storytellers

nefarious_m · Scribe Joined: 25 Feb 2008 Posts: 3 Location: Orange, MA

Malcolm here, this is my first post so be gentle.

-May in LA
“Is it May?” I remember asking myself out loud. It was May- May first. In LA you can never tell what season it is, there all the same, and I hated it. I was alone, of course, as I was most nights. I choked’ down another scotch and lit myself another cigarette; I hated smoking, and drinking. But there wasn’t much else to do- there wasn’t any work. I was damn near close to being evicted, so I waited, night and day for a job to waltz in. But really, I waited for her. It had been 5 years since I had seen her last. It was May, actually, that we were together last. I like to go there sometimes, to remember that is. I miss those moments, but they were gone, and memories only remain. I try to stop my self from dwelling on them. Memories are memories- they’re gone forever.
Akina was her name, she was petite, I often joked she could fit in the palm of my hand. It was February, 1940. I had only been in Tokyo 6 months. I didn’t know much Japanese, enough to get me by, I knew yes, no, where is the bathroom?, when will the train arrive?, etc. etc. but the language barrier couldn’t stop us. I was at my friend Yoshi’s house for a Valentine’s Party. She was wearing a pale white dress, and a large white hat. When she looked at me, it was like lightning. I had seen women before-big women small women, good women, bad women- but this was electric.
“Hello” I said, and she the same. We walked through the streets together, not talking much; I took her home, said goodnight. We spent nearly everyday together for 2 months. It seems like a million years ago. I unlocked my top drawer and found the picture of her and me. We were standing in front of her apartment. “I love you.” It said in Japanese characters. I love you too. We almost got married even. But she was going to have to hide from her parents me being an American. They weren’t too keen on Americans; it’s a disgrace to their family. I miss her like crazy. I’m glad I left when I did though, with the war looming and all.
But the war is over now, no one is desperate for money, which means less crime, which means no work for me, but there will always be a few sickos and crazies out, terrorizing innocent lives, and ill be there.

-Magdalene
I checked my watch, 12:04. I put the picture away, and locked the drawer. I got up from my desk, pulled my suspenders up and put on my hat. I eyed the bottle of scotch; I was tempted, but decided against another drink.
That’s when she walked in. The top of her face was covered in shadow. She was wearing a red dress and a red hat, the kind with a veil.
“Akina?” I first said.
“Excuse me?” she said as she stepped into the light.
“Im sorry” I said “I thought you were someone else.” I sat down and poured a drink.
“Harland Dodge?” she said
“Yes, ma’am” You couldn’t tell right off that she was mulatto. She was much lighter, and her eyes were a light brown, kinda spooky, but pretty none the less. Her hair was straight, and flipped up at the ends. Her hips rocked back and forth as she walked, real sexy-like. She sat down in the chair in front of me.
“I need your assistance.” She said in a cool calm voice, she pulled a cigarette out of her purse. I offered her a light.
“Why else would you be here?” I said. Boy she was a doll.
“This is no time for sarcasm.” She was serious, I’ll tell you that.
“I’m looking for a partner.” She said. “My brother has been missing all day, and I’m afraid for the worst. I know he’s been mixed up with some shady types, and I have some promising leads.”
“Whoa, wait just one second. Partner? I don’t need a partner. I work alone. And who are you to say weather or not your ‘Leads’ are promising or not. I’ll take your case. But I work alone Doll-face.”
I kept my cool during the whole thing, but she was getting real steamed. I could tell she didn’t like being called “Doll-face”, and I could definitely tell she didn’t like being pushed aside.
“Well then.” She said as she blew smoke at me. She rose from the chair.
“There are plenty of other detectives that will want my business.”
“Wait, wait.” I said “I think we can come to an understanding.”
She sat back down.
“Alright miss… I didn’t catch your name.”
“Magdalene. Magdalene Belle. Alene for short.”
“Alene. I like that.”
“I prefer you call me Miss. Belle, thank you.”
She was a fiery one.
“Well Miss Belle.” Said I. “Tell me what you know.”
“My brother Leroy Belle is unemployed. But I went to his apartment to try and find how he makes money; maybe it would lead me somewhere. He’s a nark for some crooked cops. He finds out where large narcotic deals are made. Then the police pay him for the information. The cops bust the traffickers and take the narcotics for them selves to deal. I’m afraid the mob may have kidnapped him, and if he’s not dead, than they’re trying to get some info. We don’t have a lot of time. They know that people will be looking for him, so we have to move fast.”
“Who are the crooked cops?” I said. I was curious to know because I knew pretty much every cop in town. I didn’t care for most of them. But there were some good ones.
“I know for sure that at the center of this ring is Sergeant Roderick.”
“Sergeant Roderick.”
“Do you know him?”
Yeah, I knew him alright. A slimy scum ball of a human being. Her info doesn’t surprise me that he’s crooked. He was always on my case. Almost had me sent to jail on more than one occasion. But, I have to do some investigation myself before I can call him out.
“Unfortunately. Anything else?” I said.
“No. That’s all I have.”
I let all this sink in, a mill around my brain for a minute.
“Mr. Dodge?” she asked inquisitively.
“Alright then. Ill do it. But it’s going to cost quite a bit of money. I’m used to following cheating spouses, and you want be to rescue someone who was kidnapped by a large scale crime operation” I said.
“I can only offer a thousand dollars.” She said
Wow, a thousand bucks. I would have excepted 750. I haven’t seen money like that in awhile. She doesn’t think its much. She must come from money to throw a thousand bucks around like that.
“Will that be sufficient?” She said.
“Quite. Go home and get some sleep. I’ll meet you here in the morning. Around 8:30. Bring anything that might be useful. Do you have a car?”
“Yes.”
“Great. Tomorrow we’ll go down to the police station and visit our friend Sergeant Roderick. Leave out the back door incase we already have some people on our trail.”
“Alright.” She got up and started out the door.
“And Miss. Belle.” I quickly said. She turned and faced me.
“Be careful.”
She smiled and left me alone in the dark- just as she found me. I waited for about 15 minutes to make sure she was a fair distance away before I locked up.
“You still got it.” I said aloud.

-Invitation
I hit the street at around 2. It was brisk, and the street was quiet and empty. I didn’t have the money for a cab so I walked back to my apartment. It was a fair distance but I didn’t have a choice. I had a million things racing through my mind on the way home. I hate to say this but I kept feeling as if someone was following me. I didn’t see a car or anyone but with my profession- theses things are a liability. My apartment is in Chinatown. I would most likely be safer sleeping in my office.
I start thinking about Akina again on the way home; I wonder what she was doing? I thought about her quite a bit especially since it was around this time of year we last saw each other, it was if I lost her. I’m going out to see her with this thousand dollars. That’s what I’m gonna do with the money from this job. Catch the next boat to Japan. And we’ll be together. I was so hindered in this thought I missed my street by two blocks. I turned around.
When I get into my apartment the first thing you notice is probably the heat. The boiler is always on the fritz and it was hotter then hell. I took off my coat and hat, loosened my suspenders. I was drifting off to sleep; I was seeing Alene’s face when I heard a crash and a cool draft of air all around me. I darted up out of bed and saw an unbroken Molotov cocktail lying on my bedroom floor. I picked it up and looked out my now broken window to see someone rushing into the driver’s seat. I chucked the Petrol bomb right back at him but he sped off. “Smart move” I thought as the petrol bomb exploded sending fire into the street. I quickly put on my clothes and went to the phone.
“Operator? Yes I’m looking for a Miss Magdalene Belle. Uhuh. Can you connect me?”
After a few rings I heard Alene’s faint voice.
“Hello?”
“Miss Belle?”
“Yes, is this Harlan Dodge?” she was a little confused I could tell.
“Yes it is, listen, someone just tried to kill me and I’m afraid that they will try to make the same endeavor on you. You need to meet me right now. I’m afraid were messing with the wrong people here.”
“Oh god! Are you all right?” her voice wained from the other side.
“Yes, I’m fine. You need to meet me at Oscar’s diner in Cypress Park as soon as possible.”
“Aright.”
I hung up the phone and got the hell out of there. I went the back way all the way the way there taking the back alleys and streets, my hand always on my Smith & Wesson Model 27. I nearly fired off my gun with every cat that jumped out at me. I heard fire trucks in the distance.

-Oscars
I laughed to myself about that. I arrived at Oscars and sat down at the counter, and ordered a cup of coffee.
“Thanks Oscar.”
“Your welcome mister Dodge.”
Oscars a great guy. I’m here quite a bit.
I checked my watch. Damn- she’s late. I got a little worried that those clown got to her before I could call her, but then she arrived. She drove a big Oldsmobile Viking, not the kind of car a lady would drive, but a nice car anyway, I hadn’t seen one for years.
“Miss. Belle. Sit down.” I greeted her as she walked in.
“Coffee?” I said.
“Yes please.”
I signaled to Oscar for more coffee
“That’s a nice car you’ve got there.”
“It was my fathers. I can’t really afford anything, so I’m stuck with that.”
She took her coffee and stirred some sugar into it. She was shaking quite a bit.
“I’m thinking that we need to take a new look at this case. Who ever is behind this knows their stuff.”
She wasn’t really paying attention. She kept looking out to the street, or at the people sitting in the booth. I enjoyed this moment even though we were in imminent danger. And spending it with a good looking dame like Alene wasn’t bad either.
“Are you feeling alright?” I added.
“Yes I’m fine.”
“You don’t look to good. You need some sleep.”
“I haven’t been sleeping well lately.”
“No, let me take you someplace safe. And in the morning we go to the police station.”

-Dreamers
She got into the passenger side seat, and I started the engine. We were going to see my old friend Eugene. Eugene lived, well, more or less squatted in an old warehouse. He moved in during the depression and never left. Believe it or not, it wasn’t a bad place, and it was out of harm's way.
Kept my eye out for any suspicious people through the back streets on the way to Eugene’s. This was my ticket to Tokyo; I wasn’t going to screw it up.
I broke the silence, in the car. “You remind me of someone I know.”
“Really?” she turned toward me.
“An old girlfriend.” She gave slight smirk. She was a tough nut to crack. And wasn’t much of a conversationalist. And as much as she wanted me to know that, I could still see much more meek side to her.
“Akina. That’s her name.”
“and how do I remind you of her?”
“Your stubborn just like her. I’m sure you have just a big heart though. You two would really get along real well.”
Now for your information I don’t usually talk all fruity like this. But I was tired, and wasn’t in the right mind set.
“Thank you. That’s very nice Mr. Dodge.”
We pulled up to the gate of the warehouse. It was chained shut. I took out my gun and shot it off. Ill pay Eugene for it later. I could see the warehouse, in the distance. There was light on. I parked the car in the back and went to the side to the big metal door. I knocked three times.
“Who’s there!?” Eugene creaked from the other side.
“It’s Harland! Open up!”
“Harland? What are you doing here at 3 in the morning?”
“Just open up!”
I heard him unlocking a dozen locks before the door creaked open. Eugene looked at me from behind thick glasses. He was wearing an old sweater vest and dirty chinos. His beat up overshoes. His long white hair was unkempt like a beast’s.
“Lord have mercy! What’s going on?” he said as we walked in.
“Someone tried to fry me with a gasoline bomb.”
We went into his “kitchen”.
“Please sit down uhhhhh… what’s your name miss?”
“Magdalene Belle” I could tell she was a little confused about the whole thing.
“Wonderful! Tea?” he rushed over to a large make shift hearth near the wall. The kitchen was open to the entire house. It was actually a nice place. Old Eugene was a jack-of-all-trades. The warehouse was more than homey and brought some comfort to the chaotic night.
“No thank you.” Magdalene chirped.
“Oh come on! Just a cup. So Harland who is this fine young woman and why is someone trying to kill you?” Eugene was pretty nonchalant about the whole thing.
I explained what had happened and Magdalene’s situation. Eugene just smiled through the explanation. I suppose Eugene was father I never had, he was always interested in what I was doing,
“Its nearly 4 in the morning.” Eugene said “We should be off to bed.”
He let Magdalene up to the loft he built to sleep in his bed. He lay down on the floor of the kitchen and I was on the couch. When I fell asleep I dream wonderful things. I dreamt of Akina. A distant memory- we were driving- yeah, I remember now, driving by the ocean- warm weather- sea mist on my face, a sharp turn and then I awoke. Eugene was cooking eggs and telling stories to Magdalene who was laughing real hard. I got dressed real quick and ate some breakfast with them.
“We better head over to the police station now.” I said.
“Leaving so soon?” Eugene said.
“Afraid so. But we’ll be back later.”

eleison · Posted: Tue Feb 26, 2008 8:37 pm Post subject:

Welcome aboard Mal!

A little note about the formating, even though it did not hamper my ability to read this particular piece, for the sake of the forum we require that a line be skipped between paragraphs.

Anyway, this read like a film noir dream. The characters feel like they just stepped out of a penny dreadful, and I think that was the point. I could see the whole thing running by on a beat up projector screen in an aged black and white haze. (And I TOTALLY want to illustrate this now, by the way. You'll have to talk to me about this at school sometime.)

There were definately grammar problems, but I am a Lord of Grammar Mistakes... so someone else will have to tell you exactly how to go about fixing them.

Can't wait for more.
-Colleen
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Everywhere I go I find that a poet has been there before me.
~Sigmund Freud~

Colonel Fitzgordon · Posted: Sat Mar 01, 2008 12:24 am Post subject:

wonderful job capturing the world of film noir!!!
small error: you seam to change tenses when Dodge recalls his history with the sargent.

something i would change: he says he was expecting 750. this seams awkward to me. It made be exactly 75% of what she offered, but people don't really think in even percentages, and in those days you did things by the dollar or by the hundred, so I would have him say 700.

awesome: everything. I love that you gave him a motivation, and that the girl is mixed race, which I'm sure will come up, since this is clearly a family matter. for some reason Eugene seams lke alfred to Dodge's batman. too cool. More! More! More!
~alice
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"There was a dream that was Rome. You could only whisper it. Anything more than a whisper and it would vanish, it was so fragile." --Marcus Aurelius, Gladiator
Shall we whisper, you and I?