Читать книгу Saffron’s Menagerie - Phil Stevenson - Страница 10

When the news came of Saffron’s parent’s death, she was devastated and was not quite with it for a while.

Reg thought that their work would never be finally completed. However, after the funeral and months away from MIT, Saffron returned to complete the work with Reg. For now, she was on a mission. A personal mission.

A Saturday night at Saff’s apartment.

“This Clapper fucker. What am I going to do? Forget it all, or unfetter the dragon of revenge?”

“He was the best buddy of that Wayne Kerr wanker,” Reg looks at Saff. “I loved your Mom and Dad. They were great people, and they gave me my future. They gave me my adult life. My old man, being the long-time cab driver in the Hampton’s, could never have given me the opportunities your folks did. I love my Dad, make no mistake about that, but your folks were so special.”

Saff looks at Reg.

“Saff, I’ve thought about this while you’ve been away and this is what I’m going to do.”

Saff takes a large sip of Bollinger, “OK, what?”

“Did you ever see any of those seventies Kung Fu movies on TV?”

“Yeah maybe. That Carradine actor was in it.”

“Correct. It was a great series that grew songs, ‘Everybody was Kung Fu Fighting’and Kung Fu schools were the big thing. But, the character in Kung Fu, Caine, as a young boy was taught Kung Fu as a discipline for self-defense. Not only that, he went through an amazing spiritual training process with his Master Po at a Shaolin Temple.”

“Right,” says Saff sipping from her flute.

“One early episode that had a profound effect on me was when Caine, after his training and now an adult, met Master Po, who is totally blind, in a Chinese street. Master Po sensed Caine’s gait as he approached him. Do you remember that Master Po would call the young Caine, ‘grasshopper’ with such love and affection?

Standing in the street they chatted, when a strong-arm guard came through the crowd demanding passage for the Emperor’s nephew who was being carried high on a covered chair.”

Saff sat there mesmerized by Reg’s words. She realized that she loved the dude. He is a very gentle, but determined friend. And she loves making love with him. Saff was getting a bit turned on by Reg’s rhetoric.

“Master Po, being blind, tripped the approaching guard with his walking stick by accident, which called him to be rebuked. He identified himself as a peaceful monk, meaning no harm. To that the Emperor’s nephew waved his hand and Master Po was struck across his face. As that happened, Po gripped the man’s thumb and brought him to the ground. Master Po says, ‘you do not rebuke a blind man twice for something that was an accident’.

All of a sudden, the Emperor’s nephew fired his pistol at Master Po, who fell to the ground. Caine, without hesitation, grabbed a spear from a guard and thrust it into the Emperor’s nephew as he was reloading his pistol.

He returned to the mortally wounded Master Po, who asked, ‘Did you kill him’? To which Caine replies, ‘Yes Master’”.

Saff now realized Reg’s commitment.

“That nephew did not deserve life after murdering a most glorious spiritual person such as Master Po. Caine did the right thing. I would have done the same.”

Saff looks on mesmerized. She realized that revenge has been a cathartic potion throughout time.

“That’s why I’m going to do Warren Clapper as Caine did. Clapper the cunt!”

Saff’s eyes widened. She had never heard Reg use the ‘C’ word before.

“When is the cunt out of jail?”

“Maybe less than two years,” replies Saff, “And I want you to stay overnight this time.”

“Great, there is a late-night movie showing, ‘The Rocky Horror Show’. Ever seen it?”

‘Whatever, it’s your night too. I’ll watch it with you.”