DESPERATE TIMES

It was a rush hour on the streets of Capricon city that early morning. However, there wasn't any traffic on the roads. Some walked and others drove their cool cars to make it early to their work places. Among these people of various calibers, here walked the two shabby hobos who had just become friends last night too, Suxes and Kevin Moore.

Suxes lead the way upto infront of a majestic cafeteria where they both stood, eyes at the entrance.

"It's very dangerous for me to be here but I had to do it," said Suxes, gazing anxiously at the cafeteria.

"truth be told, I'm extremely nervous."

...

Kevin Moore, in his neanderthal manners barely had an idea about why Suxes gestured intense anxiety and guilt in his looks. He chose to keep it simple by following the lead, copying his new friend's body language.

With his super thick beard, him too made an anxious gesture. He squeezed his fingers together continously as if they were itching as he moved his legs back and forth on the ground he was standing, restlessly, same way Suxes was doing.

Eyes on the ground, like he was experiencing deep thought, drastically back to the cafeteria entrence in a guesture of impatience, several times _ exactly how Suxes was doing it, Kevin kept it perfectly uniform. Suxes looked at Kevin and wondered what he was up to, to imitate his body language like that.

"Really!"

While in their shabby outfits behaving in a way which seemed playful to the eyes of a viewer, with Kevin Moore barefooted as usual, a lady who was smartly dressed in a cafeteria uniform walked out of the cafeteria with her face frowned angrily.

"Hope I survive today," Suxes, at tension, worriedly said as soon as he saw the lady.

It was an anxious moment as Suxes waited for the coming lady to approach him. He took a very deep breath. Kevin Moore copied him and too his own deep breath as well, and stared humbly at the lady just the same way Suxes was doing.

"Brittany, I....," before even Suxes made a clear sentence of humble words, a few steps as she was reaching, "didn't I tell you to stop showing your face to me?!" In a wrathful voice the lady known to be Brittany exclaimed in question out of pure spite.

"Look, if you don't leave instantly, you won't like my next move. You know you're not allowed anywhere close to where I am _ leave!" She barked.

"Hi, Brittany...," politely Suxes greetings, "please meet my friend Kevin Moore!"

"Are you stupid?!" Brittany asked aloud with an angry attitude. "And you think I care! What have you come to manipulate me with this time uh; stupid crocodile tears as you used to do! Alright stay, wait for the police."

As Brittany turned her back angrily quick on Suxes, on her third step back to the cafeteria, perhaps to find means to call the police on him, suddenly he grabbed her hand, gently though.

"Alright, I'm leaving", Suxes said with deep humbleness, "I was only trying to help my friend here to find his father."

Suxes: "It's your kindness memories stuck on my mind that made me think wrongly _ that maybe you can help my needy friend, this is why I lead him here, to you the only person that ever stood ten toes for me but, am so sorry. Okay!"

Brittany: "No! I don't want anything to do with you! Him being your friend is enough reason for me to hate him as well. Stop looking out for me! Else, you'll make me regret my actions against you. You'll go back to prison Suxes!"

Brittany pulled her hand out of Suxes' fingers. "And you," she confronted Kevin _ a stranger she didn't know, "my life has been messed up enough by your so called friend here. If I were you, I would choose wisely....."

Brittany looked at Kevin from head to toe with judgemental eyes and concluded, ".... but bird of the same feathers flock together."

She was rude indeed. However, after spitting angry words to both of them, she asked to know the kind of help they needed from her.

"What do you want?" In a commanding voice tone, she asked while looking closely in Kevin's eyes.

Suxes hurried up to her and humbly said, "his father's name is Sean Moore as written on this piece of paper, probably a diver twenty to twenty five years ago. Just search about him on your internet computer.... thats all."

Brittany: "Only this once and never ever show your faces near me again!"

Suxes: "Only this once I promise. We vanish without trace."

Suxes smiled gladly for the assistance granted. Angrily, Brittany grabbed the piece of paper out of Suxes' hand and hurried back inside the cafeteria. Suxes took another deep breath followed by a sigh, for the challenge he had just surpassed.

With a compassionate smile, Kevin Moore looked at him like, "Darn, whatever you did to the lady to hate you this much must have been so dangerous."

All Suxes could give back to Kevin Moore's stare at the moment was a sorry glance. He was too speechless.

...

After a little while, Brittany walked back.

"It is said that twenty-five years ago, after a long trip from the black sea, Sean Moore discovered he was diagnosed with a brain tumor. It is further more said that he went for a surgery which didn't go well and after a few months bedridden he died. Since he had no family member known, he had a friend named Gang Du who never left his side, that took responsibility of his burial."

Brittany informed them.

"But Gang Du still lives, it is said and you can find him on this address", Calmly, Brittany spoke and handed over the piece of paper on which she wrote Gang Du's address, not to Suxes but to Kevin Moore and she left, back to her duties.

.....

"Aren't you sad about the bad news of your father's death?" Suxes asked Kevin who seemed unbothered while they were still standing, looking at the cafeteria.

"I never knew my father from when I was born until today. We have no strong bond in between whatsoever. However, I am just happy that I have something to tell my mother when I go back home, maybe it will calm her conscious down to know that father never abandoned us intentionally."

"Wow....!"

"I had a good job and a female friend who loved me unconditionally," miserably Suxes began to narrate as they turned away out of the cafeteria premises, "but I stupidly ruined everything."

With emotional memories he turned a gaze at the cafeteria while they walked. Suxes seemed to have a regretful story between him and Brittany.

Ultraexpensive ship:

"Now I know why they're so relaxed, trouble has not reached them yet", silently, at the back of his mind, Felix spoke.

"Uh, I suggest you don't step your feet out of the kitchen chembers until someone comes smiling with a breakfast order", Felix cautioned the chefs in a serious but relaxed tone of voice.

"I Is there something we need to know? Just asking, Mr Felix", One of the chefs stuttered as they all stared at him with a lot of curiosity.

Flash images of yesterday evening's sudden incident; his brother's body next to his feet and the heavy bouncer thrown down on the floor like a ball, appeared on Felix's mind.

Startledly he said to them, "if you really want to complete today, see tomorrow, and maybe more other days of your life... that's my opinion."

As it is said, 'curiosity killed a cat', Felix's words kept the chefs uncomfortable. They pretend to conduct their work, but suddenly the head chef came out of the kitchen counter. Immediately, the other four chefs came out and joined him too. In a straight line, they began to walk towards the door.

"Wait wait wait!" Nervously anxious, Felix stood up so fast, "you cannot go out there... it's not at all safe!"

"Mr Felix, the more you talk like that the more curious you make us. We all know there's nothing as safe as this ship. We're only going to check and come back", replied the head chef, worriedlessly.

As a team, the chefs always watched eachother's back. Curiously, they had already made up their minds to get out, beyond the kitchen chembers where they always stayed. Felix was unable to convince them.

Inquisitively all the five chefs continued to walk towards the kitchen exit door to make a survey.

Without a clear explanation to give to them, Felix thought it through. Thereafter, he took a deep breath and hurried to join their line as the last man walking from behind.

"Just be careful," Felix spoke behind them, tiptoeing like a spy outside the kitchen chembers.

To their surprise when they looked over their shoulders suspiciously after hearing the voice, they saw their young boss Felix in a line with them, which left some of them shaking their heads with smiles, wondering.

"Where's everyone?" One chef asked when they barely met anyone on their way through the ship corridors and the rooms.

"Look guys!" From a distance one of the chefs happened to spot an abandoned gun down on the ground.

Anxiously, when they saw the gun, all of them turned their eyes on Felix and began to consider his warning words. Carefully, the head chef tiptoed to were the gun was; near the edge of the wall, down on the floor.

As he bent down to pick it, in a distance through the door glass opening, he saw secretary Jamila, Babara's bodyguard and two coastguardmen walking very seriously in a hurry to a specific direction. However, the head chef had no idea who the two people were except the coastguards in uniform.

"I think there's a big problem!" He communicated to his team with his attention taken, through a door glass opening.

Curiously, when he moved his eyes further beyond, within the direction where the coastguards were heading, he saw a mysterious female standing near the ship edge, facing the rising sun, having a country flag tied around her body.

"Look at her hair!"

Waitng a few metres away from him, his team noticed the weird expresssion on his face in the door glass opening where he had his eyes fixed, widely open.

"Is everything okay?" In question his fellow chefs wondered and slowly walked closer from behind him to see what had eaten up all his attention.

Speechlessly timid, Felix never moved a step.

"Madam Babara!" Nervously excited, secretary Jamila called her a few metres away on deck, as soon as she approached.

Long shiny black hair waved like a horse tail while she turned her face to them. In too much excitement, secretary Jamila ran so fast into her chest and shared a very passionate hug. The chefs were watching through the door glass opening.

"Wow...! I've never seen such a beauty", all the chefs couldn't believe their eyes.

"Who is she?"

On hearing the chefs murmuring compliments, Felix hurried up to where they were standing to take a look at what they were seeing.

"Babara!" He exclaimed.

"I've been so much worried about you," with great affection in the her eyes, secretary Jamila told Babara Yen.

"Why? I was the one worried. Where had both of you gone to?" Babara spoke with pretence.

"Really!"

Secretary Jamila wondered. According to the way the gunmen forced them off the ship, the bodyguard too couldn't believe his boss' words.

"Young lady, these two colleagues of yours reported a case of kidnap to us, that's why we are here", the coastguardman intervened.

"I think they're just too worried about me", Babara replied with a relaxed smile.

"Can you please explain to us what happened?" Requested the coastguard.

"It was.... just a simple misunderstanding that raised worries. Allow me to apologise for the inconvenience with this small token," with a bundle of dollars, Babara Yen rewarded the coastguards and appreciated them for their good deed.

The coastguards expressed great happiness as they recieved the cash. However, while they turned to leave, one of them stepped back a bit.

"Uh, excuse me Madam, we know this ship belongs to Mr. Franklin and it always gunmen almost at every corner, How comes there's no one here this early morning?"

Thank you reader