by T5, Tobias Christopher, I'm Not Mister Mxypltk and Captain Sammitch
Ameristar leaned over Kit Piper with a cup of herbal tea in her hand and asked, "That name -- Joaquim de Cuccubao -- it resembles something that I saw at... I mean... that I read in another book somewhere. If only I could remember."
Kit looked at her with determined eyes. "Any info on this could be crucial, so please, try really hard to remember."
She walked around the table while the others continued to chat, but her mind was focused on the matter of the strange name. She knew she had seen it at the old man's place. Was it in a book or a picture?
"Excuse me; I have to wash my hands." She hastily walked out of the room and into the bathroom, where she sat down on the toilet seat and activated her mobile phone.
The signal beeped a few times, then a cheery female voice answered, "Hi there, Jackie! What's up?"
"Hi, Crasher. I need some info on a male name, Joaquim de Cuccubao."
"Sure, anything."
"Do you remember a book about him, that your father showed us once?"
"Uuuuhh... Yes! Some weird story about strange people living in a strange tower, and he warned us never to go there. I think it was in the Amazon somewhere. I can look it up for you, if you like."
"You're a sweetheart, Crasher. Thanks."
"Okay. I'll call you back in a moment, then."
"Bye."
She smiled. She missed her friend. There was no one she trusted more than her. Well, except for the old one, of course. They had been through much together. And Crasher's rape wasn't helping matters. But Ameristar made a promise to herself to spend more time with her once she could find time to go home again.
She went back to the others, where Shirley Francis was serving sandwiches.
"The last we saw of you, you were going to take care of some business," Mick Harrison said to Tobias Christopher. "Something about finding a lost loved one?"
"It's a long story," Tobias said. "I found him, Mick. I found my son. He's everything I expected. And one day, I'm going back to bring him home, with my family here."
"I'm glad it turned out good, pal," Mick said. "You know, I was thinking about looking you up soon anyway, to ask you to come to the wedding!"
"Oh, that's right! You're engaged! So, did you set the date?" T.C. asked.
"Yeah, it's pretty soon! I'm excited about it, man."
"And how's M'xy? How does he feel about it?"
"Uh, I haven't had a chance to ask him, really. And he's been weird lately. I try not to call him unless it's really necessary, because it's hard to fool him into saying my name now, so he stays longer in the body."
"I always thought he had a crush on Shirley. Heh."
"M-X-Y? Nah..."
"Yeah. If I recall well, he met her before you did, right?"
"Yeah."
"Maybe he's jealous. That could be the reason why he's acting weird lately. Maybe he wants to spend more time with Shirl."
"I never thought of that. Maybe I should talk to him," Mick said, rubbing his chin. "I wonder what Shirley thinks about this."
"She says M'xy definitely has a crush on her," Tobias said, and at that moment Mick looked at the other side of the room and noticed that Tobias was also talking to Shirley, moving in super-speed from one side of the room to the other. "But she doesn't want me to tell you," Tobias continued. "Uh... too late for that, I guess."
Mick noticed that Shirley left Tobias and headed to her office.
"Where's she going?" Mick asked.
"She's gonna call your parents to invite them to the wedding."
"My parents! Oh, my God! What's wrong with her?! Why would she do that?!"
"She doesn't want me to tell you, either, because she wants it to be a surprise. Oh. Um... Sorry."
"It's okay. She's the one that's gonna get a surprise... When my mom tells her to fuck off! Heh heh heh heh..."
"Hey, buddy," Tobias said as he picked up Li'l Jo, who just ran into the room. "I see they've been feeding you since I've been gone. Don't worry, I won't leave without you again."
Phil Smith stood up. "I'll be back."
The others didn't seem to notice him leaving, except for Danny Hearn, anyway. The two had become pretty good friends since Phil's arrival on the island, maybe because as misfits they each knew how it felt to not belong. Danny got up and followed him out to the lobby. "Something wrong, mate?" he asked.
Phil shook his head. "No. And yes."
"That's helpful," the Aussie quipped.
"Watch it, Danny," Phil replied, half-seriously. "I'm okay. Just... confused."
"Leslie?" Danny asked.
Phil chuckled. "Maybe I'm not the only telepath here after all. Is it that obvious?"
"She's been all over you for the past few months," Danny explained. "She never left after the storm, which I thought was odd. I didn't mind us putting her up in the building, but she hasn't done anything with us since then."
Phil smirked. "I beg to differ."
"Shut up." Danny laughed. "My point is, she's not contributing to the team."
"May I remind you," Phil said, "that I wasn't an official member of the MBL myself until just recently?"
"True enough," Danny said. "But how many times have you saved our asses in recent history? Quite a few. What I'm getting at is that she's only here because of you."
"I guess I'm just dead sexy," Phil deadpanned.
"She's up to something," Danny insisted.
Phil looked at him. "Of course she's up to something, Danny! I know she is! I may not remember some things, but I'm not stupid. It's just that I don't know what she's doing. At first she wanted to get me off the island for some reason. Now all she wants to do is stay put."
"She's got some kind of money, mate," Danny said. "She doesn't work anywhere, yet she's got a wardrobe that would put a CEO's mistress to shame." He looked away. "She hangs out with Rachel sometimes."
"And naturally," Phil finished for him, "you eavesdrop."
Danny shrugged. "Naturally."
"Anyway," Phil said, "I'm just trying to feel my way through things. I figure I'll get it figured out in a few more days."
Danny looked at him curiously. "Better put it on hold, mate. We got a mission coming up here soon."
Phil didn't answer.
Danny eyed him curiously. "Phil?"
Phil sighed.
Danny frowned. "You're not going, are you?"
Phil looked at him. "Danny, I've been here for almost two months. I've been through some of the weirdest crap even I can imagine. I've been scrambling all over the place doing things for no reason. And yet I still haven't figured out who I am or why I'm here. Why should I go on another crazy trip that has nothing to do with me when it won't help me find that out?"
Danny nodded. "Fair enough. So what are you gonna do?"
"I'm helping rebuild the building," Phil said. "I'll keep working on that and keep up my research."
"How's that going, by the way?"
"The building? It's great. Griss figured out how to..."
"No," Danny said. "Your research."
Phil sighed. "Slowly. Quantos is helping me, but I'm still having a rough time." He looked down. "I think Leslie knows something, but I'm not sure."
"I'm sure that with your persuasion skills, you can coax it out of her." Danny winked.
Phil laughed. "Maybe." He turned to leave. "Be careful on this mission, buddy."
Danny smiled. "Too right, mate."
"And be sure to have fun," Phil added.
Danny laughed. "The Phil Smith school of superheroism."
"You know it." Phil walked off toward the elevator. "Catch ya later."