Further Into The Future!

Chapter 20

Jack and I met Susan and Dan outside the apartment building. They were wearing tattered clothes covered in paint. Susan's t-shirt said "American Rock Star '92," with the shadow of a man yelling into a microphone below it. Susan gave us hugs; Dan nodded at us almost imperceptibly.

"How did the reconnaissance mission go?" Susan asked as we walked down the sidewalk to Bamboo Leaves. The sun was low in the sky so the skyscrapers cast a dark shadow over the street. When we crossed an intersection, however, we were assaulted with blinding sunlight.

"Not bad," Jack replied. "We know what the place is like outside, but we still don't know what to expect when we get in. If we get in, that is. There are guards and snipers all over the place. It would be harder than getting into the fridge when Dan is looking through it."

"Shut up," Dan snapped.

"Damn," Susan said. "Well, things haven't been going much better back at the apartment. I don't know what kind of paint the Corrupt Cops used, but it seems specially designed to be hard to get off. The wall's cleaning program isn't working, and I scrubbed them for hours and only managed to remove a few Cs. We might have to repaint the walls."

She lifted up her right arm. "I think there might be something in the paint that gives you rashes, too," she said. "I brushed my arm against it and look what happened."

She turned her arm over to show a bubbly red rash that went all the way from her elbow to her wrist.

"Will these monsters ever leave us alone?" Jack said. Susan punched him in the arm.

"You should thank Dan," Susan said. "Apparently one of the Corrupt Cops made a mess in the bathroom while they were in our apartment. I don't know how they found the time. Dan spent most of the day cleaning it up."

"Thanks, Danny boy," Jack said, patting him on the shoulder.

"I don't want to talk about it," Dan replied.

We came to a building with an image of the Great Wall of China projected on its outside.

"This is it," Jack said.

The inside of the restaurant was exciting but tacky. Each wall had a panorama of the beautiful Chinese countryside, but the left wall and the right wall were the same image. Typical guitar-plucking Chinese melodies were droning through the speakers. The restaurant was lit with blinding white light that immediately gave me a headache.

Four middle-aged women were sitting at a long table near the door. Two of them waved at us when we walked in, but the other two kept their arms crossed. As we approached the table I saw they had disapproving expressions on their faces.

"The Proud Mothers! I'm so glad you came!" Susan said. She hugged them one by one. When she pulled away from the last hug she had lipstick all over her cheeks.

"Susan, you look great!" one of them said.

"Susan always looks great," said another. "She's a natural beauty."

"But she has such a great sense of style. Look at her dress. I love the polka dots."

"Aw, thank you so much!" Susan said. They obviously loved her.

"Hi, Jack," said one of them coldly, her arms again crossed. Like the other Proud Mothers. Her hair was poofed up so it looked like cotton candy.

"Proud Mothers, always a pleasure," Jack said.

"Likewise."

When she reached for her mixed drink her bracelets fell down her arm to her elbow, jangling loudly.