not bring them any closer to catching him. When she had enquired about the video evidence, an officer said that he could not give her any information; they would have to wait until the next hearing in a month. After looking at the video herself (as she could remember little of it), she noticed especially the part where she had seen the snow falling outside the window. As Dylan had said, that was the first snow of the year, and it hadn’t snowed since. That fact alone should prove to them that it’s not a fake, she thought. Ah, but then, they’d have to confirm the room in the video was actually her room here, in Paris, she reasoned. Her thoughts were going around in circles. She needed a distraction.

She switched on the TV, and found a channel playing some music videos. She looked at her phone. Antoine had sent her another message. In the past week or so, he had been making an obvious effort to get Natsumi’s attention again. The trouble was, the more time passed, the more attractive a date with Antoine became. The idea of waiting for Dylan’s trial to be over made her extremely tired. He still hadn’t made bail, and so he was stuck in jail until he either swallowed his pride and called his parents for help, or some long-lost rich friend materialized. She stretched out on the couch and considered going for a nap. Just then, there was a knock at the door. She put on her slippers, went down the stairs, and opened the door a crack. The face outside was unfamiliar at first, but then it dawned on her. She threw the door open.

“Hello Natsumi. My name is Chris. I have some good news for you.”

“Jeeeeeesus. Look who decides to show up! About time, you deadbeat! What the hell have you been doing for the past two weeks!”

“I know you’re mad at me, but just wait… I can explain everything. First, though, there’s someone here that wants to see you. You can come out now, buddy.”

From behind the hedge in her front yard, Dylan appeared, sporting a big toothy grin.

“USO DESHOU!” She cried in disbelief.

“Hi… do you remember me?”

“What…? How is this possible? Did you post bail for him, Chris?”

“No. Better. After my testimony, they dropped the charges. He’s free. It’s over!”

“HA! Chris, you wonderful bastard! That’s great!” Dylan rushed forward and ran up the steps to meet Natsumi. She jumped into his arms, and he hugged her tightly.

“Never leave me again.” She said.

“I won’t. I promise.” He replied. They kissed each other as tears welled up in their eyes.

Chris cleared his throat. “So don’t you want to know how I got Dylan free?” he asked.

“Of course, of course… come on inside.”

“I will, but first there’s one more person you have to meet. OK Leona, come on out.”

Leona? Natsumi was confused. Another person stepped out from behind her hedge, this time a tall black woman with big brown eyes and tight frizzy curls. She walked up to Chris and put her arm around him.

“Natsumi, this is Leona. She’s the person who’s been watching out for me these past two weeks, while I’ve been hiding out.”

Leona shook Natsumi’s hand, and smiled. “Looks like you and me got something in common… we were both trying to keep our boys out of trouble.”

They all went inside, and Chris began telling Natsumi his version of what had happened that night. The details were staggering.

“You mean you were under police protection this whole time?!?” Natsumi cried.

“No, not the police. The French drug enforcement agency had a vested interest in keeping me out of this case altogether. You see, after I decided to go straight two years ago, they started taking an interest in me because I have a number of important contacts. This whole situation with La Graisse and all them was basically an intel operation that just got a bit messed up.”

“Wait, who? La Graisse?”

“Yeah. You know him as Bastien Jakes. From what I hear, you’ve had first-hand interactions with him, and I am really sorry about that.”

“Why do they call him La Graisse? The Grease? What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Well, we don’t know, but we suspect it’s because he’s the one they used to keep things running smoothly.”

“And are you going to tell me who “they” are?”

“Yes, of course. The federal agents I’ve been working with have been trying for some time to close in on a group called The Square’s Circle. That guy you encountered by my house, La Graisse, was the head lieutenant of their leader, a man called ‘Le Carré’ or ‘The Square’”.

“Why do they call him that?”

“Well, it’s probably because he’s about as wide as he is tall. Big fat guy. Anyways, I was getting close to dealing with The Square himself, but some people in the lower ranks started to get suspicious of me, especially that guy, Remy. But instead of telling his boss, he decides to track me down and take me out himself. That’s what he tried to do in the club, with his friend D.C. But thankfully, Dylan came to help out. What I didn’t realize is that they would be armed and waiting for us when we came out of the club.”

“So you were undercover! No shit… what happened after you and Dylan split up?”

“Well, after Remy got hit, we both panicked. I thought for sure that we were going to take the fall, since that guy saw us. Dylan ran to the train station and I tried to go back and get the car, but I would have had to go back through the crowd. I wanted to just get my passport and phone and shit and leave the country. When I made it back home, though, I saw that damn black Mercedes outside my house, and the lights were on, so I knew something was up. So, I turned to the only person that has always had my back.” He looked at Leona, and she grinned.

“Typical guy, huh? Only affectionate when he wants something.”

“Anyways, after staying with Leona for a few days, she urged me to talk to someone about it. I called my contact in the feds, and told him everything. I wanted to go to the police, but he said that we should delay that as long as possible so that I can complete my objective. They said they were close to getting this guy, that there was a big meeting soon, they just needed to find out where and when. Basically, they told me to lay low, don’t blow my cover, and wait for them to contact me.”

“And two days ago, finally, they did.” Dylan chimed in.

Chris continued. “Yeah, I totally thought that they had cut me loose, but I guess somebody in the higher-ups had taken a shine to me or something. I got an email message saying that my services are still required, and they said ‘we hope to avoid further unpleasantness’. I don’t know for sure, but I think after finding out that Remy went off on his own to kill me for no good reason, but then got himself shot, the big boss sent that guy La Graisse to finish him off.”

“So what were you supposed to do for these guys? Move drugs for them or something?”

“No, nothing that dangerous. I found them good deals on equipment. Everything from hotplates to glassware. They needed some scales, so told them I would hook them up with a supplier as soon as I could.”

“But they got more than they bargained for, as I’m sure you can guess…” said Leona.

 

[nikubashira]

“That’s right. The feds bugged the scales, and they incorporated them all over their operation like idiots. Soon, we knew exactly where The Square and his associates were going to be, and when. The feds sprang their trap yesterday, and it was apparently pretty glorious. They got confessions from La Graisse and several others, and even the big fat-ass himself is in custody. Natsumi, you, Dylan and I have just been part of the biggest drug bust France has seen in twenty years. By the way, here’s your mail.”

Natsumi took the letters in her hand, dumbfounded. That’s what this whole thing was about? Chris was an informant? She couldn’t believe it, but it made at least some sense.

“And the best part of it all, I got back together with ‘Tank Girl’ here” Chris finished.

“You know, I haven’t driven a tank in two years… you should stop calling me that.”
Leona teased, pushing him gently.

“So, I just wanted to come over, explain things, and apologize for getting you all mixed up in this stuff… but, on the plus side, you all get a share of the reward money.”

“Reward money?!?” Yvette and Natsumi exclaimed.

“Yes, that’s right. This guy was a big fish, and there was a pretty big reward for him. I thought the fairest thing would be to split it five ways, you, me, Dylan, Yvette, and Leona. That’s five thousand euros each.”

“WOW!!! That’s awesome! Thank you, Chris!”

“It’s the least I could do. Maybe it’ll help distract you from this whole bloody mess. I don’t think I’ll be able to spend it with you, Dylan, because it’s going towards a special event… me and Leona are getting married.”

“Right on! Congrats, my man… I’ve only known you a short while, Leona, but I can already tell that you’re a good match for this guy – trouble seems to follow him around, so he’d better have a tough chick at his side.”

“Well, thanks, I think. We’ve always been close… I guess sometimes it just takes a situation like this to show you who you really care about.”

“So I guess you’re short one travel partner now… sorry man.” Chris said to Dylan.

“What do you mean?” he asked.

“I won’t be able to go to Spain with you – Leona and I have decided to take a trip to Amsterdam. On a completely unrelated note, I have one train ticket for Barcelona here, Natsumi… did I hear you’ve come into some money recently?”

“Hahaha… Chris, I had no idea you were so smooth… I don’t know, I’ll have to see if I can find someone to go with…” she looked at Dylan playfully.

“Wellllll… I don’t know… do you snore?” he asked.

“What’s that letter in your hand there, Natsumi? It looks important.” Leona pointed.

“Oh! This is the result of my exam!” She gasped.

“Well, you should open it then!” Leona replied.

Natsumi tore it open, and tossed the first page, which was administrative in nature only. When she saw her mark, her jaw dropped.

“Well, what is it? Good? Bad?” Everyone asked.

“I got 94%!!!” She pumped her fist in the air triumphantly. Dylan gave her a high five.

“Sweeeeeet! Guys, we need to go out and celebrate, seriously. After all, this is my first night as a free man and everything, right?” Dylan pointed out.

“You’re right! Where should we go?” asked Natsumi.

“How about Tricolore?” joked Chris.

“NEVER MENTION THAT PLACE AGAIN!!!” hissed Dylan in mock horror.

“OK, OK, I know a place. And it’s close by. Let’s go.”

“Right. Give us ten minutes to get ready.” said Yvette.

The others went inside, and Natsumi was left with Dylan by the front door. They stood looking at each other, still hardly believing their good fortune.

“Is this a dream?” asked Dylan.

“No. You look different in my dreams.” Natsumi replied enigmatically.

“The whole time I was in there, I couldn’t stop thinking about you.”

“I know.”

“I still don’t feel like I really know much about you, but I really want to find out.”

“Me too. I want to know all about you.”

“Like what?”

“Like, what is your life like back in Canada… what are your friends like… what is your job like…”

“Well, I told you I was studying to be a physiotherapist. I’m doing some research right now that will hopefully help victims of paralysis to regain control of their muscles and limbs.”

She stopped for a second. No… it had to be a coincidence, she thought. Still… She looked at him from the corner of her eye.

“You wouldn’t happen to be into nude body painting, would you?”

The End.​

 

[VernalTiger]

Thank you, nikubashira.

 

[nikubashira]

No worries. Was a fun write.

 

[SamG380]

And even better to read! Do you have any plans to take on another story?

 

[nikubashira]

I had started another one, but deleted it inadvertently. It had more of a mythical / historical adventure theme to it... not sure if I'll start it again, or do something completely different.

 

[nikubashira]

Had always meant to do an "epilogue" to this story, though. Could be fun if there is interest.