Joseph went by himself to do an unannounced home visit. He looked through the kitchen door before he knocked and saw Brian at his table. Brian saw Joseph, grabbed a bag from the table and ran. Joseph caught him in the bathroom before he had time to dispose of the cocaine.
After the brief struggle, Joseph held Brian's arm behind his back and pressed his face against the wall.
“You dick! You got no right!”
“I got every right,” Joseph said without a noticeable ruffle.
“You're in a world of shit, Brian. I can stick it to you good for this, and the results of a drug test.”
“You're a demon! I look forward to the day you die.”
Joseph ignored the remark calmly. “You can change for the better, Brian. I want you to find me a woman. If you do, I'll forget what you have in your hands.”
“The only woman I'd find for you would be armed, with a weapon and AIDS.”
“Think about it a moment. I don't want any woman. I only want to find one specific woman. If you help me, I'll help you.” He released his hold but stayed alert.
Brian straightened and stared at the wall over his tub. “What’ll you do for me?”
“End your probation early and I'll get your files off the DELJIS system. Plus, if you're good and fast, your file in my drawer might just disappear. Think hard. I'll give you a few minutes to let it sink in.”
Brian looked from the bag in his hand to Joseph's face. “Who do you want me to find?”
“Amanda Matkins, my wife.” He handed Brian a photo.
“She can't stand you either? Smart woman if you ask me.”
Joseph ignored the insult again.
“How do I know you won't cross me?” The proposal was so far out of character that it caught him off guard and made him nervous.
“Wait at the table,” Joseph said and left the house. He returned and lay a stack of arrest, trial transcripts, information sheets, sentencing, and probation reports on the table. “Will this suffice for a start?”
“How do I know you didn't make copies?”
“You'll have to trust me on that. Consider if I've ever lied to you before. Finding Amanda is very important to me.”
Brian thought and he knew Joseph's reputation for honesty. When Joseph said he would do something, screw you or help you, he would. However, the present proposal was far out of line for the man and therefore unnerving. “You got a deal. Tell me what I need to know and I'll work on it.”
Joyce prepared to leave for work when the phone rang.
“Hello, Joyce. How are you this morning?”
“Who is this?”
“This is Amanda. Does that name mean anything to you?”
Joyce checked her first response and sat on the arm of her love seat. “I know who you are, but I don't know what you expect from this conversation.”
“Of course you don't. For the moment, I want you to stay out of the way. I have no quarrel with you, but I do with Joseph. I really don't want to see you involved until after the divorce and he's free. Then he's all yours. Is that plain enough?”
“Very. What are your plans, or is that a secret, like the riddles?”
Amanda chuckled. “No secrets are necessary. I plan to hurt him and I will. I won't mess him up or kill him, unless it's in self-defense, but I'm going to get his attention. I just don't want to involve you. You're more than welcome to him, afterward.”
She remembered her dream and had to ask. “What's the deal with the jade bear?”
Amanda's tone softened. “I don't really understand my attraction. When I got home after the accident, it was one thing that didn't reject, hate or ridicule me. My attention span was short and my thought patterns were scattered. It listened, soaked up my lonely tears and love, and brought a wonderful sense of reality to the scrambled remains of what I was before. Why do you ask?”
Joyce blinked and felt the goose flesh crawling over her arms.
“Joseph mentioned it and I dreamed about it attacking me last night. Just curious.”
“Are you also curious about his drinking? He only hit me when he was intoxicated, or did he share that with you?”
“No. I didn't know that. He told me only last night that he abused you, and I'm sorry. He's not that way around me.”
“Well, I wish you luck when you do get him. Maybe you're what he needs, but you'll have to wait a spell. Ta-ta.”
Joyce listened to the dial tone until the recording started, lay the receiver down, and checked the time. “Might as well make a bathroom stop before I go.”
She dropped her purse and jacket on the love seat and walked upstairs, humming tunelessly until she opened the bathroom door and jumped back swiftly and hit the wall with a frightened squeal.
The bathroom was bathed in a jade green light and on the edge of the bathtub, stood a two-foot tall jade bear, with silver teeth. Its black nose twitched, and its head twisted to look menacingly at her. It spoke in a guttural but distinct voice. “Joyce, listen to Amanda. Remain on the outside and do not interfere.”
Chills raced up and down her spine and her hands twitched nervously but she nodded her head to show she understood. The bear nodded its head, as if in agreement, and disappeared as she fainted and slid to the floor.
The doorbell aroused Joyce and she scrambled down the stairs, unaware of the time. She jerked the door open, and Joseph stood there.
“What's wrong with you? I've called your office and here so many times it's ridiculous. Are you feeling okay?”
Instinctively her hands went up in a defensive posture. “No! I'm not feeling okay. I don't know what the hell you're doing or what Amanda's doing, but I don't want any part of it. Do you understand that?”
“What happened? Why didn't you go to work? You don’t look well.”
She sighed and walked to the love seat. “Come in, love. This is as far as I made it to work. I was right here when your Amanda called to tell me to stay out of the way, because she doesn't want to hurt me, only you, and then I can have you. After that, I decided to use the bathroom and it was filled with jade green light. A jade bear with silver teeth stood on the edge of my tub and told me to listen to Amanda and stay on the outside.”
When he did not answer, she tapped his shoulder. “Well?”
“What can I say? This is totally insane, she's insane.”
“She is not, love! She knows EXACTLY what she's doing, but don't worry. She said she won't mess you up or kill you unless it's in self-defense.”
“This is not going well.”
She laughed at his nervous display. “You should have thought of that when you abused her.” She regarded his face and noticed the telltale signs of stress beginning to show.
“I can't believe you're laughing.” He stood and paced the floor. “I fail to see the humor in it.”
“Maybe it's because you have to live under someone's thumb before you can see the rich humor in Amanda. You've held her in complete control for how many years while she was defenseless and now you can't find her and stop her? Don't worry. I'll wait for you. Who knows, maybe this will help to strengthen your character.”
“Thanks. I thought at least you'd feel sorry for me.”
She responded with more laughter. “I do feel sorry for you, but I still think it's funny.” She unbuttoned her blouse and stretched out on the sofa. “It's too late to go to work, so we might as well enjoy the afternoon. Take away some of your stress.”
“What about the jade bear?”
“Perhaps I was hallucinating, maybe I wasn't. Anyway, I don't want to sound harsh, but I'm going to stay on the outside. For some reason, I think Amanda told me the truth. When she proves to herself that she can make a good statement on her own, she'll leave you alone. I mean, seriously, I love you, and I'll wait for you, but I'm not going to jump into the middle of this.”
“I can't blame you for that. Will you still help me stay ahead of her?”
“If I can. Right now, let's both relax.”
Amanda napped in her car when a jeep pulled along beside her and blew the horn. She sat up to see Brownie waving and rolled down her window. “Come on, Brownie. I was beginning to think you forgot me.”
She reached across and unlocked the passenger door for him.
“I don't forget damsels in distress, whether they're over or under sexed, married or single, raving beauties or two-baggers.”
“I guess I fit in there somewhere. Thanks.”
“So what's on your mind? Revenge? Murder? You look very docile, and by the way, your face is much improved. It looks like you'll make it and your beauty will shine through once more.”
“Thanks,” she said and her cheeks blushed. She reached behind his seat, retrieved a bag from the floor, pulled out a stack of magazines and handed him a pen. “When you pile all the weight on a camel's back that it can carry, is it possible for it to carry an extra feather?”
He considered it and scrunched his face in several ways. “No.”
“Correct. This is an additional weight, a small one, but an irritant nonetheless. Fill out the subscriptions with Joseph Matkins, 127 Medford Drive, Smyrna, Delaware, 19977. Lay them on the dash and we'll trash the magazines. We'll mail the subscriptions later. If you run out, I have three more bags.”
He laughed and clicked the pen. “You're good, friend, however, I take it you want something else from me.”
She patted his shoulder. “Yes. I need to know something about street fighting, tactics and such things. I have the balls, but I need some coaching to gain all the advantage I can, preferably up front and overwhelmingly. We'll talk about that later.” She gathered a bag of magazines for herself.
“No sweat. When I've finished coaching you, you'll be an invincible junkyard bitch.”
She frowned, closed her eyes and then smiled. “I like that.”
Jalan and Ningla walked through a forest, eating an occasional berry from bushes beside the trail. They stopped and turned north when they heard three gong sounds from the mountain.
“Isn't that the signal request for opening the portal?” Jalan asked.
“Is there a Recruiter outside? I thought they were disbanded about fifteen years ago.”
“There hasn't been one for years,” Ningla replied. “It's been so long, I confess that I have forgotten them.” His face wrinkled as he stroked his white beard. “It’s been thirty years since we rescued an orphan. This is interesting.”
Jalan snorted and adjusted his tunic. “Well, let's assemble the council and call the Interpreter. We'll find out who is there and what this is about. We will not open the portal so readily as before, if at all. Not after the last incident.”
The council assembled in the Majestic Hall and the nine men waited until Slidon, the Interpreter entered the room.
“Did you hear the request to open the portal?” Jalan commenced.
“I did. Nearly everyone in Jade City is talking about it.”
“Who is it? Is this another deception, like the last?”
“Not this time. I researched the code, and it registers for Damash of Three. He is on the outside, still, although I don't know how or why. He was reported killed on the last hunt before the portal was sealed and disassembled. However, the Jade Bear Code could not be compromised by anyone on the outside, only a Jade resident would know it. It is Damash of Three who sent the request.”
Ningla shifted his position in his chair dramatically and cast a worried glance to Jalan. “The Jade Bear Code was enclosed?”
“If it is legitimate, and he has been on the outside all this time; he would not know. I understand your worry, my friend. We all do.”
“This does create a problem of ethics, doesn't it?” Righli tossed out the barb as a question with a casual air, but sinister smile. It delighted him to remind the men of the former debate on recruiting, the one which ended with a decision to close the Portal and accept extinction through attrition.
Jalan snorted and frowned. “Yes, it does, sir. I'm glad you enjoy the danger of the situation.”
“Should we send an Inquiry, or a Rescue Team?” asked Slidon.
“No. We will use the Jadesaw Imagery and summon Damash of Three to appear before the council in spirit form and let him voice his proposal. Then we will decide on a course of action,” Jalan declared. “Is there an objection to that?”
“If we must, but I'm all for ignoring the request,” Ningla stated.
Righli merrily rubbed his hands and studied the other grave council members. “Re-born heartaches are a wonderful learning tool sometimes. Smile, gentlemen, it could be worse.”