Martoons

Cast of characters

Miss No

Donna

Fred

Dame

*

“Nobody says no to Miss No!” No muttered angrily again.

“Did you say something boss?”

It was Donna, but The Boss was oblivious.

From her squatting position on the floor, she bundled Go’s comforter up into a ball, rose to her feet and chucked it into the corner.

“Ayeesh!” She turned away with her back facing that corner, her arms folded, and looking straight ahead – her eyes oozing wrath.

* What do you think she’s going to do to Go when she sees him again? *

Donna spoke softly as if not wanting to disturb a wasp’s nest. “Boss, obviously Mr Go isn’t here so shouldn’t we get back to the stage? It’s getting close to sunrise.

“Fred will be coming back from the store and he won’t know where we are.”

“Don’t you want to keep a close eye on him, after all?”

“And I could really use a drink too – I’m parched. New Year’s sunrise will be in a few minutes!”

No wholeheartedly agreed. She liked how Donna could bring levity to serious, overwhelming situations.

And No as well had a ravenous thirst.

Yet as they exited the motel there was something nagging her mind. It was the phone call again, the one she’d made to Go only moments ago.

What on earth had he been trying to say – that babble about … kidnapping?

I’d better start carrying a notebook with me.

Undoubtedly Go’s court case would be bearing down soon and documentation was the key to those things.

Now, suddenly thinking about business again, her paranoia returned. Fred.

Once she signed his blacklist papers at high noon today, he’d be on his way to the international airport and in the air by this time tomorrow.

That would pull the rug out from under Santa Kang.

His sought-after waygook would be gone.

Santa problem solved.

* When will she discover that there was no ‘Santa Kang’ after all? *

*

Laden with a bag of ice cold drinks, Fred was glad to get off the congested roadway with the wavy exhaust haze rising off it.

Carefully clutching the railing behind the taxi parking lot, he descended the steel staircase to the beach.

Setting foot on the frozen sand, there was a chilly wind, twirling as it was blocked and reflected back by the 20-foot high concrete retaining wall.

The icy funnel of breeze brushed against his inner thighs, bringing on the need for a pit stop.

Conveniently, the now notorious men’s washroom from last night was right there in front of him and he nipped inside.

Dame had preceded him by a minute or two, busily preparing his prank.

He’d jaunted into the can with Mr E’s clothes-change bag in hand, and immediately spotted the dubious Stall Three, which E had taped off last night.

* What is Dame’s prank going to be? *

Dame stretched the tape aside and easily pushed open the door, and was now maneuvering inside.

He tiptoed around the squat toilet and carefully plopped the clothes bag in the dry and clean corner.

He’d cache it there; tape the stall back off and return in a little while when he needed the disguise.

* For what does Dame need the disguise? *

He creaked the stall door open to see if the coast was clear, then smiled when he saw who’d just come in.

Fred was straddled up against the urinal at the wall, looking straight ahead at the tiles.

“Is this where all the big dicks hang out?” Dame exclaimed as he shuffled up.

Fred kept looking straight ahead. “I thought small was beautiful!” Fred joked. “Guess they’re waiting for us at the stage and fire pit?”

“Yeah but unfortunately there’s no fire in the pit this morning. Mr E and me froze our nuts off waiting there.”

Dame stepped up to the urinal beside Fred’s to do his business.

“We were already there, but No sent us back to the motel parking lot to wait at the car for a few minutes.

E told me she’s freaking out about some guy who’s supposedly raiding foreigners for an English school. Guess we’re pretty coveted in these parts!”

He scoffed. “That woman has quite the imagination. It could get the better of her.”

“You know what they say – the more you worry about something, the more likely it is to happen.”

*

Tomorrow: Dame asks Fred some peculiar questions before they part ways…