Terminus Part I: The Journey There (Draft)

Chapter 11: Criminal Action

As James made his way to Persimmon's house, and Crock made his way to the fish market, Mortadella was on his way home, thinking hard about his meeting with Salvador. He is a bit too ready to be rid of the past, that man. Well, at the least he wants to put it behind him. But why push me away? I know I screwed up, but that was years ago. Regardless, I think I should just rest easy tonight. I don't think I have anything else to lose, in all honesty.

The Motorcycle Gang was eager to learn when their missing motorcycle would be delivered to the precinct. In the mean time, Alfred Hedges and his men were interrogating an alleged member of their gang, who had barged in claiming to have been attacked by a member of the Martyrs Gang.

"Don't play dumb with me, John Dory! You're the Invader, wanted for fourteen million onits, and part of the Rough-House crew. Why are you here? To subvert our operations?"

"What? My name is John Glory."

"You're not fooling anyone. Now, why are you here?"

"To tell you about the Martyr who attacked me. His name was Kent, he said something about an escaped hostage..."

As the interrogation continued, Cameron woke up from a nap and walked around the ship looking for Karnilla and Patricia. After having time to sleep off his headache, he thought it would be practical to know where everyone is, so that he come to a decision on what to do. He still had the matter of new abilities to explore. Not to mention that his various run-ins yesterday gave him what could be critical information.

Crock reached the fish market to find the old man selling fish as per usual.

"Back already, young man?" the man asked.

"Yes, though this time, I'm here to talk."

"You wanna talk? That's a good one. What about?"

"You said something about a cook last time."

"And what reason would you have to ask about that brat?"

"I'm just wondering if you know anything about Meals Eternal."

"Ah, well, that's the place the fool works at. I heard that there was a murder at that place. Charleston died. Poor kid. I bet Persimmon's probably not gonna take the news well. In any case, if you're so eager to know about them, I can tell you all I know. My name is Gumboot, by the way."

Gumboot proceeded to recount the story of how he came to know Persimmon, and how the boy grew up with Charleston as his friend. He then proceeded to the story of how they both came to work at Meals Eternal.

"It was the day of their graduation from that cooking school..." he began. As he recalled the memory, it played vividly in his mind. Persimmon was brimming with excitement.

"I'm going to be a chef!" he said.

"Yeah, and I'm wearing the King's socks!" said Gumboot, who pointed to his socks, revealing King's to be a brand name.

A man came up to them, introducing himself as Mortadella. The two of them laughed and he joined in happily. He said that he was opening a restaurant and needed staff. Persimmon and Charleston agreed to work there and that was that.

Crock and Gumboot continued to talk, as James knocked on Persimmon's door. He waited for an answer. Several minutes passed, and then the door opened.

"Hello, can I help you?" asked Persimmon.

"My name is James. I've been asked to investigate the murder of three individuals at Meals Eternal. It is my understanding that you work there and are friends with one of the victims."