Scrawl Banditta
Volume 1: Learning to Crawl
Meanwhile, In Another Part of the City...
Dr Gerald Drew sat at the in his small office just outside his designated lab on the fourth floor of Alchemax. For the last two hours he had sat there watching the videos on his laptop over and over again and again. Occasionally his left hand would run through his thick dark hair and every so often he would take a sip of tea from his mug, but Gerald's cool blue eyes never left the screen. The young doctor was so engrossed by the video he was watching that he hadn't noticed the very silent Japanese woman standing just inside his door.
*Knock**Knock*
"Doctor Drew..." she called out softly. In truth she had knocked once before yet she had done so so timidly that the sound of her knuckles rapping against the door was barely audible.
The knocking at his office door had startled him causing Gerald to jump slightly in his big black rolling chair. Dr Drew closed his laptop and gave her a polite a smile. "Yes? May I help Miss...?"
"Kita," she replied, taking a moment to guide her small framed glasses from the tip of her little nose up to the bridge. "Doctor Karen Kita." A Japanese woman of thirty years old, Dr Kita was of slender build not unlike that of a supermodel yet minus the the height. Though she did have a somewhat prominent nose upon her face the feature only accentuated her exotic beauty. Her flats made hardly a sound upon the carpet of Gerald's office as she approached his desk with a package in hand. "My apologies for disturbing you, but I received this package by mistake today. It was obviously addressed to you, but I unfortunately opened it before checking the name on the outside. Again I apology."
"Oh! Well thank you very much, Doctor Kita," Gerald said appreciatively as he stood to take the small box from her. "But, surely you didn't have to come all the way to my office just to return this. With a simple phone I could have easily sent one of my assistants to come get it."
"It was no trouble, really," she said, again adjusting her glasses. "In truth, I was hoping that if your box was delivered to me then maybe--"
"Your package found it's way to me," Gerald finished her thought. "Um, well, let's take a look." The young doctor made his way around his desk and, allowing Dr Kita to exit first, made his way into his laboratory towards the table closest to the door where often Gerald's mail from inside and outside of the building was dropped off. "I am sorry," he said as his quickly looked over the cluttered pile. "I've been so busy with my work that I really haven't left the office I don't how long... Ah! Doctor K. Kita," grinning as he picked up the still sealed box and handed it to it's rightful owner. "This must be yours."
"Thank you, very much," she replied, smiling once more. Her brown seemed to sparkle and gleam as she looked down at the box she held within her delicate hands.
"I hope this delay hasn't spoiled whatever may be inside," Gerald said, curious to know what the package held, yet too polite to ask.
"No... I am sure everything is quite alright. Thank you again, Dr Drew," Dr Kita said, giving a slight nod of her before she quickly left the laboratory.
"Please,.." he had started to say, but alas, the woman had left too quickly, "...call me, Gerald." His blue eyes lingered after her for a moment as her pleasant perfume remained in the air. But, only for a moment.
With the distraction now gone Gerald made his way back to his office and back to his desk. The doctor opened his laptop once again and hastily typed in his password so he could once again study the video that he had been watching so intently before the Dr Kita had interrupted him. The video had no sound, but the picture was a clear as day. He observed the same few seconds of footage over and over again, stopping and rewinding, stopping and rewinding. Gerald watched almost unblinkingly as the two fists of a young Asian woman hit the sink within her bathroom... which caused the porcelain to break in half.
Back at the Café...
"May I help you?"
Aimi looked to her friend, Daniel, to answer what appeared to be the manager of the café. Unfortunately, Daniel was still engrossed with the multiple videos being uploaded to various social media sights about the Atlantis attack that had taken place not all that long ago and not all that far away from the where they were now. To get her friend's attention Aimi did what she often did in times like this... and whacked him firmly upon the back of the head, which amused the cafe manager just a bit.
"Ooww! What the heck?!" Aimi pointed at the middle-aged woman behind the counter. "Oh, uh, sorry. Let's see, let's see..." Daniel's eyes quickly scanned over the menu and behind the counter trying to figure out what he wanted. Aimi pointed again, this time at a near by glass container that set upon the counter in which set three fresh looking pies. "Ooo! Two slices of -apple?" looking at Aimi for approval, " -yes, two slices of apple pie."
"And, what would you like to drink?"
"Um.... how about a mint mocha, and, what? Tea?" Aimi nodded in reply. "A tea," Daniel said, completing the order.
From her purse Aimi retrieved her debit card to pay for their order, and it wasn't long before the two teenagers were seated next to a window inside the café. Of course, as soon as they sat down Daniel took out his phone once more as he seemed to be more hungry for superhero footage than he was for pie. Annoyed, Aimi placed her left hand over his phone which caused the boy to look up in protest. ~ Eat.~, she signed sternly.
"OK, OK."
