Cajun Justice(12)

Chapter 11



Cain’s nightmare engulfed him. He twitched in his sleep and was relieved when his cell phone buzzed on his hip, waking him. He saw that he was still sitting in the recliner, still wearing yesterday’s clothes. I must have been more tired than I thought.

“Hello?” he answered groggily.

There was no reply. He cleared his throat. “Hello?”

“Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to the best twin brother in the world.”

Cain smiled and joined in on the last line of the chorus: “Happy birthday to you!”

They both laughed a similar chuckle.

“How’s my favorite brother?” Bonnie asked.

“Better now that I’m talking to you. How’s life in Tokyo?”

“It’s busy! It’s five thirty in the afternoon and I’m still at work. Picking up another shift. But I couldn’t not call my favorite brother on our birthday.”

“Well, I’m glad you called. Even if it is three thirty in the morning here.”

“The time difference is horrible!”

“Half the time my body doesn’t even know what time zone it’s in. But I was so excited to see your gift yesterday. The Japanese instrumental CD is perfect. It worked as advertised. I listened to it for a bit and it helped me fall asleep.”

“You’re home? I thought you were in South America.”

“It’s a long story.”

“I always have time for your long stories.”

“Well, I was, but a bunch of us got recalled. Some colleagues enjoyed the company of some local women, and one agent in particular kicked his date out in the morning without paying her. She—”

“Without paying her? So, you mean a prostitute?”

“Anyway,” Cain continued. “She started a scene, so I paid her what I had before the police got involved.”

“Ooh, this sounds good. Who was it?”

“I’ll give you three guesses, but you’re probably only going to need one.”

“If I get it right on the first try, will you come out to Japan?”

“Ha!”

“I bet it was Tomcat. He’s such a cochon.”

“Bingo!” Cochon means “pig” in French. “We got back yesterday. We have to answer to management later on today.”

“What’s the worst that can happen to you?”

“They could fire me.”

“Fire you?” She scoffed. “Nobody is going to fire you.”

“I’m probably being a little dramatic, but it’s a possibility.”

“Well, you have always had a little flair for the dramatic. You’ll be fine, brother. You’re a dedicated agent. They’re lucky to have you. With your experience, you could easily be a private investigator or a pilot. You could make so much more money in the private sector.”

“Maybe. But you know how I feel about money as a motivating factor. I’m more interested in service to country.”

“I know. I’m just saying there are other options out there besides the government. But you’ll be just fine once you explain that you were trying to avoid embarrassing the Service.”

“They might give me a few days’ suspension without pay.”

“Then you can come visit me in Japan! We can hang out together on the beach in Zushi. We’ll spend my money. I can also introduce you to some of my cute Japanese coworkers. I’ve told them all about you. They’d love to meet an American gentleman like you.”

Cain laughed. “I’d love to visit you, but that flight would be brutal. What’s it—about fourteen hours?”

“I’ll use my family perks and get you upgraded to business class.”

“That sounds nice, but like you said, I’m sure everything will work out once I explain what happened. Then I’ll be back on the president’s schedule soon.”

“Sucks for me. I was looking forward to hosting you on this side of the world, especially before summertime. Vacation season picks up and all our flights are booked. I’m already having to cover extra routes.”

“That must be why Pops said he couldn’t reach you last week.”

“Yeah, probably. I was flying to either Seoul, Guam, Hong Kong, or Singapore. We’re trying to compete with the Asian airlines. It’s tough! They’re paying their flight attendants peanuts.”

He laughed.

“What’s so funny?”

“Nothing.”

“No, really. What was so funny?”

“When you serve your customers peanuts, expect to be paid in peanuts.”

“That’s domestic! Not international.”

“Just don’t fly yourself to death,” Cain said. “I read an article that the Japanese are dealing with a crisis: employees are working themselves to death. There was a photo of Japanese men sleeping at their cubicles.”

“Sometimes I get the impression that Japan’s national motto is Work Harder, Not Smarter. But I like my job as a flight attendant, and I like it here in Tokyo. I feel really safe.” Bonnie changed the subject. “Have you talked to Mom and Pops lately?”

“Not since before I left. You?”