The Three Graces

Mariko

The Mercedes was parked at the end of the alley. The driver made no move to open the rear door for her but she knew her business was concluded. The staid salaryman next to her in the back seat rearranged himself and zipped his trousers, a satisfied look on his face. She let herself out and the big hover lifted off with a welltuned hum. She twisted her skirt around and retied the neckerchief of the sailor uniform her customers preferred her to wear. She was supposed to be at the Clubhouse an hour ago but, this had been one of her repeat customers and well, money was money. She’d made much more from this encounter than she would have lap dancing and vacuum sucking at the Bunny Girl Club where she normally worked.

She started back down the alley towards the main road. The stairwell to the train platform was right there on the corner.

Suddenly, she had that feeling again. She’d had it several times today. Somebody was watching her. She looked around. The alley was empty. She wasn’t really afraid, just uneasy. She could deal with most any man, except the real pychos. After all, roleplaying was what she did. She had been paid many times to play rapes and if somebody threatened her she could just give him a blowjob and go on her way. Still, she gave the dumpster a wide berth and was happy to reach the lights of the main street.

She turned down the stairs to the platform, bought her ticket and went through the ticket gate. At this hour the platform was not crowded but there were enough people to make her feel comfortable. She caught her train and chose a seat across from a harried businessman in a nice suit, making his way home. She made sure to sit casually and, when she was sure he was looking, she allowed her legs to fall apart, exposing her panties. She knew there was still a wet smear from her omeko. The man’s eyes focused then shifted up to look at her. She winked. He flushed and raised his newspaper in front of his face. She laughed and noticed several young guys watching the scene. She turned and looked out the window.

The train was making its way out of the city into the surrounding farmland. She got up as they approached her stop, surrendering her seat to an old woman and hanging onto a stirrup. The businessman continued to ignore her but the group of perverts moved in as if on signal. She felt one move in close behind her, pressing himself into her behind, feeling the bulge in his pants. The others moved around her, blocking the view of the other passengers. Saying nothing, the guy behind her hiked up the back of her skirt and started fiddling around at her crotch. She wasn’t in the mood for this now. She looked over her shoulder at the guy breathing into her ear, smiled, reached back, grabbed a nut through his thin slacks, and squeezed hard. He yelped and she forced her way through the other guys as the train came to her station.

She got off and started the walk to the clubhouse, which was near the edge of the town. One of the brothers had inherited the old style farmhouse and it suited their needs perfectly. She reached the edge of town and took the dirt farm road, built on a dyke between the flooded paddies. The moon was out and put a silver light on everything. Ahead, she could see the farmhouse, ablaze with lights, motorcycles parked all around. As she got closer, she looked for Tommy’s Harley. She wanted to go for a ride and do some partying. He wasn’t there. The assholes had been brawling again too, some of the shoji were ripped out. She almost decided to turn around because she didn’t feel like dealing with them tonight but she wanted to know where Tommy was so she went on. She climbed the old stairs, quietly pushed aside the shoji to the entryway, and stopped in her tracks.

One of the brothers was sprawled out in the entranceway. At first she thought he was just some drunk who had passed out there amongst the boots. Then she recognized him from his size and build as Ejo, the enforcer. Ejo would never allow himself to get this bad off. Something about the way he lay there was wrong too. Even a drunk couldn’t get himself into that position. She reached out to shake him then realized what it was. He was lying on his stomach and looking back over his left shoulder at an impossible angle.

She turned and ran. As she clambered down the stairs she heard a roar of rage from the house behind her. She didn’t look back but ran for the dyke, almost slipping off into the paddy as she made the corner. As she recovered, she glanced back and saw the light of the entrance completely blocked for an instant by a huge form. The light returned and a black shadow leapt off the veranda and headed towards her at incredible speed. Spurred to new efforts, she regained the solid track. She knew she wasn’t going to make it. Even if she made the road, there was no one there to help her at this hour. All the houses were dark. Then a single headlight turned onto the street and she heard the motorcycle.

"Tommy!" She screamed, and concentrated on reaching the roadway.

He stopped the bike where the trail met the road and waited, looking into the darkness, trying to make out her pursuit. He raised his hand, aiming, caused the shadow to slow and when she had climbed on behind him, he fired. A flash of light broke through the night for a split second, causing the shadow to stop. Tommy gunned the engine and headed back into town. Mariko sobbed on his shoulder.

They rode back into the city wanting to be around people. Tommy found a coffee shop, far from any place he was known and they went in and just sat. Finally, he told her everything, the hotel, what he’d seen, the chase, how he’d rode out to the farm house but had decided to stake it out from the hill nearby. He told her how he’d seen a hover come in and land nearby. Dark shapes had dropped out onto the paddy dykes and converged on the farmhouse. At a prearranged time they had broken in. A short while later they had emerged, returned to the hover, and departed. He had thought she was inside until he saw her walking down the dyke in her white uniform.

“Where did you get the weapon?"

He reached into his jacket, still flying the colors of a club that no longer existed, and placed the object on the table. It was a camera flash.

"It’s all I had."

Tommy was at a loss. It was inconceivable, the speed with which he had been hunted. Someone had known, within hours, who he was, who his friends were, and where he would go. The players in this had to be very large, which meant the disc he carried was very important to someone. He had only one place left to turn.

“What the hell was that thing?”