Welcome to a secret world that hides beneath the surface of the mundane. It is a world of urban legends and rumors, a world of astonishing deeds and epic battles. Meet its enigmatic inhabitants. Learn their secrets, their desires, their beliefs, their hopes and their dreams. Listen to the tales of pain, injustice, compassion, kindness, courage, cooperation, love, sacrifice and hope. Meet the guardian angels, the warriors, the philosophers, the priests, the phantoms and the wanderers. But remember – once you enter this world, you can never truly leave it.

GEISHA’S FAVOR: To the Most Perfect Man

Captain Catherine Chase of Meridian City’s police department took another look at the mirror. Was her hair OK? Did she use too much make up or too little? Were her boots OK? Was she showing too much cleavage? No, she wasn’t showing enough. Or was she…

Gah!

If it weren’t for all the effort she put in her hair, she would have started banging her head against the wall.

Catherine hasn’t been this nervous about meeting a guy since… four years ago? No. It was different with Simon. She was the older, more experienced woman in the relationship. It was more like her first date with Rem, when she was a cocky, embarrassingly self-assured college girl who wasn’t sure how the heck a cute guy she almost ran over with her scooter asked her out, but was nervous and happy that he did.

God, how long has it been? Seventeen years. Seventeen years since she actually tried to look perfect. Seventeen years since she genuinely wanted a guy to like her. For years since…

The bell rang.

“Coming!” she shouted, hoping to God that she didn’t come off sounding like a stupid schoolgirl.

Catherine opened the door.

Travis Lee Warden stood before her, his posture conveying the casual confidence he always displayed in the courtroom. He was dressed in a sharp black suit with a green tie to match. His warm brown eyes and a dashing smile were emphasized by a slight milk chocolate tint of his skin (courtesy of his partially Greek roots). His hair was dark and curly, just the way she liked it.

His smile broadened into a grin.

“Wow…” he whispered.

Catherine giggled.

Oh, get a hold of yourself!

“I mean…Hi, Catherine.” Travis blushed. “I am sorry. It’s just that I’ve never seen you looking so…”

“…Stylish?” Catherine suggested

“Yeah. I think I’ll go with that.”

Catherine laughed:

“Anyway, didn’t you promise to take me to that super-fancy restaurant on North Shore.”

“Of course,” Travis regained his composure. “Right this way.”

“Hold on a sec,” Catherine said. “Let me grab my purse and I’ll be right with you.”

Five minutes later, they were sitting back on a couch as the driver swerved through the traffic, trying to reach North-Western Expressway before all the club-going kids would make it virtually impassable.

“You rented a limo,” Catherine said for all what had to be a sixth time. “I can’t believe you rented a limo.”

“I can’t help it,” Travis smiled. “I’m just that good. Besides, after all the crap you have to put up with, you deserve the best.”

“Yeah, yeah, you are right, you flatterer.” Catherine smiled sheepishly. “Just don’t spend too much on me, okay?”

“Wouldn’t dream of it. Champagne?”

Catherine laughed hysterically.

“What? What’s so funny?”

“Oh, nothing, nothing at all,” Catherine struggled to suppress her giggles. “It’s just that my old boyfriend was very weird about that sort of thing. He’d have no problem with me having a few drinks at parties, but in a car or on the plane – no way. I don’t think he even had a liquor cabinet in his house.”

“Are you serious?”

“Yeah. He never drank anything himself. He would pretend to, but I know that he poured it out when no one was looking.”

“You mean to tell me that a man who made billions practically from scratch, a man who gives out millions in charity just for kicks, a man who meets with world leaders on regular bases, a man who can, quite literally, buy anything he wants and get away with it, doesn’t drink anything even remotely alcoholic?”

“Yep.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know,” Catherine sighed. “Look, let’s not talk about him, OK?”

“Sure. One glass of champagne, coming up.”

“Please and thank you.”

Travis pulled out two wineglasses and filled it almost to the top. They downed it.

“Ahh…” Catherine said. “Oh man, you have no idea how much I needed that.”

Travis chuckled:

“How have you been, anyway?”

“You don’t want to know…” Catherine shook her head. “You know that creep who’s been snatching wallets from just about every wealthy person in the city?”

“Sure,” Travis nodded. “A friend of mine had his stolen while he was leaving Tchaykovskiy Theatre.”

“Yeah. Well, we caught him.”

“You did?”

“You haven’t heard?” Catherine said, surprised. “He tried to snatch a purse from a pair of college students. They kicked his ass and turned him over to the police. Turned out that he was some loser named Marty Nayce. God, just thinking about it leaves a bad taste in my mouth.”

“Why?” Travis asked. “I mean, he’s just a pick-pocket.”

“He stole my son’s wallet,” Catherine said harshly.

“Your son’s?” Travis seemed taken aback. “You mean…”

“Ian Knowell. Heir-Apparent of Prospero International.”

“Are you…? No, of course… I mean… I thought that he was…”

“… Someone else’s child?” Catherine laughed harshly. “God. Remus went out of the way to make sure that nobody would find out that he was even born. Of course, the moment he entered school, everyone found out about him. When they started asking questions, Rem kept numb, because, as he put it: ‘We have to be quiet and wait it out.’ I listened to him. God knows I did. But, with neither of us talking, the reporters started making all kinds of speculations and next thing I knew, they were asking me who if I knew the name of Remus’ secret lover or if I was going to demand a DNA test… God, he’s so brilliant, but he can be such an idiot sometimes... ”

“I am sorry,” said Travis. “I didn’t mean to upset you.”

“It’s okay,” Catherine took a calming breath. “It’s not your fault. Anyway, what’s done is done. Even if I went to Meridian Courier’s offices and said that I was Ian’s mother, no one would believe me.”

Travis rubbed his thumb with his right hand:

“That must be awful.”

“You have no idea,” Catherine sighed. “Enough about that. You still haven’t told me where we’re going.”

“And I won’t,” Travis smiled. “Come on, Catherine, let me surprise you.”

“I already know all the good restaurants at North Shore, so you might as well tell me.”

“You don’t know this one,” Travis insisted.

“Are you sure?” Catherine smiled coyly.

“Very.”

“Alright, alright, I’ll play along. But if you’re wrong…”

“…I’ll be your slave for a day. Is that fair?”

“Sounds kinky. You’re on.”

Catherine poured herself some more champagne:

“Well, if you won’t tell me about where you’re going, can you at least tell me what you’ve been up to for the past few days.”

“Well…” Travis mumbled. “I’m not sure if I should tell you, so I’m just going to tell you. There is something really weird going on with my bank account.”

Catherine’s heart skipped a beat:

“What?”

“Well, back when I was just starting out, I was kind of short on money, so I had to borrow a lot. Then, there were a whole bunch of bills and expenses that I said I’d pay off but never quite did, so the interests accumulated… I’m sure you know how it is. “

No. She didn’t. For her graduation, Rem thought it would be romantic to pay off everything she owed. Just like that. This was before Prospero Technologies became Prospero International and his Proteus Alpha platform revolutionized the computer industry, so it was actually quite generous of him.

A little conceited, but generous.

“Anyway, now that I actually have a full-time, decently-paying job I enjoy, I figured that I should start paying off all my debts. Unfortunately, some of the people whom I owe money were getting a bit… impatient. I had no idea what I was going to do. If I paid them off then, I’d go broke. Then, about two weeks ago, I was checking my bills and I noticed something odd. Despite all my spending, the balance was actually going up. I called the bank, figuring it was some kind of computer error, but they had no idea what was going on. I thought about calling the police, but than, I got preoccupied with the Semyonov vs Owens case, and… well, I guess I told you now, so better late then never, right?”

Catherine didn’t answer.

Earlier that day, Rem called her, telling her that someone discovered secret accounts of the Yep-Leung family, the once-powerful crime syndicate that controlled a decent portion of East Coast underworld. The money was then funneled through several accounts, eventually winding up in Travis’. He didn’t give her any proof, but knowing him, he either had it or was pretty close to obtaining it. Or, at least, that’s the way it always was.

Catherine wanted Remus to be wrong. He had to be. Yet, as much as she hated to admit it, she couldn’t deny that some part of her hoped that he was right. Because that would mean that, despite everything that happened between them, she could still trust him.

If Travis did launder money, he would never tell her something that would lead the police to investigate his accounts and transactions. It would be suicidal, not to mention stupid. And whoever pulled off a scheme of that kind of magnitude wasn’t stupid.

That meant two things – either Rem made a mistake or he lied to her. The former was unlikely. Rem was anal about checking, double-checking and triple-checking his findings. He didn’t allow himself to make mistakes. The later… back when they were still together, she would have thought it was just as unlikely. Now, she wasn’t so sure.

“Catherine?” Travis asked gently, “Are you OK?”

“Yeah…” she sighed. “Yeah, I’m fine.”

“Are you sure?”

Catherine nodded:

“Sure I am sure,” she said, hoping that her smile looked believable.

“Good. Because we’re almost there.”

She looked out the window. The limo moved past the last visages of Martha Shen Zoo, quickly approaching the edge of North Shore.

“Wow, “ Catherine remarked. “That was quick.”

“My driver knows a few shortcuts,” Travis smiled sheepishly. “Anyway, it won’t be long now.”

“Are you sure you don’t want to tell me where we’re going?”

“You’re not going to stop asking until I tell you, are you?”

Catherine shook her head.

“Of course. Persistence is part of my job description.”

“Really,” Travis smiled coyly. “I thought it was addiction to coffee.”

“Shut up!” Catherine exclaimed, punching him playfully.

“I call it like I see it,” Travis winked, “Ouch! Police brutality!”

“Brutality my ass,” Catherine snickered.

“I can be very brutal on your ass… if you want me to be.”

Catherine wasn’t sure if she should chuckle or slap him.

“Travis. Lee. Warden. If you think… that you can get that far… on the first date… Then you got another thing coming.”

Before Travis could reply, the speaker came to life and the driver announced:

“We are here, sir.”

Catherine looked out the window in front of her. The limo stopped by a relatively small, light-gray, blocky building about two stories high. A large parking lot stretched in front of it. The floors were separated by a rectangular structure that expanded out from the main building, forming a second roof of sorts. It reminded Catherine of the multi-tier palaces she’s seen when Rem took her to Kyoto. The walls were covered with vines that wrapped around the windows, weaving themselves across steel and glass. The whole thing was illuminated by light that seemed to come from somewhere below.

Travis got up and opened the door. He gallantly held it for Catherine until she got out.

She looked around.

She recognized this place. It was one of the newly developed areas, the one that sat precariously between the northwestern edge of North Shore and Aurora Meadows. Some rich family used to have a compound here, but it got torn down a couple of years ago.

Catherine, for one, liked what they’d done with the place.

“How long ago did this place open?” she asked Travis as they made their way towards the entrance.

“Not very,” Travis replied. “My cousin was invited to the grand opening. That was about… three weeks ago? Yeah, that sounds about right.”

“No wonder I’ve never heard of it.”

They went through the door.

Inside, the restaurant matched its blocky exterior, with small, square tables and angular chairs. Each corner had a small, square pot, which housed what looked like particularly large bonsai. At the far wall, a quiet waterfall trickled into a pool below.

A young woman in a man’s business suit (tie and all) came up to them and gave them a small bow.

“Welcome to Island of Tranquility,” she said, her voice as serene as a Japanese ballad. “Do you have reservations?”

“Yes,” Travis nodded. “Two for Travis Lee Warden.”

The younger woman pulled out a palm pilot and, after a few clicks, nodded in acknowledgement.

“Mr. Warden, Ms. Chase, right this way.”

She was probably in high school when I left Rem, Catherine thought to herself. Usually, her type would bug her with tons of questions, but this one was fairly polite. Catherine found it refreshing.

“Have a seat,” the suited woman said. “A waiter will be with you shortly.”

“Thank you,” said Travis.

“You got us a seat by the waterfall,” Catherine smiled.

“Yeah,” Travis said as he picked up the menu. “I wasn’t sure if you were into this sort of thing, but personally, I find it relaxing, so I took my chances. I hope I wasn’t too presumptuous.”

“Not at all,” Catherine said as she picked up her menu. “I like a man who takes initiative. Say, what kind of food do they have here?”

“All kind. Every kind. They don’t have anything particularly expensive, but as far as I know, they got just about every kind of food in the world. When my cousin went here, she ordered a Cantonese dish they only make in Hong Kong, and she got it. I’ve ordered some weird stuff, too, and they’ve always gotten it for me.”

“Oh really?” Catherine said, flipping through the menu. “French kitchen, Hungarian kitchen, Japanese kitchen, Korean kitchen, Moroccan kitchen, Russian kitchen… OK,” a mischievous grin crossed her face, “I’ll bite. Waiter!”

“Yes ma’am,” a young man in a black suit said as he came up to the table.

“A bowl of venigret, potatoes, fully baked in butter and cheese, fried salmon, tempura, kvas, strawberry tea and Chocolate Cheese Pie”

“Dim sum, yuk see chow min, sulking pork, sliced watermelon and green tea. And please, bring the chopsticks. I don’t want to have to eat it with the fork.”

Catherine gave him a bemused look.

“My grandfather used to spend a lot of time in Hong Kong,” Travis explained. “When we were young, my sister and I visited him every summer. Somewhere along the way, I got addicted to Cantonese food. Go figure.”

“I know what you mean,” Catherine smirked. “I remember when Rem and I went to Verona the first time. I thought it was going to be a drag, but…”

She stopped herself in mid-sentence.

“What? What is it?”

“Nothing,” Catherine sighed. “It’s not important.”

“I heard you and Remus used to take cross-continental trips all the time when you were together.”

“Yeah…”

“Must have been exciting.”

“I don’t know. You would think the novelty would have worn off after a while, but you know there were places…” her expression hardened. “Look, can we talk about something else?”

“Sure,” Travis replied. “I’m sorry. Sometimes, I’m too curious for my own good.”

“No…it’s okay. I mean, I know I’d be asking lots of questions if I were in your place...”

Travis shook his head.

“No. You never asked me about my family, which, by the way, I appreciate. I shouldn’t have asked you about your personal life.”

“Your family?” Catherine’s brows furrowed curiously. “You mean you are actually the member of THE Warden family?”

“Of course. Are there any others?”

“I knew it!” Catherine grinned. “I totally knew it. I just thought it was too cool to be true.”

“You didn’t?” Travis chuckled. “That’s refreshing.”

“I know. People always assume they know everything about you because you have a famous last name or know a person who has a famous last name…”

“…But they don’t.”

“No. Not a bit.”

Their eyes met.

“It’s weird,” Travis said. “You would think that growing up in a family of geniuses, actors, filmmakers, humanitarians, scientists, doctors, politicians, civil rights leaders, decorated officers, daredevils and adventurers would be pretty exciting. And it is, don’t get me wrong, but it’s not quite as exciting as people make it out to be. Flying to the other side of the planet every summer, visiting one of my grandfather’s aerodynamics labs, flying towards the edge of space, going to movie sets, playing in World War II airplanes, meeting politicians and businessmen from all around the world, studying legal documents most people would kill to have access to … It’s cool, but, on some weird level, it just seems… normal.”

It was different for her. No matter how much time she spent with Rem, she never got used to all the stuffy, formal parties, upscale mansions, crowded self-congratulatory ceremonies, meetings… She preferred the quiet moments. Like the time when they walked around Rome, dressed like an average, middle-class couple. Or the time when Rem bought an abandoned castle in Ireland and they ran around, exploring every inch of it before the specialists came to fix it up. Or the time when he took her down the Catacombs and showed her some passages that were off-limits to tourists. Or the time when they went to a carnival in Venice…

“Catherine?”

Damn it! Why does it always have to come back to Rem! It’s been six years, for God’s sake! Isn’t it enough!

“Catherine,” Travis repeated himself, this time more forcefully. “Are you OK?”

“I am… fine. Yeah. I am. I’m sorry.”

“Is something bothering you?”

“No,” Catherine reassured him. “It’s nothing. Really.”

“I hope I’m not boring you,” Travis remarked.

“Oh no. It’s not that at all. I just… I got a lot on my mind. That’s all.”

“Is it about your work?”

Rem was a good friend of the Wardens. He managed to be friends with them despite his equally strong friendship with the Sages, which was quite an accomplishment. He wouldn’t jeopardize it by framing a member of their family.

Or would he?

“Why do I feel like I’m talking to myself,” Travis said loudly.

“Yeah. I’m sorry. I don’t know what’s wrong with me today.”

Bullshit, Chase. You know exactly what’s wrong with you. You are thinking about your ex while on a date.

But Rem said…another part of her interjected.

Who cares what Remus said, she cut herself off. When was the last time you went on a date? That’s right – four years. Why? Because every time you were about to go out with someone, Remus always found some dirt on him. Always. Did you ever double-check? No. You just followed along like a little puppet. That’s what you’ve always been to him – a puppet. This is no different and you know it.

But what if…

Look. You can sort out all this crap later. For now, just try to enjoy yourself, OK.

“I am sorry, Travis,” said Catherine. “I didn’t mean to ignore you. From now on, I’ll focus on you and only you, I promise.”

“It’s okay,” he shrugged. “I know you are very dedicated to your job. It’s part of your charm.”

Catherine smirked:

“I know. But, every once in a while, I get so fed up with my job and my life and my responsibilities… I have to get away.”

“You know,” said Travis. “There is a reason why this place is called ‘Island of Tranquility’for a reason. It’s one place where we can forget everything we owe to everyone else and just, you know, be ourselves. We don’t have to pretend for anyone.”

“Really? Because I really, really hate pretending.”

“Me too. It gets so tiresome after a while.”

“Yeah…”

Suddenly, Catherine’s purse started ringing.

“Adam Ant?” Travis snickered. “I approve.”

Catherine reached into her purse, cursing herself for being too stupid to turn it off before she left the house.

“I’m sorry about that,” she glanced at Travis apologetically as she reached for the “off” button. She glanced at the caller ID.

Ian Knowell

She hit ‘receive’.

“Ian! Are you alright?”

The voice on the other end of the line snorted: “Yeah. I’m fine. What about you? Enjoying yourself?”

“I don’t have time for this…”

“Make time,” Ian countered harshly. “My father is up in his tower, brooding and being annoyingly cryptic. There are only five possible explanations. After hacking into internal security and checking his logs, I think I can safely rule out ‘an operative of his is in deep doo-doo,’ ‘one of his plans backfired or got someone killed,’ ‘he had a conversation with Desipio Oris Columnior’ and ‘The Grey Lady came back’. This leaves me with ‘my mother said or did something to upset him’. So, what did you say?”

“Ian, can we talk about this later?”

“Oh… You are on a date, aren’t you?”

“Yes,” she sighed

“Oh… Okay,” he paused for a moment. “Who’s the new guy?”

“That’s none of your business, young man.”

“Actually, it is my business,’ Ian countered calmly. “Simon was pretty cool, but… after that, most of the guys you went out with were either jerks, liars, assholes, or idiots who wanted to get laid. Pardon my language.” He paused “Anyway…I was kind of hoping that he would be someone decent for a change.”

“He is.”

“Oh. I get it now! Dad couldn’t find any dirt on him.”

“No. I mean…”

“He did find some dirt on him, but you wouldn’t listen?” he interrupted, his tone growing slightly more weary.

Catherine didn’t answer.

“Soddin’ hell! Are you really that desperate…”

“Shut up! You have no idea what your father did to me!”

“He let you into his life. He shared his secrets with you. He gave you the world and then some. He gave you access to all his wealth and all his resources. Everything you ever wanted was at your fingertips. He never asked for anything in return. Gee whiz, that must have been awful!”

“I don’t have time for this…”

“No,” Ian sighed. “You don’t. You never do.”

He hung up without saying another word.

Catherine clenched her hand, causing her cell phone to whine in protest.

Damn you, Remus.

Damn you to hell.

“Catherine…”

“I am sorry,” she said, trying to regain her composure. She looked at the glass of water. “I don’t suppose I can throw it against the wall.”

“No. It’s pretty safe to say that would ruin the whole ‘Tranquility’ thing.”

“Damn.”

“Here,” he said as he reached into his pocket. “You can have my stress ball.”

Catherine looked at her phone. Was it just her or was it starting to crack?

She took the stress ball.

“Don’t let it get to you,” said Travis. “Ian is jus being a teenager, and teenagers can say some very cruel things without meaning them. Trust me, I know.”

Catherine shot him a quizzical look

“I used to take care of one my nephews,” he explained. “He was a good kid, very creative, but he had issues. He took them out on me. At first, it bugged me, but as soon as I realized that he just needed an outlet…”

“It’s not that,” Catherine shook her head. “I hate it how Remus turned him against me.”

“Are you sure? Maybe he’s just upset that you and Remus aren’t together anymore.”

“Maybe,” Catherine sighed. “When Rem and I… parted ways, I did something I will always regret. I ran. I didn’t even leave him a note or anything. I just… I just felt like I had to get away.” She paused. “The thing is, Ian and I used to be very close before that. I was the one person who he could always come to, no matter what happened. But now… I’ve been trying to make up for it. I visit him every weekend. I try to come by during the holidays.” She stopped again, trying to reign in her quivering voice. “I guess… I’m afraid that somewhere along the way, I lost him. And it’s all my fault.”

“Don’t be like that,” Travis said. “Look, I don’t know you as well as I would like, but from what I’ve seen so far, I don’t think you’re the type to give up quickly.”

Catherine smiled warily:

“No…I guess I don’t.”

The waiter arrived, balancing a pair of trays on his hands:

“There you go, sir. Ma’am.”

“Thank you,” said Catherine.

“Can I get you anything else?”

“No,” Catherine shook her head.

“We’re fine,” Travis echoed.

“Alright. Enjoy.”

She picked up one of the smaller spoon and dug into venigred. Travis picked up the tiny rolls with his chopsticks, and swallowed them without ever letting the chopsticks touch his mouth. The way he did it, it looked like it was the most natural thing in the world.

Just like Rem used to. It wasn’t just with chopsticks. Piloting an airplane? Writing a new firewall while waiting for the guests to arrive? Skiing in the Alps? Why, to him, it was nothing at all. When she was with Rem, everything seemed possible. To a young girl who came from a family that could barely afford to pay their mortgage, he was like a dream come true.

But it all came with the price, didn’t it?

In many ways, Travis was everything Rem was. Smart. Funny. Courteous. Completely unflappable. They even looked similar. Not enough to be mistaken for each other, but similar.

Maybe that was the attraction. Travis was the Rem she saw all those years ago. Before she found out that he lied to her. Manipulated her. Kept secrets from her.

Before she realized that no matter what she did, she would never measure up to a dead woman.

You trust him. Even after all this time, you still trust him.

Well, that ends tonight.

Tomorrow, she will go up to Meridian Tower. She will find out the truth. The whole truth. And this time, she wasn’t going to let him win.

Otherwise, she would never be able to move on.

She looked up at Travis. He smiled back.

Who knows? This might just turn out to be in interesting date after all.

To be continued...

Author’s Note: I would like to thank Ludi for providing me with information on Cantonese food. I based Catherine’s order on my personal experience with Russian food.