Chapter 54A: A Meeting of Old Friends

We got out of the taxi in front of an office complex where various companies rented space for their offices, and at the reception asked for Alex. About five minutes later, we saw him walk out of the elevators with Sabine. The greetings over, Alex immediately asked about the 'mugging' attempt. I gave him a quick summary without going into the gory details, explaining we would be meeting with our lawyer in the afternoon to sort out any 'remaining' issues that there might be. Although he didn't look satisfied with what I told him, he knew me well enough to know that I was offering what I chose to offer, so he elected not to probe further, except offering his help in regards to lawyers he knew and trusted. I told him we had some good help from Dana's friends, and our lawyer was a very well known criminal defense attorney, and moved the subject to Gary.

"What do you say, we pull something on him?" I asked. "It's been a while, so I'm thinking he might not recognize me," I suggested.

Alex gave me a critical look, and nodded, waiting for an explanation.

"I was thinking... Dana and I could come in after you go in, and act as if we are new customers, while you and Sandra try to keep him busy. Then, I will act like an impatient client or something."

"That wouldn't work," he replied. "He's doing quite well, so he wouldn't care less. Unless... unless you make a bad scene and piss him off, in which case he might take it upon himself to show you out the door!" His face broke into a grin as he concluded.

"That's not very nice of you," Dana commented.

"Who said we were nice to Gary?" Alex and I responded at the same time. "We still have to pay him for his stunt," I added for good measure.

"I don't believe you're holding it against him, even after all these years. What do you guys do, keep a scorecard?" Dana retorted, but her smile gave her away. She was just trying to rib us.

When we nodded in affirmation, Dana turned to Sabine. "You're not going to take part in this, are you?"

"No. I don't want any part of it. It's between them."

"There you go!" Dana retorted.

Alex and I exchanged a look, and he shrugged his shoulders, but I wasn't ready to give up yet, so I winked, letting him know I would be up to some stuff, and for the benefit of the girls, I said, "Spoil sports! I guess that settles it then, Alex... maybe another time... Let's get going."

As Alex mentioned, Gary's shop wasn't far away, just at the end of the block, situated in a relatively busy intersection of two main streets.

"You go ahead. I want to look at what he has before going in. I want to surprise him," I said to Alex, so he went in with Sabine.

A few minutes later, Dana and I went in as well, and instead of greeting Gary, I steered Dana to one of the glass shelves with picture frames, and cameras. She realized I was up to something, but didn't say anything. From the corner of my eye, I was watching Gary, Alex, and Sabine, who were already in a conversation. Seeing the time was right, I moved to the counter some ways away from the trio, glanced at the wedding pictures beneath the glass plate on the counter, and pointed at them to Dana.

"Nice pictures. He's really good," she said.

Yessss! Thank you, thank you!

I've just been handed the opening I needed!

"NICE?" I replied with a loud voice. "Come on! These are amateurish. I don't see what's so nice or special!"

Dana was taken aback by my response, especially with my loud voice, but she immediately realized what I was up to, and flashed me an annoyed look. As I expected, the trio turned to glance at us; I didn't even have to check, I could feel their eyes on us. I flashed a grin to Dana, and continued with my game plan. "Even I can do better than that!" I continued. "This guy calls himself a photographer? Hah!"

"Shhsss! Be quiet!" Dana urged, clearly embarrassed with my outburst, even though she knew what I was doing.

To see what Gary was doing, I chanced a quick look over my shoulder. "Do you have better examples than... than these?" I asked, sweeping my hand over the pictures under the glass in an uncaring manner. Then, I turned back to Dana without waiting for an answer, indicating I wanted a prompt response and service from him, playing the impatient, loud, and obnoxious client to the hilt.

By then Dana was coloring up, and grimacing at me. Although I felt a bit anxious about her feelings, I just wanted to continue with my playacting. Pointing to another picture, I said, "Look at that one. He used a flash to take this picture and it's obvious. Look at the eyes. See! They are red! I don't know why I'm wasting my time here!" The picture in question was indeed taken with a flash, but the eyes weren't red.

"Don't do that!" Dana hissed between clenched teeth, not wanting to be a part of the gig. "Please?"

"Come on... We're almost there," I whispered, imploring her not to give it away.

"Hey buddy! You've got anything better?" I shouted over my shoulder once again, and saw Alex grinning at me, while Sabine was covering her face with her hands. I wasn't sure whether she was embarrassed or she was trying to hide her laughter. Gary was finally headed in our direction, and from the sour expression on his face, he was pissed, but trying to keep his cool.

"Ahh! Finally! Some help is on the way," I said with a patronizing tone, and turned back to Dana. "Hey honey-bunny! You sure you want to look at some more pictures?" I asked with a sickeningly sweet tone, totally out of character for me.

Dana gave me a look of absolute horror and shock, as if I had suddenly developed antlers. "Here comes the man!" I said with an arrogant tone and a haughty shake of my head.

By then Gary had arrived and was appraising Dana. He quickly arrived at the conclusion that Dana was feeling embarrassed, and perhaps he thought that this was an everyday occurrence with us—if I was reading his face correctly. Then he turned his attention to me and gave me a look of absolute distaste. Taking a deep breath, he said, "Sorry folks. I don't have other wedding pictures. I don't do weddings anymore."

From the way he said it I knew he was just trying to get rid off us. "I'm not surprised," I breathed. "From what I've seen I doubt you would get much work."

Dana was almost ready to hit me right then, and turning to Gary, she attempted to apologize to him. "I'm sorry for—"

"You're sorry for what, honey-bunny?" I said cutting her off in mid sentence. I put my arm around her and pulled her to me. I was a bit forceful, and my hand brushed her right breast, almost cupping it. I must have shocked her completely; otherwise, I'm sure I would have gotten an elbow. Without giving her a chance to recover, I turned to Gary, and said, "I guess we're done here. My little sweety,"—I tightened my hold on Dana to emphasize and demonstrate my possession—"wanted to hire a photographer for our wedding, but since you're not doing that kind of work anymore, I guess we have to look elsewhere."

I wish I had a camera with me, because Gary's face was going through changes so fast, it would have been impossible to capture his expression without using a high-speed shutter action, and they were a sight to behold. Instead of being pissed at me for my rudeness, he looked more concerned about the way I was treating Dana. Right then, Dana managed to wiggle away, and was ready to open up on me. Quickly grabbing her arm, I pulled her again, and at the same time, I said to Gary, "Sorry, Flash! I need to do some serious damage control, so if you excuse me a moment..."

"Please, Dana. I'm sorry," I said and quickly kissed her, despite her efforts to avoid me. "I apologize. Please?" I kissed her again, before releasing her. Her eyes were shooting daggers at me, so I put on a pleading expression. "It was just a joke, love. I'm sorry. Please?" I waited wondering and praying whether she would accept my apology.

After a few seconds, she relented with a short nod. I mouthed 'thank you, ' but I knew she didn't forgive me completely, yet. Perhaps, she didn't want a scene.

I wonder what she'll do once we have some privacy.

I turned back to Gary. "Sorry, Gary. I just wanted to surprise you and pull your leg. Dana was an unwilling victim of my joke, and I clearly embarrassed her," I said, and shot an apologetic look at her again. "Please accept my apologies. Both of you."

Gary stood there without a word, trying to understand what was happening. Finally, he realized it was an elaborate scheme, and when he glanced at Alex, he saw him grinning.

"The wolf strikes again," Alex said, trying to refresh his memory. Gary's eyes widened as recognition hit.

"Mitchell? You son of a... gun!" He managed to catch himself in time, but... "What the hell was that? Dammit!" he exclaimed. Finally, he got himself under control, and regaining his composure he turned to Dana. "Please excuse the language, Miss. I-I wasn't—"

"It's all right. He was nasty. I don't know if I should forgive him," she replied. She shot me an irritated look.

"Come on, Dana. It was just too good an opportunity to pass up, and we're old friends. It was just a joke. I didn't mean to treat you like... like that. I'm sorry. You know I'm better that that."

"I'll think about it," she said after a long pause.

Shit! She's going to make me sweat! Damn!

I knew I couldn't do much about her ire right then, so I turned back to Gary. "So, Flash. How you've been?"

"Good, good. Finally got away and opened my own business."

"Looking good, Gary," I said, scanning the place before my eyes settled back on his face. "I'm glad to hear that you're doing great."

Gary gave me a critical look, before responding. "Man, you've changed. You look older! What's that white stuff? Are you turning into a silver wolf?" he joked.

"It's something I'm working on. The distinguished look, you know," I retorted with a wry grin, and he laughed. "Alex told me you got married, and have a kid... all that good stuff..."

He nodded with a grin, letting me know he was happy. "Yeah. Finally tied the knot. Aren't you going to introduce me to your... ehm... your... honey-bunny?" He inflected the last one with a quizzical look at Dana.

To my surprise, she responded with a quick laugh and waved her hand in a dismissive gesture.

"Sure. Dana Conor meet an old friend, Gary Johnson, aka 'Flash' the master photographer."

"Nice to meet you, Miss Co—"

"Dana," Dana quickly interjected, and extended her hand.

Gary took the proffered hand, and then with a flourishing bow, he kissed the end of her fingers. "A pleasure to meet you, Dana."

"All right. Cut the smoothie routine, Flash," I retorted. "I'm already in the dog house as it is. You don't have to help worsen the situation."

Straightening up, he grinned, and said, "Soooo, Wolfie! How have you been?"

I returned a sardonic smile at his mangling of my nickname to something of a name for a poodle or a puppy. "Doing all right."

By then Alex and Sabine joined us, too. Alex told him about our chance encounter a few days ago, and we tried to catch up on each other. Dana finally relaxed seeing how we were interacting, but she still gave me an irate look now and then, letting me know I wasn't in the clear, yet! I managed to ask Gary about his business, and learned about his facilities, which also gave me the opening I was looking for. I mentioned that I wanted to get back to photography, and expressed my wish to renew my acquaintance with dark room techniques, emphasizing that I hadn't done much in the last several years. He very enthusiastically extended an invitation, and told me about some new equipment he had. We talked shop for a bit, and he showed us his new machine for the 'one-hour' color-print service, but told me he still had the classic equipment in his dark room for special jobs. We didn't stay too long, since Alex and Sabine had to catch a quick bite and return to work, but we promised to keep in touch. Gary insisted that we should gather at his place for dinner one evening and Dana said that she would remind me as soon as we returned from our trip.

After Alex and Sabine left, Gary tried his best to help me out with Dana. "Please don't give him a hard time on my account. We are all a bunch of jokers; we've always been like that. If I were in his shoes, I would have done the same. As he said, it was too good an occasion to pass up."

"I understand. Alex and Mitch told us some stories," Dana replied.

"Nothing bad I hope?"

"No, nothing bad. It seems you all had some good times."

"Yeah, we did," he replied, his eyes lighting up with a smile. "But as all good things come to an end, that also ended when, one-by-one, we left. I was the last one." Turning to me, he said, "I'm surprised to hear that you're back there. How bad is it?"

"Uh... not that bad. The current company is much better than that dinky-toy outfit we used to work for. I'm being careful, and we have some protection in the field, so I'm not concerned. You get used to it after a while."

"Get used to it?" he asked giving me a skeptical look.

"Well, yeah... It sounds crazy, doesn't it? But it's true. Eventually anyone can get used to anything. But, really, there isn't much going on, at least where I work. Close to the borders and the mountains there's some activity, but we aren't anywhere near those places. So it's all right."

"I heard the stories... last year there was an attack..." Gary said hesitantly with a very concerned expression on his face.

"I know. A friend of mine was there, and he survived it, but... it was an unfortunate incident. They hadn't taken any precautions. My understanding is that their rig had been a target of opportunity." To emphasize my meaning, I added, "Nothing like that has ever happened since then, and things are moving away rather than getting closer."

It wasn't, but they didn't know it. However, there hasn't been more escalation since then. What's more, there was a chance that with the increased military presence things might be brought under control in a while. The question was, how long that 'while' might take, and at what cost. I mentally shrugged, since I had very little control over the situation. I just had to be careful and keep my eyes open. If things got worse, I knew I would pack it in. I wasn't going to stay around, good job and pay or not. I wasn't a complete wacko!

Perhaps time is drawing closer...

Not so fast, dude! Sure, you have some responsibilities to other people, now, but it's too early to call it quits. There will be a time to sit down and think about it.

Yeah! Probably... Maybe...

The last amendment was almost an automatic response; after all, I was used to the current situation. I've been alone for several years, answering only to myself, and that kind of freedom was something I wasn't sure I let go of easily or so quickly. Besides, some things take time, and I knew myself well enough to know that I needed time to change. It was all a matter of—

I caught Gary and Dana giving me a puzzled look, and realizing I almost slipped far away, getting lost in my thoughts I responded with a quick reassuring smile.

"Be careful, Mitch," Gary said, worry coloring his voice.

"Always. You know me, buddy." Seeing the expression on my face, he just nodded in acknowledgment, and that was the end of it.

Shortly after that, we left his shop, and took a quick lunch at a small restaurant. Dana was very quiet for a while now and I was getting worried.

"Are you still angry at me? Am I in the dog house?" I asked.

"Huh? No, I..." she answered distractedly. Collecting herself, she said, "No, I'm not. You're forgiven."

I was surprised by the sudden change of heart, but I couldn't figure out why.

"What's up?"

"Nothing, Mitch." Seeing I wasn't convinced, she smiled and said, "I was thinking about our upcoming meeting."

"Why? Are you worried?"

"Not about myself. After his remarks about your..."

"Training?" I finished it for her. Getting a nod, I said, "I'm not concerned. I know what I did, and did not do. Don't misunderstand me. I'm not proud of what I did, but I just didn't know how else I could have dealt with them. As he said, the odds were bad, and I've never had to resort to violence before."

I've never had to protect anybody. If it were only me, I might—

If I had been the only one in danger I might have used less force, but that night, I didn't take any chances. When it happened, I wanted them down, and down fast! Period! There hadn't been a chance to walk away from it; not the way they came at us. I was under no illusions about the situation. We had been lucky they hadn't pulled a knife or a gun on us. It could have been worse.

She nodded in understanding, and returned to her food. Seeing her so subdued I was getting anxious.

"Dana, are you scared?"

"Scared? No! Why?" Then she grimaced, and hastily asked, "You mean, scared of you? Come on, Mitch. I'm not scared of you. I might be concerned or worried for you, but I'm not scared of you." She reached out and took my hand in hers, giving me an imploring look.

I nodded.

"You want to talk about it?" she asked.

"About my training? Honestly... no! I don't want to, but I promised, so we will. Just not now."

"Honey, I understand. I really do. I wasn't implying we should... now. And if you don't want to, that's OK, too."

The way she said it I suspected she was trying to let me off the hook, but I didn't want to make any mistakes; I knew that I didn't intend to keep it a secret anymore.

"Dana, I'm not going to keep it a secret from you, OK?" I implored her. On an impulse, I decided to take the bull by the horns. "Look, it's part of what I am, whether you realize it or not. You need to know. It's..." I took a deep breath to calm myself and collect my thoughts. "How shall I put it? It's something I don't advertise. Because most people would take it the wrong way. I mean, look at all those movies, and such. The glorified violence... and the Arts are advertised or displayed, at worst, as a tool for violence, and at best, as a tool for self-defense. The majority thinks it's about breaking bones, hurting people, and the rest..." I made a disgusted gesture with my hand. "They see it as something for self-defense, protection. But, it's not. Not for me. It's about self-discipline, enlightenment; it's more of a philosophy or teaching than any other thing. Yes, they do have some practical applications, but that's only part of it... more of a side effect, if you will. Despite my childhood experiences and how I had gotten involved in martial arts, they had—they have—always been a serious study, a learning experience. It never changed. I still practice... a select few, although I've quit practicing some of them."

Her expression softened, as she was listening to me, and she nodded her head in agreement as I expressed my views. "I understand, darling. That's why I said you don't have to talk about it if you don't want to. I wasn't telling you that you could keep secrets, although you can, because everybody has secrets. It was my way of saying that I trust you, who you are, what you are." She paused mulling something in her mind. "Let me rephrase it," she said." What I've been meaning was I accept you as you are. Everything..." With a lopsided grin she pointedly added, "Warts and all!"

"I don't have warts," I objected while laughing at her jibe.

"But you do, as I do. Everyone has."

"Yes. Everyone has," I agreed.

"Sooo... what's my wart?" she asked giving me an impish look.

"Hell, no! I'm not going there. I just got out of the dog house," I replied immediately, and without breaking stride, I continued. "While we are on the subject... what's with 'darling'? You used to call me honey or Mitch?"

"Oh, so you noticed, my darling man!" She laughed coyly. "Because you're a darling, that's why. You don't like it?"

Shit! Talk about a loaded question!

"Sorry, honey. It wasn't fair, was it?" She gave me a look as if she expected an answer this time, but finally relented. She had been pulling my leg again. "I love you, Mitch. I love you, my darling," she said with a soft voice, meaning every word.