Chapter Thirty Six - Rushing to Meet You

There are many puppeteers in a system that shines with outward perfection. For example Social Services, an organisation that is unlike the one acknowledged in a different place in the universe; this one protects the system, not the people with in it, although if protecting the system leads to protecting an individual, then this is acceptable. For example, upon finding a boy of eight years without parents or memory after an incident that would have potentially caused social anarchy and chaos were it reported in the media, they had him adopted by wealthy parents who happened to be in the entertainment circle, as a sort of compensation for his silence should he regain his memories.

But behind every tower of gleam and glitter, there are grey and shadowed areas; underground websites that simply moved addresses after being shut down, social rebels, who hid amongst the Grounders, individuals claiming extra pocket money by diverting goods. Such hid within the recycling centre. He was supposed to look after the machines that sorted out the trash, but had reprogrammed a couple of them to sort out decent looking clothes and bag them separately, so they weren't turned back into fibres for new cloth and clothes.

The bagged clothes, swapped for cash, descended the levels to very near the ground, where a group of jovial individuals properly sorted the good from the bad, before tweaking, dying and embellishing the clothes into something new. These reclaimed items were then sold in the Ground Markets along with ground grown vegetables, hand made crafts and other 'second hand' goods, that had not been good enough to resell at higher levels.

When Leilei had first taken Kez to the Ground Markets, he thought he had entered a whole new world. He had squealed like a little girl in a sweet shop as he had ran around looking over all the things on offer, but had definitely been most attracted to the Grounder's 'fashions' on display. Unlike the demur, pastels and muted coloured fabrics of the upper levels, the Grounders preferred loud patterns and colours. They were undeniably eye catching. Accessories were also a huge thing here and it was not unusual to see a man wearing multiple bracelets or a woman adorning a whole head of trinkets.

Right now they were seeking new outfits for the videos, including things with a more gothic design. The more Kez had thought about creating a Dark Wish, the more excited he had gotten about the idea. "I think I should run away and become a Grounder, like you," he mused.

Leilei sighed as she lifted up a pair of ruby red heels. "I don't hate it, but you know it's not as easy as all that," she told him. "Sure, it's less restrictive in some ways, but finding work is harder. And if anything happens in the upper levels, the law enforcers descend and throw all their weight around looking for one of us to blame. And you know how Social Services breathe down our necks." Leilei and her father had relocated to a couple of next door apartments just a few floors off of the ground to avoid them, after they tried to force Leilei to get engaged to her so called date. They had also tried to find the sister, so Kez had had to lie low as well. The apartments were not in a nice state or area and the two combined still were not as large as their old home. "What's happened at home for you to suggest this?"

"Mum is pressuring me to skip grades and graduate early so she can send me off to college and down the aisle towards her dream of moving up in the world." Leilei looked over at him. She had wondered why he had insisted on wearing more feminine clothes and a demur bobbed wig to the Market. He tended to switch to becoming Wish when he was unhappy as Kez. "I study now the whole evening, she personally supervised me painting the topic of her choice in the kitchen, to better my art grades and she quizzes me about everything I do, from what time did my train leave, to who I spoke to and what I had for lunch. I snuck out this morning for a breather, so I will definitely be in trouble when I get home."

Leilei tilted her head to the side in thought, before tossing the seller some cash and picking up their purchases. "Wanna do something fun?" She asked. Kez glanced at her for a moment, hesitating. Leilei's idea of fun varied wildly.

"What sort of thing?"

****

North glanced at the digital display upon his wrist watch, before ordering a second cup of coffee. He hadn't received an answer to his email, so he had simply sent another message saying that if that person was interested, he would be in this cafe, a neutral spot located near the central train station, between 12pm and 3pm. It was now only 12:45, so there was still time. If that person didn't show, he would have to assume that they were not interested.

Two individuals walked excitedly through the door, one boy and one girl. North stared at them and frowned. The pair spoke animatedly, before glancing over at him and approaching. The girl sat opposite him first. "Well?"

"Well? What do you mean well?" North asked the petite woman. "What are you doing here?"

Savannah pouted. "We heard you were meeting them today and we wanted to see!" Xavier nodded in agreement, trying to not look like someone who may or may not have hacked email accounts to obtain said information.  The little chime above the cafe door rang out as it opened again.

"I might be meeting them today, might. No guarantees."

Xavier knelt down and nudged him. "No might, probably definitely," he claimed as he indicated two bodies who walked through the door.

"But they are both girls," North said as he looked over the two pretty girls wearing bright clothes. The younger of the pair looked no more than fourteen and was wearing a sunny orange dress and bright pink knee high socks. The slightly older one, wearing a tie die rainbow coloured T-shirt that was knotted above her naval and loose blue cargo trousers held up by a knitted belt. They glanced about the cafe before sitting down at a table by the window.  Grounders.

"No one ever suggested that D.J. Shang was male," Xavier pointed out, although even Savannah looked stunned at such a notion. "And they are clearly both Grounders from the look of them. Remember that most underground websites are reputed to come from Grounder servers."

"I still think you are looking skyward at the wrong tower*," North snorted. He paused to thank the waiter as he placed a fresh coffee in front of North, before asking if Savannah and Xavier wanted anything. After ordering a couple of drinks, the man politely advised them that their drinks would be with them shortly. He then made his way disdainfully over to the two Grounder girls. North watched the differential treatment the girls received, but as the waiter did take their order, North turned his attention back to his unwanted guests. "Rush decided not to gate-crash my potential meeting with you?"

Xavier, who kept glancing over at the girls still undecided on whether to approach them or not, finally sat in the seat next to Savannah. The younger girl looked a little like the one from the station, albeit with different hair, but she was not wearing the iconic bracelet. "He had something to wrap up, but he'll be here shortly."

****

Rush was an unhappy man. He had hoped to settle this matter later with his manager by his side, as speaking without a script was annoying. The Vice-Chairman had ushered him in to his office as he was due to leave the studios and was now attempting to negotiate matters between his daughter and one of his most successful entertainers.

"Daddy make him see sense," Honor was insisting. "You know I will be a good wife for him and a good mother to his children! Daddy tell him!"

"Too incompatible," Rush said, shaking his head. He spoke softly and without malice, not wishing to upset the father of this woman, who just happened to be his boss. "Sorry." He offered almost as an afterthought.

"You agreed to it! You agreed!" Honor pointed at him, accusingly. "You signed the premarital contract."

"It was suggested that it would be good for my career," Rush said in reply.

The Vice-Chairman looked a little shamefaced. He admittedly knew that Rush had been reluctant to accept the Matchmaker's suggestion that he marry his daughter, but thought that Rush just needed a little time to warm up to the girl. After all, he, her parent, adored her, why wouldn't the man she had her heart on do the same? But that hadn't happened at all. "Now, now," he suggested they calmly relook at things. "After all, you both have heavy careers, so it's unlikely that you will live much together under the same roof anyway. And as for children, that can be something to look at a few years after the wedding."

"Daddy!" Honor did not like the suggestion that she live apart from her husband, for in her mind they were as good as married anyway. He belonged to her, belonged in her bed, speaking sweet nothings to her.

Rush also did not look happy over his words. "When I marry," and as he said this the image of the Wish-look-a-like flashed before his mind, "my wife will live with me. But I am sorry, I cannot marry your daughter."

Mr Harlow sighed. He knew he could force this issue, after all Rush had agreed to marrying his daughter. But there were two problems that would likely occur. Firstly, divorce was allowable after two short years of marriage. This option was seldom taken, as it stained reputations and might even make it harder to get work or remarried, never mind any children left behind. Becoming financially poorer and descending levels might also result from being divorced. It was unlikely any of these would occur to Rush, however, should he choose this route, although Honor would be shamed.

The other was that Rush's contract for the company was nearing renewal and were he to force the wedding, he suspected he, and therefore the company, would lose Rush's favour. As big as they were, losing this idol of a man would be damaging. If given the choice of losing Rush as a prospective son-in-law or a much sought after star, who brought in millions in revenue, reputation and even fresh new talent seeking to work for the same company as the man they looked up to, there was no contest. He agreed to terminate the engagement, even as Honor screamed blue bloody murder at him.

Finally released from his woes, Rush happily hurried over to the cafe where Xavier had told him, after hacking North's emails, that he might be meeting with Wish and Shang.

****

"What are we doing here?" Kez asked Leilei after their drinks were placed on the table by the waiter, who was clearly offended by their presence. His behaviour didn't really bother Kez, he was more hurt for Leilei than himself. "And how is this supposed to be fun?"

Leilei took her ancient handheld from her pocket, opened an app and scrolled down to what she wished her friend to see, before showing him. "He said he wanted to meet us, the man who claims to be North Patterson." Kez read the email, instantly becoming suspicious.

"Wait, isn't that the name of the manager of Rush?" Kez asked, confused. "Why would he want to meet us? And as for that matter, why would we want to meet him? What if that's a trap?" Panicked, his eyes flickered about the cafe as if looking for undercover law enforcers.

The girl gave a shrug, before putting the device away. It wasn't as if she hadn't already considered the same thing, but she had already seen Rush's manager as they entered the cafe. But it wasn't as if she intended to talk to the man. "I wasn't going to bother, but if on the small percentage chance it was true, I thought what if there was a teeny tiny chance Rush showed up. After all, Wish is his proven fan!" Kez groaned as he recalled that the bracelet got caught in their last video inciting thousands of comments, good and bad. "Where is your bracelet anyway?"

"Cheap blasted thing broke," Kez admitted, touching his empty wrist as he looked over the patrons within the cafe once more, he noticed that one boy with dark unruly hair kept frequently glancing over at them. He was dressed casually, but was with a man in a suit and a girl in a tailored dress. Feeling uncomfortable, Kez was about to suggest that they depart, when the chiming bell at the door announced another's arrival.

It was a stunning golden god of a man, who looked over first at the staring boy and his group, before suddenly meeting Kez's eyes. A bright sparkle entered the man's warm eyes, even as Kez began to freak out both delighted and scared all at the same time. The man lost his composure for a second, his stance uncertain. But this moment was brief as he quickly regained his confidence and the corners of his lips curved upward. His mouth then formed two words.

"Found you."

*Author's note; World alternative phrase for Barking Up The Wrong Tree aka you are misunderstanding something.

Author's note, edited this twice now, as I wasn't sure I was happy with the wording. I think it's better. I hope you like how I have written the moment you've all been waiting for!