Hondo I. Sackett
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Leaving later than planned, Hondo had to speed a bit more than he would under normal circumstances, but he did not mind too much. The droning of the engine, the roaring winds, and the rumble of the road as it past beneath his tires was soothing. It was a good medicine to his soul and mind, though maybe not as good as sitting on a porch on a cool fall day, watching the mutli-coloured leaves blowing in the wind, drinking a hot cup of spiked coffee, and holding his woman tightly against him, but for now it would suffice.
He arrived at the Japanese-cowboy bar and grill some 15 to 20 minutes before noon, well within proper arrival time for the local customs. His timing was impeccable, as he had no sooner parked and swung off the two-wheeled machine when Shingo and Yuudai rounded the corner followed by a petite, mousy looking woman who carried a soft leather briefcase. The two men grinned as they approached Hondo, and the woman stayed off to the back and side of Yuudai.
“Hondo-sama, greeting!” Shingo said as he shakes his Hondo’s and bows slightly.
“Howdy.” Hondo replys as he returns the hand handshake with a firm grip and gives him a warm smile, well warm for Hondo anyway.
“Señor Sackett-san! Good to see you again, my friend!” Yuudai said as he grasps Hondo’s hand, shaking it firmly.
Hondo nodded, “Good to see you again too.”
Yuudai motioned for the woman to step forward.
“This is my secretary, Akio. She is more than a secretary, honestly. She has her law degree in business and has been my left hand in dealing with all my businesses. I am not sure what I would do without her.” Yuudai said, almost seeming more like a proud father singing praises over a successful daughter than a proud boss praising an employee.
Akio bowed deeply to Hondo, “I have heard much about you, Mister Sackett. It is an honor to meet you.”
She spoke in a softy, meek voice and did not make direct eye contact, acting as if she was unworthy to gaze upon him.
Hondo nodded and smiled softly as he replied, toning down the usual gruffness of his voice, which he did for few outside of his wife.
“It’s an honor to meet you too, Miss Akio. Your English is very good, better than mine. You study in America?” he asked
She nodded, but Yuudai spoke up for her.
“Akio studied law here, in your country, and in England. She was a gifted student and started university classes when she was only fifteen years old. For a smarter, more gifted left hand I could not ask.” He replied with a large smile.
Hondo did not miss the way he talked about the young woman, but it was not important now. He just filed the thought away in his mind for later if it was even needed.
“That is impressive.” He replied.
Yuudai started to say something but stopped short and changed what he was going to say, or at least that was what Hondo observed. He felt it more than saw it, but small, almost imperceivable, looks and gestures said there was something he was not saying but wanted to.
“Yes… uhm… Well, Gentlemen, we have business to conduct. Let us go inside.” Yuudai said.
“I can grab a table.” Shingo offered as they entered the establishment.
Yuudai shook his head, “That is not necessary, Tanaka-san. They are expecting us and will have my booth free. This way.”
Yuudai gestured for them to follow him to a corner booth that was larger than some of the others, and back out of the way. It was not so obvious to the casual observer, but upon further examination, Hondo found that though it was in plain sight, the design made the conversations and activities at that booth semi-private, when most the other tables and booths were far more exposed.
“I have a stake in this business and have been involved since its very conception. I actually had this booth and one other built to my designs to be perfect places to conduct discreet business without looking like you are trying to conduct discreet business. Few others are allowed to use this booth without my presence. You, Hondo-san, are on the list of those allowed.” Yuudai said as they took their seats.
Hondo nodded, “You honor me with your trust, sir.”
Yuudai bowed slightly in reply.
The waitress soon appeared and took drink and appetizer orders. Until the drinks arrived, the three men made small talk. Yuudai and Shingo did most the talking, but it was not unusual for Hondo to say the least in a group. Today, though, Hondo was not the one to say the least. Akio stayed quiet, not speaking a word, and seeming to purposely stay out of the conversation, as they talked. IT was almost as if she tried to make it seem like she was not there, so to not be brought into the conversation. Hondo felt it was partially a customs thing, as it was a cultural normal that the men handled business and the women stayed quiet. Not that a few women did not break the mold, with the younger generation doing so more often than the past generations had. Hondo felt there was more to it though. She was listening and listening with a purpose. There was more to her than met the eye, and he had not decided if that was good or bad yet. All Hondo knew was that there was very few things or people he could trust in this country, and though Yuudai seemed to trust her, and almost dote on her with his praise, he still reserved the right to make his own judgements on who to trust fully when they had earned that right.
Only after the drinks had arrived along with a couple appetizers, compliments of the house, did Akio take out a pile of papers from her briefcase and hand out three small bundles of papers to Yuudai, Shingo, and Hondo, while keeping one for herself. After the three men read over the documents in silence, did they begin to discuss them. Akio pulled a small tablet computer out of her briefcase and set it up at the table, making changes as they were discussed and agreed upon. A couple small arguments happened over changes but those were between Shingo and Yuudai. Hondo noted that whenever Yuudai had an idea for a change he would look at Akio first. If she shook her head, he would back down or ask her for input. If she nodded, he continued. He had a head for business, but he also trusted this woman’s opinion greatly too.
Hondo only had a couple changes he asked for and they were readily agreed upon by the others. They ordered lunch about halfway through the document, and buy the time their lunches arrived they had finished.
As their food was being passed out Yuudai picked up his copy of the original documents and handed them to Akio to make room for his plate.
“That was one of the easiest review meetings I have had in a long time.” Yuudai said.
“The contract was well written. It helps when you have a good document to start.” Shingo replied.
Hondo nodded, “This is true.”
Yuudai smiled that proud father smile again, “Akio does good work. When I was writing these on my own it would take days of negotiation sometimes. Even after I hired a business secretary, I still never had an agreement finalized in less than two full days of meetings. Since Akio has been with me my meetings have been quartered.”
Akio smiled softly at the praise as she finished up typing and pulled out a small black box from her bag. Hondo did not recognize it as first. It was about 4 inches by 6 inches and had little rubber wheels on it. She set it over a piece of blank paper and then after clicking on a few things on her computer the box began to move back and forth other the piece of paper. It was only then that Hondo realized it was some sort of mobile printer, the likes of which he had never seen before.
He nodded towards the device that was printing away on Akio’s end of the table, “That’s a handy little gadget. Not seen one of those before.”
“One of the companies I have stake in are developing it. The designs and production have been figured out, but the marketing has not taken off like we had hoped so far. This business deal was more for an old friend, though.” Yuudai replied.
They all finished their lunches over some further small talk, though it was mainly Yuudai and Shingo like it had been earlier. Hondo answered questions and chimed in when he felt it would be rude not to, but he was never one for small talk. Akio again just listened and almost faded into the woodwork as she finished printing off the edited document pages.
Once lunch was done, the edited documents were handed out, reviewed one more time, then signed by all four of them, Hondo and Shingo as agreeing on the business terms they were conducting, Yuudai as an advisor on the business, and Akio as a witness. Once all was done, the signed documents except for the copies Hondo and Shingo had, tablet computer, and printer went back into Akio’s light brown leather briefcase. The men said shook hands, said their goodbyes, and all went their separate directions.
Hondo waited until they were all gone before he swung back onto the motorcycle and fired the engine up. Being cautious, he took a different route home, and took his time, to make sure he was not being followed. He took a few unnecessary turns, as he felt he was being watched, but after he could find no signs of being followed, he headed home.
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On a tall building a blond man looked through the scope of a particularly high-powered rifle, which looked to have origins out of this world. An almost evil smile crossed his face as he watched the American cowboy on the motorcycle from afar. A voice with a German accent crackled to life over his earpiece.
“You see him?” The voice asked
“Si.” He replied.
“Is it him?” The voice asked
“Si. Do I shoot him?” The man asked, his accent sounding almost Spanish or Brazilian.
“Nein! The Commandant wants to see how the compound affects him. We might have to give him a stronger dose if it works too slow. The Ito family wants him dead and are paying us to see that it happens, but they did not say when or how fast we had to kill him. Just observe and report changes, that is all!” The voice commanded.
“When did we become #$@!ing hired killer dogs for these pendejos?!” The man snarled in retort.
“It is not for you to question!” The German voice replied firmly
“My Uncle Joseph might think differently.” The man replied in an almost threatening tone.
There was silence on the earpiece for a moment before the German voice replied in a humbler tone.
“The payment is a business deal that will greatly increase our control and presence here. It is essential for assuring our great plan succeeds. I known no more than that.” The voice replied.
“Si. This makes sense then. I will report later. Adios.” The man said.
“We will be awaiting your evening report. Bis dann.” The voice replied
The man turned off the radio receiver in his pocket without looking at it, keeping his eye in the scope and on the cowboy. He grinned evilly again as he peered through the lenses.
“Soon, Señor Sackett. Soon you will die, and I’ll watch as that bastard Fernando an’ your stuck-up prostitute esposa watch helplessly! I will have my revenge!” He said to himself in low tones.
He lay there watching until Hondo was out of sight. He then carefully put the rifle back into its hard-shelled case and moved on to the location he had where he could watch the safehouse from a distance. He had wanted to go there and take them all out several times, but his orders were clear. He and his men were to stay clear of them for now, and just observe. He told himself this would be more of a justice to his dead family than killing them outright would be, but the desire to kill those responsible outright and brutally raged within him. One way or another they would suffer and die. That was the only mission he had left in his life and he swore to complete it even if it meant his death.
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Hondo pulled back into the driveway about 2 o’clock, and parked the motorcycle up by the house and out of the way. As he approached the door to his room it opened and out came Valentine followed by Monty.
“I knew that had to be your bike I heard.” She said as she walked up and hugged him.
He kissed her and held her for a moment. After a minute or two he let her go and took a step back.
“How’s the work room comin’?” he asked
“Good! I could use a few things from the store to help line a couple drawers, secure the work mats to the benches, and some other things to help organization. Was hoping to run to town when you got back.” She said
“That’s fine.” He replied
“How’d things go at your meetin’?” She asked.
“Alright, I reckon. I have a copy of the agreement if you’d like to read it.” Hondo replied.
“I’d like to, but before bed maybe. You good to go to town now?” She asked\
“Why don’t you an’ Jack go. I’ll stay here.” He said.
“You tired of town?” She asked, knowing he was not one to spend a lot of time in town unless needed.
“Got a bit of a headache, actually. Been hurtin’ on an’ off today.” He said
“You ok? Is it one like those temporal ones Fernando gets? He said you might get those someday if you go on enough time-jump missions with him.” She said.
“I don’t think so. Nothin’ so bad. Just more so annoyin’, than anythin’. I’ll take some asprin an’ a shot of whiskey an’ I’m sure I’ll be right as rain.” He replied, rubbing his temples as he spoke.
She nodded, then stretched up to kiss his cheek.
“OK. Take it easy while we are gone, then. We’ll be back in an hour or so. I’ll grab a couple more food items too. We get the grill seasoned and rubbed the steaks down with rock salt and peppercorns. Figured we’d try that out tonight.” She said as she headed to the car with Monty on her heels.
“Sounds good.” He said.
“Get some aspirin and rest. If that headache is any worse when I get back, we’re talkin’ to Fernando, alright?” She said as she stepped into the car.
“I’ll be fine. Just be careful. Maybe it’s just mission jitters but I can’t shake the feelin’ we’re bein’ watched.” Hondo replied
“Don’t change the subject! Take some medicine and rest.” She said.
She started the car and pressed the accelerator to make the engine roar loudly, cutting Hondo off from replying. She waved at him and took off. Monty seemed to be happy to be in the front seat for once, as his rotund physique did not lend to him fitting comfortably in that small area. Hondo just gave her a bit of a sour look as she pulled off. Yeah, he had a headache, but he had lots of headaches in his time. If he were honest with himself, he would admit this one was not like his normal stressed or tired headaches. IT was different, but his thoughts were too focused on the feeling of being watch for him to think about the how this headache differed from the others. He just told himself a couple aspirin, a good-sized slug of whiskey, and a good night’s sleep would take care of it.
After they left, he went inside and changed into his normal clothes, ones that were not grubby, but he did not care if they were stained or damaged either. Once changed he grabbed a square bottle from the desk and poured a triple shot of its amber liquid into a tumbler. He then grabbed a small rectangular bottle from his shaving kit and poured three of the round white tablets into the palm of his hand. He popped them into his mouth and chewed them up as he put the bottle back into the shaving kit. They tasted like bitter chalk, but he barely noticed. He then took a deep breath in, picking up the tumbler as he did, and downing the contents in one long gulp. After swallowing he breathed out, letting the air out slowly through clenched teeth and between his partially pursed lips. He shook his head gingerly after a moment and poured another two shots into the glass. He did not down it this time but carried it with him as he headed to the attic stairs, sipping on it occasionally as he walked and checked out the progress in the workroom.
The workroom setup was close to completion, closer than he had imagined it would be. Between himself and Valentine, if nothing came up, they would have it done that evening. As he finished his inspection, he thought he heard a car pull into the drive. He downed the last of his whiskey and set the glass on one of the benches before heading downstairs to see who had arrived.
As Hondo descended the stairs from the workroom and entered the living room, he heard a door open on the first level and heard two people enter. From the voices he knew it was Fernando and Gadget before they even ascended the stairs to the living room. Hondo leaned against the couch as they came upstairs.
“Get your dirty laundry and we will get it washed.” Fernando said to Gadget as they ascended the stairs together.
Gadget nodded and headed towards her room, giggling to herself as she walked.
“What’s wrong with Gadget?” Hondo asks.
“After our talk with Renoske, she discovered that the Geisha Girls that gave Chip, Dale and Monty a blow job were men dressed as Geisha.” Fernando explains.
“Uhm... like Madam Butterfly?” Hondo asks.
“You know it.” Fernando replies.
“What’s in the bag, by the way?” Hondo asks.
“Laundry detergent. Gadget requested it as she needs to wash a few things. So, we’ll be in the basement washing our clothes. I’ll wash mine after she washes hers.” Fernando explains.
“Good. I’ll brin’ down a few things to wash up when you’re done.” Hondo says.
“I hope the machine works. Should be OK though.” Fernando says. He then adds, “I’ll ask for the shop vac later, to remove the lint from the dryer.”
“I’ll bring it down later then.” Hondo says.
Gadget comes out carrying her clothes in her arms, “I’m ready!”
“Alright, let’s go and see if that machine works.” Fernando says before walking down the stairs.
Hondo watched them go for a moment. Once they were gone, he sunk down into one of the armchairs and rubbed his eyes. The whiskey and aspirin were helping but not fast. He sat in silence for several minutes before hearing footsteps of someone returning. From the weight of the steps he guessed it was Fernando. He stood up and composed himself before Fernando appeared. Valentine might want to tell Fernando about every scrape he got but he had no inkling to do so. She did so out of care and love for him, but he felt it to be unnecessary. Valentine was not as bad about it as he made out to himself that she was. She seemed to have a sixth sense about her that knew when something that affected them was not normal, but he did not see it as such. He just saw it as unnecessary worrying.
Fernando nodded at Hondo as he passed him, heading for the room he would have been sharing with Tammy if it had not been for the drug induced bitch state, of which they had that rotten chipmunk to thank for.
“How’s it goin’?” Hondo asks as he follows him into Tammy’s room.
“It’s going fine. I expected problems but the machines were well maintained. So, when Gadget takes her laundry out of the washer and into the dryer, I will put my things into the washer.” Fernando explains.
He leaves the room with his things needing to be washed in a basket.
Hondo nods as he hears the good news, at least it is one less thing to fix.
“I’ll be downstairs if you need anything.” Fernando tells him.
“I’ll let you know is anythin’ happens.” Hondo replies.
As Fernando left, Hondo went up to the workshop and grabbed the shop-vac quick like and headed down towards the basement with it as Fernando had asked earlier. Hondo made it to the top of the stairs that lead from the kitchen to the basement with the shop-vac when he was stopped by Gadget coming up.
“Golly! You got it! I was just coming up to get that for Fernando. He wants to vacuum out the lint trap and exhaust before I use it to make sure we have no fires.” Gadget said as she reached for the vacuum.
“I got it.” He replied to her.
“I’ll take it. I’m sure you have things to do elsewhere.” She said in a slightly chilled tone.
Hondo squinted at her, keeping a good grip on the vacuum for the moment, “I don’t reckon I have anythin’ that must be attended to at the moment.”
She practically ripped it out of his hands, giving him a cold look as she spoke, “I’m sure you will be happier elsewhere. If you are bored, I’m sure I could get Fernando to find something for you to do somewhere else.”
Hondo let the vacuum go suddenly, causing her to almost fall back down the stairs, but she caught herself at the last moment.
“If that’s how you want it, fine.” Hondo said gruffly before spinning on his heals and heading back to his room.
He grumbled a bit as he walked away. His head was still pounding so he grabbed another tumbler, filling it with another couple shots of the bitter amber spirits he had been drinking, grabbed one of the camp chairs he had be given by the tool guys, and headed out to the yard. Once in the yard he found a shady spot, out of the way, opened the chair and half plopped into it. He lit up a cigarillo after a moment and puffed on it, eyes half closed, as he rested and sipped on the whiskey.
Time: Between 3:30 and 4:00.
Note on plans: Valentine and Monty should be back a little after 4:00, almost time to start supper. Valentine will work the kitchen and Monty will help. Hondo will man the grill.
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GsB IV: Enemies of Space, Murderers of Time. (Read 30553 times)
