Mayday: A Kaiju Thriller

Chapter Six

I learned long ago that when you’re trying to untangle yourself from a whole bunch of confusing bullshit in the middle of a case, the best course of action is to head to the nearest Chinese restaurant and get eating. Thai food works in a pinch, but for a really tough puzzle, it has to be Chinese. Don’t ask me why. It’s not for the fortune cookies—you can toss those right out. But you can’t argue with the results.

Priya wasn’t taking to the idea with as much gusto as me. There were a few Chinese places on the island, but my favourite was this yum cha style restaurant where they didn’t give you a knife and fork just because you were white. The waitresses weren’t bad company either. I took a couple of dishes off the cart each time they came around, but Priya was still on her first.

“Come on,” I said, pointing at her with my chopsticks, “you’ve got to eat something.”

“I still don’t feel well.”

I shrugged. “Suit yourself. But if you’re not going to use your mouth to eat, you might as well talk. There’s still things you’re not telling me.”

Priya pushed the food around on her plate with her chopsticks. “Some things are hard to articulate.”

“Try.”

She rubbed her head. “I feel like there’s a pressure in my mind. Something that shouldn’t be there. I didn’t really notice it before. I was in too much pain from the break with Yllia to sense it. But there’s something in my head, something foreign. Something that’s been there since she died.”

“Okay,” I said. “I have no idea what you’re trying to tell me.”

“Neither do I,” she said, her hand curling into a fist to knead her forehead. “It has to be some remnant of my connection with Yllia. But it’s locked up. I can’t get to it. I’ve never experienced anything like this before.”

“As soon as we’re done here we’ll find a hypnotist in the phone book. Maybe they’ll get to the heart of your suppressed trauma.”

She narrowed her eyes at me like she wasn’t sure if I was kidding. I was. She figured it out and scowled.

“Don’t be like that, sweetheart,” I said. “I was just pulling your leg. Are you going to eat that?” I reached over and picked up a dumpling from one of the dishes in front of her.

“There’s something else as well,” she said as I stuffed my face. “That vision. I can’t stop thinking about it.”

“The one with the slug?”

She nodded. “In the earlier visions, there were hundreds of creatures everywhere. But in that one, I could only see a few. The ones who attacked us during the war. Why only those ones? What happened to the others? Maybe these Maydays were the few remaining. The survivors of something.”

I’d been thinking about that as well. If our Maydays were survivors, that implied the others had died. Maybe whatever had killed the other Maydays was the same thing that’d killed Yllia.

“The little one,” she said. “The small creature. I think it’s a Mayday as well. And I think it’s still alive. If the others I saw are survivors, why not that one? Maybe we just didn’t notice it because it wasn’t crushing cities.”

“You think it’s important somehow.”

She nodded. “I can’t explain why. It’s just a feeling.”

“Like this pressure of yours.”

“Exactly. But I know we need to find it.”

“All right,” I said. “Where do we start looking?”

“I have no idea.”

I grinned. I knew it. Just another distraction. “Well, in that case, I’m taking a bathroom break.” I folded my napkin and stood up. “If I come back and find you’ve run off, I’ll track you down and you really will be seeing the inside of that cell. Got it?”

“Sounds better than having to put up with you.”

I batted my eyelashes at her and left her to continue playing with her food. The bathrooms were down a short hall at the back of the restaurant, the walls painted a sickly maroon. I went into the Men’s and checked all the cubicles. I had the place to myself. I flipped the lock on the door and pulled my walkie-talkie out of my pocket.

“Healy, it’s Jay. You there?”

There was a short pause before the radio beeped and his voice cut through the crackle. “Hold on, Boss, there’s a call coming through on the emergency line.”

“I thought we were blocking all calls.”

“All except the emergency number. Hang on.”

“Just let the Security boys take it,” I said. “That’s their job. I want to know what you guys dug up on the handler, Priya Dasari.”

There was a long burst of static. He really was answering the call. It’d be nothing. There was no crime on the island. Not until this morning. We’d got emergency calls a grand total of twice since I started working here.

After waiting a minute, I depressed the radio button again. “Healy, come on. What’ve you got on Dasari?”

The walkie crackled. “Boss, I’ve got a kid on the line. He says a few guys broke into his house and now they’re roughing up his grandmother. He’s locked himself in the master bedroom.”

“Jesus. Well don’t tell me, get Security to haul arse down there. Where is it?”

“Four nineteen Ifukube Avenue. Boss, the kid’s name is Oliver Dasari.”

I stared at the walkie. “Wait, Dasari? Is that what you said?”

“Confirmed. He’s the handler’s son.”

I rubbed the back of my head and tapped the radio against my forehead. What the hell was going on here?

“Boss?”

I depressed the button. “All right. All right. Gimme that address again.”

“Four nineteen Ifukube.”

“Okay. Send Security. But I’m closer. Is the kid safe?”

“For now.”

“That’s not reassuring, Healy.” I unlocked the bathroom and jerked open the door. “I’m on my way. And send someone to that Chinese place on the corner of Darrow and Thirteenth. The handler will be here. Get her somewhere safe. She won’t like it, but don’t give her a choice. And don’t tell her what’s happening. Understand?”

“Sure thing.”

I pocketed the radio and crossed the restaurant as fast as I could without running. Priya frowned as I came rushing up.

“What’s wrong?” she said.

“Something’s come up. I’m going out. You’re staying here. I’m sending someone to pick you up.”

She stood. “Wait, what’s happening? Is it about Yllia?”

I put both hands on her shoulders and shoved her back down into her seat. “Stay put or I’ll get the handcuffs out again.” I turned and shouted to a pair of waitresses. “Hey, you. You know who I am?”

The two women glanced at each other and gave short nods. I was drawing stares from the restaurant’s other patrons.

“Good,” I said. I pointed at Priya. “You don’t let her leave until one of my investigators comes. If she moves, you’ll both be fed to the Maydays.”

“What do you think you’re doing?” Priya said.

I didn’t answer. I pulled on my hat and ran for the door.

~~~

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