Part 4: Friendly Meeting

Dr. Liu: He's running a fever. Someone help get this man up on the table.
Dr. Liu: There's medicine in the box, the white one. Mr. Becket, boil some more water, prepare a damp towel!
After receiving the call, the doctor hurries over, attending to the sick tramp in the diner.
Becket: Dr. Liu, I'm guessing this fella can't foot the bill for this, and we might not be able to front it for him neither.
Dr. Liu: There's an old saying where I'm from, Becket.
Dr. Liu: "Saving a life is greater than building a seven-tiered pagoda." Saving lives is what matters.
Hollick: A pagoda, is that like a cake or something?
Pioneer: It's a kind of building, gentlemen. Now, if you're wasting time thinking of layer cakes, how about you come over here and help out with dishes instead?
On the other side of the diner, the group is still busily cooking and distributing food.
Eternity: Hold on, this is less than what you gave the people before me, what's up?
Pioneer: Pardon, Ms. Eternity, but we're forced by necessity to distribute what we have based on each individual's situation.
Pioneer: Frankly, ma'am, there are people here that have gone days without a proper meal, and with you in that fetching blue dress ...
Sputnik: Mr. Pioneer, it would be best for you to speak less and work more.
In the corner, two little girls have rummaged through Eternity's handbag, pulling out an assortment of curious trinkets, sprawling them out on the floor to play with.
Eternity: Hmm?
Eternity: Oh! Darlings, didn't your parents teach you not to take other people's things? Be good little dears and return those to me.
Street Kid: Parents?
There's no one around them, and no one speaks up for them.
Becket: These kids are either from the orphanage or raised on the streets like us, grabbing whatever grub they can.
Becket: Haha, you remember Paulina? J's sis, tight with cash but big-hearted, spitting image of him when she was young.
Pioneer: Miss Paulina found herself a respectable job somewhere beyond this place. I'm so happy for her—happy and proud.
Becket: I'm happy for any kid that makes it out of Haight Street.
Hollick: You've gotta be!
Becket: Let's quit all this racket, Hollick. You go on and grab some blankets for these folks.
Eternity shifts the children's hands from the old toys, leading them by their sauce-stained fingers toward the makeshift beds.
Eternity: If you behave, with no crying or fussing, I'll give you two chocolate candies. How about that, my little lambs?
The little lambs nod.
Eternity's royal blue blanket wraps them into a slumber—warm and sheltered from the elements and hunger.
Pioneer: Alright, gents, time to tidy up. Clear some space, clean the utensil. Then tonight we're hosting a San Francisco story time!
Sputnik: Did you—Did you hear something outside just now? The sound of brakes, maybe?
Pioneer: Perhaps the radio waves disrupted you, Ms. Sputnik. They were adjusting the TV antenna earlier.
Henchman: This the place, Antony?
Antony: He's gotta be here.
The turncoat has brought his new allies straight to his former hangout.
Henchman: You best not screw this up. The boss is still sore about last time.
Henchman: You swore on your mama's life, but then you let him get away.
Antony: Well, I didn't count on him bailing over a rooftop, but in case you didn't know this diner of his ain't about to sprout legs and run.
Henchman: I got my GED. Don't play me for a chump! So, what if he ain't here?
Antony: Not possible. Bruno tipped me off—said J's back at the diner, playing saint to the homeless.
Antony: So believe me or not, but how can you doubt our friendly neighborhood copper?
Antony: Anyway, let's kick this off with a bang!
Antony: I'll go in with one of the guys, the rest of you stay put. No need to rattle the cage just yet.
Henchman: Sounds like you're trying to make yourself into the next boss.
The ill-intentioned old friend, with his vicious dog in tow, heads straight into the diner.
Pioneer: Apologies, gentlemen, we can't serve you today. The diner's closed.
Pioneer: Antony?
Becket: Who? Antony?!
Pioneer: Oh, I seem to recall your hulking, ill-tempered friend from before.
Henchman: Where's J?
At this moment, he is likely rushing down some San Francisco avenue, having just missed his would-be target.
Pioneer: If you're looking for the person in charge here, I can temporarily stand in for our absent acting manager, and discuss matters with you. What do you need?
Henchman: A talking dummy? What the heck's a dummy doin' in a diner? Hahaha, look, Antony! It freaking talks!
Pioneer: All that aside, sir. Let me be clear, I am J's representative while he's out. So, whatever your issues, please bring them up to me.
Becket: Hollick, keep those tongs handy. We got company.
Becket: We gotta be good hosts, don't we?
Antony: I wouldn't recommend getting handsy, Becket.
Henchman: You wanna throw down again, lil' buddy?
The bald muscle blocks Antony's path, fists clenched, eyeing the occupants of the diner.
Fear, disgust, contempt, and curiosity.
Becket: Let's take this outside, to the corner. We don't want people thinkin' Ol' Tang Ji's in any trouble now.
Henchman: We're here, and we ain't leaving. Now, where's that coward hiding? Has he gone chicken and fled the coop?
Henchman: I'm thinking we nickname him "Chicken Head" from now on! Haight Street's Rooster J—sounds good, don't it? Hahaha!
Some laugh awkwardly, while most remain silent.
Becket: If you've got a shred of decency, not for J's sake, but for Tang Ji's, you'll step outside with us.
Wild dogs don't fight in their own den. That's the rule of the streets.
Antony: Fine. Let's take this outside.
Becket and Hollick, one with a steel pipe, the other gripping long metal tongs, follow the towering enforcer outside with Antony.
Pioneer: Gents, please keep your cool. Let's try to talk this out. No need for fists.
Pioneer: Isn't it always best to avoid a scrap?
The mannequin man pleads as he likes, but he knows his friends' temperaments. Cooler heads will not prevail.
Eternity: Oh, this is more thrilling than any prime-time soap opera.
Eternity: Still, children shouldn't see such unwholesome scenes.
Henchman: So, where's that punk hiding?
Hollick: Hiding! Haha, the boss is out there right now looking for you, you little rat!
Antony: Looking for me? Yeah, right! I'm the one trying to track him down!
Henchman: What's the deal? You promised that this chicken would be holed up in the diner.
Henchman: So where's he at?!
By sheer coincidence, it seems they've chosen to time their raids for the very same moment.
Henchman: If you ask me, we oughta yank a couple of teeth out and get the truth on that jerk straight from their mouths.
Henchman: What, you going soft?
Antony: Can it! Or did you not remember what the boss told us?
Antony: "Use your head more than your fists."
Antony: "If this can be handled clean, then don't go makin' it ugly."
Antony: "We're all businessmen here—businessmen who know the rules."
Antony: So let's not make things ugly. Mull over a little "ren qing si gu," you got it?
Henchman: Hmph.
Antony turns to face his former friends with a sly vulpine smile.
Antony: Becket, ol' pal-o-mine, a top-notch mechanic like you oughta have your own shop by now, dontcha think?
Antony: We go way back. Remember our time in the joint?
Becket: I don't remember nothing.
Becket: But I do know you're an ungrateful rat.
Hollick: Yeah, a rat!
It seems like they aren't buying his false smile.
Antony's honeyed words are met with a thick gob of spit sent straight to his face.
Antony: Right, J, he's been good to me, like a real brother. But his sister—with her nose always up in the air like that?
Antony: She thinks we're just slum dogs, too filthy to even say hello.
Antony: Sure, J's got enough grub for everyone, but with his act, he ain't ever striking it rich.
Striking it rich.
Now he really is just another lap dog from Grant Ave.
Henchman: Stop dragging this out.
Henchman: Whatever you and your little circus got going on ain't none of my concern, but we can't head back with nada.
Henchman: Snatch those two. If J's MIA, we'll nab his little buddies and snap off some parts till he shows up!
The henchman calls out, and a group of almost clone-like thugs in black rush out from the van, seizing the two companions.
Becket: Hollick!
Hollick: Where the hell did all these—!
Hollick and Becket, though outnumbered, still attempt to resist, but in a few swift moves, they are bound up and hoisted into the back of the van, becoming "spoils of war."
Antony: Take 'em to the club, into the freezer, oh no, the basement! We'll sort 'em out later!
Antony: You look like you've packed on a couple more pounds.
The stray dog eyes his former companions, as his "new friends" busily tie the two captives on either side of an oil drum.
Antony: Strap 'em in real tight, especially that twig Becket. He's slippery. Give him an inch and he'll escape.
Henchman: Don't worry, we'll have someone on the door.
Antony: Alright, just keep it clean for the boss. He's got some big shots coming by tomorrow night, so get your A-team on this—we're on tonight.
Henchman: You're getting ahead of yourself, lil' pup. You're just a mutt the boss took in, and now you think you get to run the show?
Becket: A mutt? Pfft! A mutt's way more loyal than this backstabber!
Henchman: Who told you to speak?
Antony: Hold up! Smacking them around ain't helping nobody. Just make sure they get some grub later; the boss might still need 'em.
Antony: I'm headed upstairs. The crowd's really rolling in. Watch the place. No drama tonight.
Becket: Man, can you shift your fat rear a smidge to the left.
Hollick: I can't move a thing.
Becket: J's been harping on about slimming down, hitting the gym, and you never took the hint?!
Becket: That lowlife Antony.
Hollick: What's the game plan now, bro?
Becket: The game plan? We keep our wits sharp, get some shut-eye. Trust J. For now, zip it, and wait for that rat Antony to drop off some grub.
Becket: We won't be any good without some chow. J'll get us. He'll make it. Don't stress bro!
J has never failed them before, and as far as Becket's concerned, he never will.
The West Coast Star, a shrine to Bacchus in the heart of San Francisco.
Antony: I got this hunch, man, like we might see some action here tonight.
Henchman: Got your eye on one of the new chicks?
Antony: Nah, more like a dude, a young one. Yeah, man, it's always the young guns stirring up trouble.
Hearing this, the burly enforcer raises his eyebrow, casting a strange glance at Antony.
Henchman: You into that scene? Cool, I mean, this city is all about freedom.
In the neon glow, all tastes find refuge. As the night flows, all manner of whispers and desires mingle here—
Whispers of the second millennium's end, as the soothsayer's murmurings of the "apocalypse of 1999" approach ... for now the people revel!