The Answer to the Question

Chapter 2: The Second Question


Ban had been crying for a good 30 minutes. Not deep sobbing or a torrent of waterworks—that had been done in the hour before. No, just regular stretches of soft moans and hiccups, followed by an errant tear or two, which he weakly wiped away.

He and Ginji were sitting in the customer waiting area of the car garage where Lady Bug was being serviced. Having already viciously gone through the complimentary coffee and donuts in the first two minutes of their being there (much to the dismay and fright of the other customers), the two sat side by side in silence that was relieved only by the sounds of Ban’s sniffling.

Ginji tried to ignore Ban, who sat hunched over and slumped forward with his head in his hands. He had his own problems to contend with. Thanks to his little early morning lightning stunt, his clothes were in charred tatters. His shirt, which could now only be loosely called a shirt, was pock marked with dozens of singed holes of varying sizes and his shorts, now devoid of a functioning zipper or any buttons at all, were being held closed (keeping his “Little Lightning Emperor” covered) with a length of phone wire looped through the button holes—phone wire which they’d snatched from the motel room they were currently residing in.

To say that the pair looked wretched was an understatement. A sentiment apparently shared by the rest of the customers in the waiting room as they clustered around a small group of chairs on one side of the tiny area, giving wide berth and free reign to the duo on the other side.

Ginji ignored the appalled stares and retreated inside his own misery. Despite the fact he was certain that Ban had watched his lightning play during the thunderstorm that morning, Ban was back to giving him the silent treatment, completely ignoring what had happened. He didn’t know if what he’d said after he’d gone back to bed had exacerbated the situation or not, but since getting up that morning, his partner had been even more cold and distant toward him than he’d been all week since the Lady Bug “incident.”

*And that was saying something,* Ginji thought sadly.

His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the door to the service bays opening and a cluster of bewildered mechanics entering the space.

“Midou, Ban?” the guy in front read from a clipboard.

Without looking up, Ban raised a shaking hand limply in the air.

Ginji looked at the mechanic. He and the others were shaking their heads in amazement; their grease-smudged faces were alive with awe.

Ginji slumped. *This can only end in tears,* he thought to himself. He glanced at Ban who’d started sobbing again before the news was even heard. *More tears,* Ginji corrected.

The mechanic looked at Ban. “You’re Ban Midou?” he asked again slowly?

Still not looking up, Ban shook his head yes.

The mechanic sighed, went back to his clipboard and flipped through several sheets of paper.

“Mr. Midou…” he paused. “I…” he paused again. He cleared his throat and tried once more. “Sir…” he stopped to search for words. Not finding any, he looked around for help from his crew. They shrugged and threw helpless hands in the air.

The mechanic sighed again and looked back over at Ban. “What I’m trying to say is…well…GODDAMN, SON! WE DON’T KNOW WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO YOUR CAR!” He let the clipboard drop to the floor and stood directly in front of Ban with the other mechanics right behind him.

“YOUR SHIT HAS STRAIGHT BLOWED UP--KABLOOEY!!!” he shook his head. “I can’t tell where the battery ends and the carburetor begins!!! Shit is melted, shit is busted clean through…I even think I saw glass forming at one point!”

“Yep, that’s right!” one of the mechanics in the back confirmed. “Glass!”

“GODS ALMIGHTY! I’ve never… I MEAN NEVER, seen no shit like this EVER!!” He mopped his head free of sweat. “AND I’M PRAYING TO EVERY GOD I CAN NAME, I NEVER DO AGAIN!”

He looked over at Ginji and took in his lightning chic attire. “HOLY SCARY ASS SHIT, SON! Were you standing next to the car when this happened?!”

Ginji blushed burgundy. “Well, sort of…”

“AND INSTEAD OF GOING TO THE HOSPITAL, YOU CAME TO THE GARAGE?!” The group shook their heads sadly.

“If ever you needed a burning bush son, WELL FUCK ME, you got it! Go do some praying, go buy some lotto tickets and go have a drink. NO REALLY, YOU NEED TO DO ALL OF THAT, not necessarily in that order!” The mechanic handed Ginji an envelope stuffed with a small stack of yen.

“The fellas and I took up a collection for you! Please, take it and go!”

Ban looked up. His face was red and tear-swollen. “What about the car?”

“CAR?! YOU STILL CALLING THAT THING A CAR?! Holy shit; talk about optimism!” The mechanic shook his head again and kicked the clipboard over to Ban.

“Son, you have seven, let me repeat that, SEVEN, pages worth of repairs right there. Then on top of that, your car is old, the parts are hard to find…that’s assuming we even know what parts need to be replaced. Show him, Tenchi!”

Tenchi in the back held up a blackened chunk of something or other high over his head.

The rest of the customers went “Woooooo….”

The lead mechanic pointed at it. “Son, we don’t even know what the HELL that is, err…WAS! It was just sitting on top of everything else, rolling around on its own, going for itself when we popped the hood.”

Ban flicked through the pages of repairs, spotting the ink with fresh tears.

“Can she be fixed?” he asked quietly.

The mechanic turned back to the group for help. They shrugged and threw helpless hands in the air. He threw his eyes up to heaven and thought about it.

“If it can be fixed. Let me repeat that. If it CAN be fixed, it’s going to take time, it’s going to take money and it’s going to take prayer. Lots of all three.” He took the clipboard back and pointed to a total that’d been circled on the bottom of page seven.

The rest of the customers went “Ohhhhh….” as a mechanic in the back flashed the number in the air for the benefit of the cheap seats.

“Doesn’t insurance cover any of this?” Ban was very close to melting down altogether. “What the hell am I paying insurance for if it doesn’t in fact INSURE?”

“Son, that’s between you and your insurance company and whatever knuckle-dragging thug you can find to take with you when you go for a face-to-face appointment.” The mechanic looked back at the list of repairs. “Because believe me, that’s the only way you’re going to get insurance to pay for something like this. I mean, I’ve SEEN the bloody mess and I STILL can’t fucking believe it. What do you think the insurance company is going to do?”

Ginji leaned over and whispered. “Ban, your insurance got canceled last month remember? You didn’t pay the premium. Besides, you only had liability and we’re the ones who’re liable.”

Ban looked up. “WE?!”

Ginji slumped again. “Oi.”

The mechanic stepped in. “If you want us to try to fix her, we’ll need a hefty deposit and a healthy dose of prayer. Go to the bank, go to the post office, go to WHEREVER! Then go to the temple. Then come back with both.”

The group turned to leave.

“Godspeed, good sons, GODDAMN!” They left back the way they came.

“The pain!” Ban collapsed against his partner’s shoulder.

Ban’s cell phone rang. He made no move to answer it. Ginji wasn’t even sure he was still conscious. He reached into Ban’s pocket and pulled it out.

“Get Backers Recovery Service,” he answered on the verge of tears himself.

“Ginji? I thought I dialed Ban’s number.” Hevn’s voice flittered sexily out of the phone at him.

“You did.” He jiggled Ban with his shoulder. Ban didn’t move. “He…can’t come to the phone right now.”

“Oh, well get over to the Honky Tonk right away. I’ve got a hot job for you that can’t wait.”

Ginji jiggled Ban again, watching his head wobble. “Uhh…I’m not…”

“It pays a million.”

Ban shot straight up. “We’ll be right there!”

*** ***

Forty minutes and two bus transfers later, the duo sat at the Honky Tonk, gratefully sipping the tea Natsume slipped them. They sat in silence, staring at the table, waiting for Hevn who, naturally, was running fashionably late.

“Typical!” said Ban through a sip. “We rush over drooling like Pavlov’s dogs and she makes us wait for her.”

Ginji said nothing, noting that it was the first time Ban had spoken to him in awhile. Plus, he didn’t know who Pavlov was. Ginji waited for more.

Ban sat quietly, staring into his tea, aware that he had his partner’s attention.

Ban knew he was being surly toward his friend, but he just couldn’t seem to help it. He was in the middle of a crisis. His car and his feelings had both “straight blowed up” (kablooey!) at the same time and he wasn’t sure what to do about either. He didn’t want things to change with their partnership. He had a friend and family in Ginji and that’s what he needed most. But lately he’d become aware that a friend and family might not be what he WANTED most. He was also becoming aware of the fact that maybe, just maybe, Ginji wasn’t mad at him after all. He certainly hadn’t tried to fry him lately, so maybe what he was seeing wasn’t “mad” but something else entirely.

Ban remembered spying on his friend in the wee hours of the morning, watching Ginji dance with lightning, seemingly just for him. He thought about how hot he’d gotten watching his partner play with lightning in the rain, how hard he’d gotten looking at Ginji’s wet body, at Ginji’s rain-slickened chest…into Ginji’s eyes… He thought about what Ginji had said when he had come back to bed. He’d known that he’d been watching and what’s more, he liked it!

What to do, what to do?! On the one hand, he couldn’t admit that he’d liked watching right back. To do so would be to openly acknowledge the fact that he was lusting after his partner, a GUY, for gods’ sake and that would seriously change the dynamics of their friendship, not to mention their partnership.

On the other hand, he couldn’t deny what he wanted, what he felt. To do so would be less than honest with himself and Ginji and on top of that, he’d remain perpetually horny and miserable and that wouldn’t be good for anybody—least of all HIS body.

On the third hand, he still didn’t know what it was he felt for Ginji. Was it just lust? *If it’s just that, then that can be dealt with on its own,* he thought. But somehow that didn’t seem right. He had missed his partner over the past few days. Listening to Ginji call him Ban-chan, seeing his smile… Was it something else?

The question asked itself in his mind.

*Do I love Ginji?*

He felt his partner’s eyes on him.

Ban licked his lips. “Ginji…I…”

The door to the Honky Tonk flew open and in walked Hevn in all of her lustrous, gravity-defying glory. She and her “girls” sat down, sliding into the booth next to Ginji.

“Am I glad to see you guys.” She threw on her most brilliant smile and made sure to jiggle a bit for some fan service effect. The “effect” bounced off the two like a rubber bullet.

“What the hell did I just walk in on?” she asked. She didn’t know if she was more upset over the fact that they were upset or the fact that they had just ignored her AND her “girls.”

“Did someone die?”

“Lady Bug,” Ban replied miserably.

Hevn smiled. “Is that all? I thought something was SERIOUSLY wrong. The two of you look like you’ve been beaten with the BIG sticks!”

She reached in her bag, pulled out a large envelope and dropped it dramatically on the table.

“Rejoice, your savior is here!” She opened the packet and withdrew a colorful hand drawing of a small red box with an ornate latch and gold filigree beautifully lacing the decorative edges. The caption beneath the picture said ‘T.o.E.s’.

“This is what you’ve been hired to recover.”

Ban and Ginji looked at the picture.

“Toes? We’re recovering a box full of TOES?!” Ginji forgot his misery long enough to be freaked out. “That’s sick!”

Ban looked at the picture. “There aren’t any toes in there, Dumbass! Look at how the caption’s written. It’s obviously an acronym.” He looked over at Hevn. “An acronym for what?”

“Whatever this is.” Hevn showed them another picture. This picture, a black and white photocopied hand drawing from a book, showed a small, smooth, teardrop-shaped vial about two inches long with an upside down teardrop-shaped stopper corking the top. It looked very much like a tiny perfume bottle. “This is supposed to be inside the box.”

Hevn dropped another picture on the table. “And this is an approximation of what both items look like in person.” A box similar in size and color but without the latch and the decorative edges sat on a table next to another bottle also about two inches long that looked as if it were made of smooth glass which had been shaped into a teardrop. This vial had a pale pinkish-purple liquid inside it. Hevn dropped yet another picture on the table and this one looked as if it had been taken in total darkness. The only thing that was visible was the small vial and its pinkish-purple liquid. The liquid glowed vibrantly.

“What IS that?” asked Ginji.

Hevn shrugged. “That I don’t know. I DO know that whatever it is, it absolutely, positively must NOT be opened. The client was very specific about that. DO NOT OPEN IT! Beyond that, the client didn’t say anything else about it and I didn’t ask. What I also know is that whatever it is, it is a seriously hot property right now. In under 24 hours, it’s been stolen no less than a total of 5 times—first from where it resided inside a temple shrine, then from the transport service that was hired to deliver it, then from the interceptor service hired to hit the transportation service…it just keeps going downhill from there!”

“So where is it now?” Ban frowned. He had a bad feeling about this. Much like his bad feelings about all of Hevn’s jobs.

“My sources say it’s currently with an interceptor service just outside of Tokyo. They’re to meet their client at a secluded inn that’s known for its privacy and the courtesy of the management there to not interfere in the business of its clients. All sorts of interesting things go on there behind closed doors.”

“What kind of place would that be?” Ginji’s mind filled with seedy, dodgy images and his stomach knotted a bit.

“Believe it or not, it’s a very nice place. Rather opulent and serene. It’s a sort of umm… ‘love hotel’ that specializes in themed suites and the grounds and hot springs are absolutely beautiful. Oh and they make the best pastries EVER!” Hevn felt two pairs of eyes on her. “Not that I’ve been there or anything, that’s just what I heard.” She blushed a bit.

“Anyway, it’s called the Secret Inn and the innkeeper’s name is Miko. I’ve taken the liberty of booking you guys a reservation there. My sources say the interceptor service is due to make the exchange some time after 9 o’clock tonight. So, if you leave now, you should have plenty of time to get there, scope out the situation and figure out what you’re going to do.”

Ginji was still frowning. “I’ve got a bad feeling about this. This thing, that we don’t even know what it is…it’s been stolen by interceptors AND transport services and this new team thinks they’ll just be able to make a clean exchange in a public place?”

Hevn pursed her lips. “And there’s one more thing. One of the transporters hired to relieve the interceptor service of the box once they’d recovered it is Akabane.”

“Shit!” Ban sucked his teeth. “It just keeps getting worse!”

“You’ve no idea! Someone hit Akabane and got away with it! That’s the reason I’m late. I was confirming that at some point, Akabane had it taken away from him. I don’t know if it was the interceptor service that has it now or yet another interested party. So, fellas, in short, someone wants this thing real bad and if they’re bad ass enough to do that to HIM, I’m thinking they’re not to be fucked with.”

“So this means that not only are we gonna have THAT creepy freak of nature gunning for us, we gotta watch out for the dude that fucked him over TOO?!” Ban stood up.

“Well, this, as always, has been a real joy Hevn. Now if you’ll excuse me, I got railroad tracks to go lay down on.”

“Wait, Ban.” Hevn grabbed his sleeve. “I don’t know what’s going on with you guys this week, but you have to believe, you two are the best ones for this job. The client asked for you by name. They came to me specifically through an intermediary and said that if I couldn’t get you, then the job couldn’t be done.”

Ban turned. “Seriously?”

Ginji whistled. “Wow, someone has faith in us.”

“Why shouldn’t they?” asked Hevn. “You guys are the Get Backers! You get back what shouldn’t be gone and you’ve got an almost 100 percent recovery rate!” she flashed her smile at them again and upped the wattage. This time it worked.

“We have a solid HUNDRED PERCENT recovery rate, thank you very much!” Ban snapped at her.

“Besides, it pays a million, minus my thirty percent of course.” Hevn glossed over that last lightly. “AND the client specifically said to give you this advance.” She dropped a fat envelope on the table. “Your room at the inn has been paid for and now with the advance, you have money for a rental car to get there. AND the client said that if you should have any hesitation at all to do this.”

She motioned over to Paul who brought forth a massive sushi tray and set it heavily on the table.

“I called ahead and ordered just in case you felt any hesitation.” She winked at Paul and smiled. “It’s already bought and paid for. Y’all hesitating yet?” She looked back at the boys and gasped.

In the time it had taken for her to smile at Paul, the platter had been licked clean! And she wasn’t sure but there seemed to be a bite missing from one side of it.

“Not anymore!” Ban let out a huge belch. “The Get Backers are on the case!”

Ginji sat back and picked his teeth.

“Good, that’s just what I wanted to hear. Here is the packet of information, which includes directions to the inn. Be sure to read the instructions carefully, they come directly from the client. I was also instructed to tell you that if there is more than one box or vial to bring all you get your hands on. Apparently there were some decoys sent out in an effort to throw interceptors off the trail. You are to bring back everything the interceptors have in their possession. If necessary, the boxes are expendable. Bring them back if you can, but the vials are the important thing, got it?”

Ban waved her away. “Yeah, yeah, bring the jars, leave the crates, don’t open nothing. We got it.” He looked at Ginji.

Their eyes met.

“Ready?” he asked softly.

Ginji nodded and smiled “I’m with you, Ban-chan!”

The two got up and walked out. The Honky Tonk door immediately opened again and Ban came back in for the packet of information they’d totally left on the table.

“Shut it!” he snapped at Hevn before she could say anything. “You too!” he snapped at Paul. He walked back out.

Hevn looked up at Paul. “Is it me, or was there something seriously wrong with Ginji’s clothes?” She shook her head. “What the hell is up with those two lately?”

Paul snorted. “I’ve been watching them all week and I’m willing to bet money you won’t believe what I think it is.”

Hevn leaned in eagerly, always game for a good bit of gossip.

“As a gambling woman, I’ll take that bet.” She got up and slapped her wallet on the bar. “Try me!”

End Chapter 2: The Second Question.