Ramen

I received a text from Tony asking to meet with me at a spot in Lawrence Kansas called Ramen Bowls. I obliged, and teleported there. He was already outside, waiting for me.

"Glad no one noticed you spontaneously appearing out of no where," he said, after having a quick glance around.

"Meh," I said. "So, is this a legit ramen place?"

"Oh yeah," he said. "You're gonna love it."

We went inside and waited a moment to be seated. We received our menus, and were given some water.

"I'll also have some of your Elderflower Apple," Tony said, gesturing to a list of sparkling sake options on the table.

I had a look at it as well. They also carried Pink Grapefruit Ginger and Hibiscus Cucumber. That one made me raise an eyebrow. I had no idea what a cucumber based beverage would taste like, but the curiosity was killing me. I needed to try it.

"I'll have the Hibiscus Cucumber," I said.

"Okay," the waitress said. "Can I see your IDs?"

We handed them to her. Tony and I both look young, but we're both in our late twenties, with me only being about half a year older than him. She had a look at them.

"Oh, California, huh?" she said. "Alright. I'll be right back with those."

She handed us back our IDs and left us to examine the menus.

"So, how's been business?" I asked.

"A little slow lately," Tony said. "Having those three on board has made things run pretty smooth. Glad you managed to get them away from the Timberwolves."

"Yeah, but Rillek's still pissed at me about it," I said. "Robbed him of three good potential followers."

Tony chuckled.

"Shame we lost Greg though," he said.

"Yeah," I said. "I miss Greg."

We gave Mr. Garland a moment of silence. Then the waitress came back with out drinks and asked if we were ready to order. Tony ordered some kind of seafood ramen (Which looked really good in retrospect, and I'll be sure to try it if I'm ever in the area again) and I had the Double Ramen with extra noodles. She left us alone again. I had a drink of the cucumber sake, and it is the most delicious alcohol I've ever consumed! Like, I was seriously taken aback by how good it tasted.

"So, have you guys found a new base of operations yet?" Tony asked. "I read what happened with the SMSC."

"Not yet," I said. "We're laying low for now. My equipment has all been moved somewhere safe, and I'll set up shop once I find a decent enough place where they'll have a harder time finding me."

"Smart," Tony said. "And that Tyler kids handling things well?"

"For the most part," I said. "Took him some time to get used to the idea of Eldritch Abominations being a thing."

"Did he want you to show off your powers?" he asked.

"Naturally," I said. "I'll go about that when I find a good spot where we won't draw too much attention."

"I see," he said, sipping his sake a bit.

"So," I said. "Now that we've caught up a bit, what's this about? I assume you've found something?"

He nodded.

"Can't prove connection between everything just yet, but there's things we both need to look into," he said.

"Go on," I said.

"I'm planning a trip up to Topeka to see about speaking to that missing person's friend," he said. "If they really do walk their weird fluff thing twice a day, then they can't be too hard to find."

"Good," I said. "I really hope they can be helped. And you say there's something you need me to look into as well?"

He placed a photograph and some papers in front of me. I examined the picture and raised an eyebrow.

"William Dawson?" I asked. "The Egyptologist? I thought he disappeared."

"He did," Tony confirmed. "Shortly after an expedition into the tomb of the ancient thief king Abdalin. The Archive covered u the full details of his disappearance, but I manage to uncover that he angered some Nightlanders by defiling that tomb."

I sighed.

"Classic Archive," I said. "So, what's the deal here?"

"This picture was taken recently," Tony said. "In Emporia."

"So he's still alive?" I asked.

"It would seem so," Tony said.

"And that's what you want me looking into?" I asked.

"Correct," Tony said.

We stayed silent for a bit before I brought up another important topic I had on my mind.

"So, you read all the blogs I told Justin about, right?" I asked.

"Yes," he confirmed.

"Even Genome's?" I said.

Tony nodded.

"Doesn't seem connected to the missing person or stolen books," he said. "So there's only one reason I can think that you would have suggested it. And I have to said that I agree with your suspicion."

"Really?" I asked.

His eyes narrowed.

"It's entirely likely that this 'Kraken' group that Genome has been dealing with may be the culprits behind both incidents," he said. "But we can't prove anything yet. That's why we need to work together to gather information."

"And you think Dawson may be involved as well?" I asked.

"Unless his resurgence is coincidental, it's best to assume so," he said. "Either way, its worth looking into."

"So, we're in business then?" I said, offering my hand.

"We are," Tony said, shaking it firmly.

Our ramen arrived shortly after. I had finished of my sake by that point, so I ordered some of the grapefruit stuff. The ramen itself was... heavenly... No other word will suffice. The broth was great. The pork practically melted in my mouth. The noodles were delicious and thin enough to put angel hair to shame. Kind of questioned the corn... not huge on corn to be honest. I like it on its own, but added to stuff is slightly off-putting to me. But it did not subtract from just how great that fucking ramen was.

Anyway, we spent the rest of the meal just eating, chatting, getting caught up on non-business stuff, and just having a great time. By the time we were finished, I had tried all three flavors of sake, and they were all great. My favorite was the grapefruit, with cucumber being a close second. I highly recommend that place if any of you ever find yourselves in Lawrence.

We finished up, paid our tabs, left a tip, and left.

"So, Emporia, right?" I asked.

"Yep," Tony said. "Good luck out there."

"I'll see you later," I said. "And um... tell Sera-"

"That your doing alright and you miss her," he finished for me. "I know. You end all our meetings like this. Now get out of here, ya' shithead."

"Fuck you too, jackass," I said.

We both had a laugh, and we parted ways.

We're very good friends.

Anyway, I have to go track this Dawson guy down. Peace.