Chapter 3

Lisha had hardly spent an hour in his house, but Joey was already beginning to regret his decision to allow her stay behind. Half-naked and spread full length on the couch, she alternated between listening to insanely loud music and consuming every piece of edible item Joey had. He could neither rest nor think. Music blared so loud that his brain began to hurt. He tossed and turned on his bed, wondering how sisters of the same mother could be so different. Never had he known Tara to be careless about other people's feelings, but this freckly, crazy centrefold material was a complete opposite - a real pain in the gut! He would have tried to tell her to turn down the volume of the TV, but his embarrassment at her state of undress made it impossible for him to go anywhere near the parlour. He had to endure. Getting wads of cotton wool, he stuffed his ears with them. Even though they didn't stop the sound, at least they reduced it. With a sigh, he went back to bed to see if he could catch some sleep. Sleeping early wasn't normal for him, but Lisha's disturbance and his powerlessness about Ben's situation had sapped the energy out of him. Hopefully, morning would bring good news.

Joey was in the middle of the deepest sleep of his life when he felt a soft slap on his cheek. At first, it failed to make much of an impression on his sleep-drenched brain, but several more taps brought him a little closer to planet Earth. He turned and hissed in his sleep - an involuntary attempt at moving away from whatever object was touching him. He was now flat on his back, getting into the second phase of his deep sleep and snoring softly. But he didn't enjoy it for long. The frustrated source of the earlier slaps let loose a stinging strike on his cheek that brought him back to Earth instantly.

"Christ!" He shouted as he jumped up to a sitting position.

"Sorry." A voice said in the darkness. "You're just too difficult to wake."

He now recognized the voice as Lisha's.

"What is it? What do you want?" He grumbled, rubbing his smarting cheek.

"I'm going out. Just thought I should let you know."

"Uh? Going out where? It's the middle of the night."

"So?"

"So... so you should stay in bed."

She just sighed and shook her head.

"See you later." Aas all she said as she walked out of the room.

"Hey hey, wait." Joey called as he ran after her, cotton wool hanging out of his ear. He caught up with her at the front door. "Hey, what is it that can't wait till morning, huh? It's not safe to go out at this time of the night."

"Thank you for your concern." Lisha nodded, flashing him a smile that was clearly fake. "I'll be perfectly fine."

"No no. Look here, freckles. I promised your mother that I'll look after you and that's exactly what I'm gonna do. You're new here, you know. I know this area and I'm telling you, you can't go out at this time of the night. Wait till..."

"What if I don't, hmm? What will you do? Stop me?"

"Look, I..."

"Why not try it, and see how it'll turn out?" She threatened, her blue eyes becoming brighter by the minute.

Joey swallowed.

"Look, just calm down." He pleaded. "I'm just trying to help. It..."

"Help yourself and your earring. I have an appointment to keep."

With that, she turned on her heels and walked out of his apartment. Joey took off the cotton wool from his ear, but didn't dare try to stop her. She had left with her blue eyes shining as bright as torches and he didn't know what would follow if she were to get angrier. But suddenly, she stopped and turned around to face him.

"And don't you dare call me freckles ever again."

When Lisha arrived at the meeting point, she met an unfamiliar young man that left her in no doubt that the person she wanted to see was around. Tall, muscular and rough, she knew that birds of the same feather would always flock together. On sighting her, he moved aside and let her through into the roadside shed that she had chosen as the venue for the meeting.

"Greetings." She hailed as she saw her guest seated at one end of a long bench. She was smiling, not because she was happy to see him, but because his faded jeans and short jacket made him look far from the superior figure he had always made sure to be seen as.

"That's one respectful way to greet your superior." He growled.

"I take it you got my message?" Lisha asked, ignoring his rebuke.

He stared at her in angry silence for a while. He would have loved to throw her out, but at the moment, she was too close to his current mission to be discarded. For all he knew, she could turn out to be very valuable.

"Why else would I be here?" He retorted, breaking the silence.

"Good. I..."

"Sit." He ordered, and she had no choice but to obey. She had satisfied her pride, it was only fair that she allow him satisfy his too. So she sat down lightly on the bench opposite his. She could now see his face clearly in the bright glare of the overhead light. Smooth and almost feminine, but with some traces of wickedness in it - which was what had earned him her secret nickname for him: Slimy. But that was not her concern now. In fact, his wickedness might just be of excellent service to her.

"So what's the important matter you wish to discuss?" He asked as she continued to stare at him in silence.

"I know you have Ben." She said, matter-of-factly. But she had chosen the wrong candidate. Slimy didn't even blink.

"Who's that?" He asked instead, feigning ignorance.

"You know who. My sister's fiancé, of course."

"Okay then. So?"

"So... you need not have any fear. We both want the same thing, you know."

"And what's that?" He asked with genuine curiosity.

"For Ben and my sister never to get married."

"Then we're not on the same page." Slimy hissed, getting to his feet. "You want a no-marriage, I want a permanent separation - a final end to this sacrilegious union that disgraces us."

"And I can make it happen." Lisha quickly assured, getting to her feet too.

"How do you plan to do that?"

"She's my sister. Leave her to me. But you'll have to keep your end of the bargain."

"Which is?" He demanded, taking a few steps towards her.

"That you don't hurt him... in any way." She replied, taking her own step towards him.

"Why do you care?"

"You don't need to worry about that. Just make sure he's fine and be ready to release him after I fulfill my end of the bargain."

"You don't get to give orders here, girl." He growled, closing up the little space left between them.

"Calm down, please. Nobody is giving or receiving orders here. We're on the same team."

"Hmm." He sighed, the anger leaving his face. He now looked at her more closely, more comfortably. They were so close that she could feel his breath on her face, but she didn't move an inch. Conceding her position would be a sign of weakness and he would surely seize the opportunity to pounce.

"You're beautiful." He suddenly commended, bringing his hand to cup her face.

"Thank you." She smiled, slowly extricating herself from his touch. Then she made her way to the exit, which was in fact, the huge back of Slimy's man. Just short of touching it, she stopped and turned to face her new partner.

"I take it we have a deal?"

"A separation for your sister's fiancé in as few pieces as possible? Yes, we have a deal."

"A separation for a safe, sound and healthy Ben." Lisha corrected with a smile, though her eyes were beginning to flash.

He could not afford a messy fight, not here not now, so he simply nodded. With an answering nod, she turned on her heels and stalked past the expansive back.

"But what's in it for you?" Slimy suddenly called after her.

"Like I said earlier, you don't need to worry about that. Let's just fulfill our ends of the bargain. Good night."

When Lisha returned to Joey's apartment, a clearly relieved Joey answered the door and let her in.

"Thank God you're alright." He sighed, wiping off beads of perspiration that had gathered on his forehead.

"What God?" She asked.

"Uh?"

"I said, what God are you thanking? God of the sea, of the sun, of the stars, of the rocks or what?"

"Well, all of them, no matter how many they are. I'm really glad you made it back safe and sound."

"Hmm. Anyway, I'm leaving again, to go see mother. It might be a while before I return."

"Oh no problem at all." Joey nodded with a smile, glad to be rid of her. "You're leaving now, right?"

"Yes. I just came to say goodbye. I hope you find your friend soon. Have a good night. And thanks for the food."

"Always welcome." Joey bowed.

She turned and walked back to the door and he quickly rushed to open it for her. As far as he was concerned, she could never leave fast enough. As soon as she was out of his apartment, he shut his door and locked it. With a huge sigh of relief, he went back to sleep.

Lisha swam into the enclave to no welcome from anyone. She couldn't help but recognize the fact that if it had been Rana, many of the younger mermaids would have come to greet her. But since it was her, all she received were blank stares. Only her mother was glad to see her. The woman sighed in relief as she sighted her second daughter making her way into the enclave.

"You're back already? Hopefully, you didn't create much chaos. Or is there an update about Rana's fiancé?"

"None." Lisha shrugged, "unless his friend sleeping like a dead log of wood is a useful update."

"Well, not so useful, but at least it's not bad news."

"Where's Rana?"

"She's in my chambers and she wants to be alone. For your own good, let her be. The mood she's in, if she pounces on you, we'll spend the entire day gathering your pieces."

"Hmm. Thanks for the information." Lisha replied as she swam off towards the general sleeping chambers.

"And please keep your tail off Lina's bottles." Maana called after her. "The last thing I need now is a fight to disturb my peace!"