CHAPTER 60: Little Black Submarines
The reporter downs a splash of water from a plastic cup and brushes away a lock of her curly hair. “You good? We good?” she asks her cameraman, and receives a thumbs up in response. She clears her throat, brushes imaginary lint off of her blazer, then raises the microphone to her mouth.
“This is Alicia Martinez with CBSN Live. I’m standing here at the National Guard’s barrier around Little Armenia, where less than an hour ago, a shocking rash of random violence resulted in over two dozen deaths and the maiming of countless others. Perhaps most shocking is the downing of a KNBC helicopter, purportedly by LAPD officers! The National Guard’s intervention comes as a response from a direct appeal with Los Angeles Mayor Garcetti and Governor Jerry Brown. We’re about to-”
A flurry of activity draws Martinez’ eye. “Ah! Two women are approaching the barrier… This may be the first pair of survivors to the quarantine line! One of them appears to… have s-suffered severe injuries! They’re talking to the Guardsmen, it seems they… Ah, they’ve been allowed through for medical aid! Let’s see if we can get some words from them!”
She beckons her cameraman, and they approach the two women as they hobble past. Despite being directed towards the medical tent, the Asian woman carries her bleeding Hispanic companion in the opposite direction.
“Excuse me? Excuse me!” Martinez calls to them, “I’m with CBSN Live, I was wondering if you could share any-”
“Fuck off,” Moya and T’onga say in unison.
The reporter gasps and glances nervously at the camera, but can do nothing as the women trudge away from her. She faces the camera again and says, “Uh… As you can see, emotions are raw down here. We’re remaining at the scene, until… Ah, wait… More survivors are coming to the barrier! Let’s go, Dan, quick!”
The news people rush to get to the scene, leaving Moya and T’onga to stagger away, hailing a taxi and head west up Hollywood Boulevard.
***
T’onga finds her daughter where she left her. Standing in the courtyard of the Chinese Theatre, stealing desperate glances at Jerome’s phone. Kilo stands next to her and spots T’onga as she climbs out of the taxi. “Hey,” she greets them.
Shizuka opens her mouth and almost runs to her, but stops herself, her face like a wounded animal. T’onga looks away.
“Saw you on the news,” Kilo declares, approaching her and looming over her. “Where’s Moya?”
“…In the back,” she replies, gesturing to the taxi. “She’s hurt bad. Bled through her bandages.”
“And you brought her here? Why not leave her with the paramedics at the barrier?”
“Wasn’t my idea to come here. The shitstorm out there’s bad enough, she said she wanted to avoid any more of a scene. She says she’ll be fine just with you patching her up.”
“Huh…” Kilo scoffs, before moving to retrieve Moya. “And she will be at that.”
T’onga smirks, shaking her head. She makes eye contact with Moya as Kilo lifts her out, then the detective breaks the contact and looks past her. T’onga follows her eyes and jumps in surprise, seeing Shizuka standing right in front of her. Staring at her, silently. Jerome stands behind her, glancing nervously between the mother and daughter.
“…OK, yeah…” the Asian woman says uncomfortably, “It’s time. Let’s talk… Um… Over there, OK?” She gestures towards the box office of the Theatre and walks awkwardly to it. Shizuka follows. Jerome watches them go hopefully, then rushes to help Kilo carry Moya.
T’onga leans against the wall near the box office, standing over Anthony Hopkins’ handprints. Shizuka faces her, scratching the back of her neck. The Asian woman shuffles her feet, and finally says, “So, uh… Shizuka?”
“Y-yeah…?” she asks.
“No, the name… Shizuka. That’s what they called you?”
“Oh… Oh, yeah. My Dad… That is, my adoptive dad, Joseph Joestar. He gave it to me… He’s the one who… uh, picked me up, brought me to New York…”
“New York? You live there? How, uh… How’s that?”
“It’s nice. I mean… It’s a big city, so you have to be careful, but… Uhm… Is there something you wanted to tell me?”
“No, I just…” T’onga sighs, “I’m just… want a baseline… I want to start to understand you…”
Shizuka’s eyes shimmer. She breathes in, then continues, “We live in the middle of the city. Dad was retired when he found me, but his company still makes a lot of money. It’s run by the board now, but we get a slice of the profits. I, um… I go to a private girl’s school. I have some friends I hang out with… But also, they don’t really know who I am. Which isn’t their fault… They don’t know about Stands, or me.”
“…And the Joestars. They’re good people?”
Shizuka smiles. “They’re my family. They’ve always been good to me, even though we don’t share blood. My brother, he… he was there in Morioh when I got… picked up.”
A lull falls over the conversation. T’onga presses her head against the courtyard wall. “I am so envious.”
“Huh?”
“It still blows my mind. You left all that to come looking for me? I don’t get it… If I was in your place, I wouldn’t give a shit who my real parents were. I’d just soak in the good life. I’d probably end up a spoiled rotten, ungrateful brat.”
“What are you trying to say?” Shizuka asks angrily.
“I’m trying to make you understand who you’re dealing with,” her mother answers, meeting her eyes. “I am the woman who murdered your father.”
Shizuka swallows, her anger receding. T’onga leans against the wall again, looking up at the sky. “I… I guess he wasn’t a ‘good’ person. He was a criminal, he ran drugs. But he was kind to the people he loved. He would’ve been a good father to you… I didn’t want to do it. But I did it anyway… because I am an evil person. All of the suffering you’ve gone through since you came here… has been to find an evil person.”
She looks down again then and pinches the bridge of her nose, rubbing her eyes. “You deserve better…” she goes on. “I thought that I could convince you that I wasn’t worth searching for, and you could move on. Go back to your ordinary life. It’s what you deserve. You deserve… better than me.”
She stops talking. Shizuka doesn’t respond right away, but stands and collects her thoughts before asking, “Do you remember when the world nearly ended 5 years ago? My nephew and grandniece were responsible for stopping that.”
“Wha…? 5 years ago? You mean when time went all crazy… Wait, nephew? Grandniece?”
“My family is bizarre, but that's not the point. 5 years ago, the whole world went to hell. Nobody knew what was going on, time was being distorted. I was 13 at the time and all I could think about was you, and how I’d never know who you were!”
T’onga bows her head sadly. “I understan-”
“And then!” Shizuka interrupts, “It was even worse when it was all over. Jotaro and Jolyne came back after saving the whole world, and I couldn’t say a word to them. How can I talk about my little problems to people who saved the world? I’m lucky to be part of their family, but they can’t understand something as small and unimportant as a missing mother! I had to shoulder this alone. No matter the outcome, no matter who you really were, I was determined to find you. And now I have… and it hasn’t made any difference!”
“Kid, I-”
“I don’t feel any better! I still have this hollow place in my heart that you took with you when you left me behind! My only goal was to find you and now… now I have nothing again.”
“I’m… I’m so sorry…” T’onga whimpers, her facade cracking. “I wish I could take everything back. I didn’t want this to happen…!”
“Then why did you abandon me?” Shizuka finally asks, thunder in her voice.
“I didn’t,” T’onga whimpers, eyes glistening. “You were gone. I… I couldn’t find you…! And if I had, I would have brought you back… to him…! To All-Kill… He would have gotten into your head like he did mine!”
“All-Kill… your boss?”
“My boss… My mentor… I’m his killer, I… I belong to him. That’s what he does. His own family was taken from him, so he collects people as substitutes, but his idea of family is… wrong. We’re his possessions, to be used as he sees fit. Once he has you, he never lets go… even if he has to squeeze the life out of you. That’s why he sent me to kill Gangak.”
Shizuka chews her lip. “The other day… is that why you fought him at his house? To stop him from-”
“I don’t know,” her mother says, covering her face. “I don’t know what I was planning. But he said he planned to have you join him… and I couldn’t accept that. I lashed out, and now… He won’t stop until he has you.” Anger enters her voice, her hand trembling as it sweeps her hair off her face. “I can’t let him have you… I won’t!”
The women fall silent again. They breathe steadily, almost in sync, as their fury and desperation cool. After a moment, Shizuka says, “Then let’s fight him.”
T’onga sighs. “You don’t understand-”
“What don’t I understand?” her daughter challenges, “I know you’re afraid of him. He got inside your head, made you think he’s invincible, but he’s not. Not if we fight together.”
“I can’t… I don’t care what he does to me anymore, but I can’t let you near him. It’s too dangerous…!”
“I can handle dangerous! You can handle dangerous. Me, you… Kilo, Moya and Jerome… If we fight together, we can take him down. And before you even think about it-!” she yells, cutting her mother off as she begins to protest, “I know what you look like now. If you hide or you send me away, I can find you again.”
T’onga prepares to protest again, but pauses at seeing Shizuka’s resolute expression, her arms crossed. “... He was like that too…” she sighs, “Whenever he decided on something, nothing could convince him otherwise… Of course you’d inherit that part…”
Shizuka gasps quietly. “At the first sign of trouble, we’re out,” T’onga declares, finding her own resolve, “If it looks like we can’t win, then I’m running. And I’m taking you with me, even if I have to drag you. Deal?” She holds out her hand, the palm facing up.
Shizuka stares at the hand, amazed, then smirks. “Deal,” she says, and with some trepidation, she slaps the hand down with a clap that resounds over the courtyard.
***
The last of the bloody wounds recedes into dark scar tissue and SATURN BARZ returns to its master. Kilo sighs and steps back to observe his work. The crowd around them pay them little mind, preoccupied with observing the fallout around Little Armenia. Moya also sighs, the pain of her wounds fading into a dull general discomfort.
“So you let ‘em eat yo ass?” Jerome asks, crouching next to her. “What would you’ve done if it hadn’t worked?”
“I guess I’d’ve died,” Moya replies with an eye-roll.
“Let yoself get chewed up by zombies, that’s some wild shit.”
“Sure as hell wouldn’t’ve been my first move,” Kilo states, satisfied with his handiwork.
“It wasn’t my first move and they weren’t zombies, like I told you already,” the detective asserts.
“They bite people and spread the infection, that’s a zombie, girl,” Kilo rebuts.
“So I guess an anti-zombie is someone who gets bit and cures the infection. Hey, now that’s some cool shit. Oughta put that on a track!”
“I’ve been through enough today to not have to listen to you, C-King,” Moya groans as she sits up. “Where’s Shizuka?”
“Talking with her momma,” answers Kilo, standing over her, “Don’t push yourself.”
“I’ll be fine. They’ve been talking for like ten minutes, you’d better go over and make sure they’re alright.”
Kilo pauses. “I… Nah. She talking with her Mom. I’m not getting in the way after she been waiting so long for this.”
“T’onga’s a difficult person to talk to. You should both head over and relieve the tension.”
“She knows what she’s sayin’ mayn,” Jerome says “I know this family reunion shit. Things might look fine now, but all it takes is one wrong word, and BOOM! They start fightin’, then they never talk again.”
“He’s right,” Moya says, leaning against the wall and placing her hands behind her head. “Go do what you do best, Staples. Be by her side.”
Kilo blinks, looking surprised, then narrows his eyes. “What’s that mean? What do you mean, ‘what I do best’, what’re you trying to say?”
“Don’t mean nothin’ mayn,” Jerome says mischievously, patting his friend on the back. He grins at Moya, and she grins back as he pulls Kilo away.
Alone, she shrugs and breathes deeply. “Fuck it’s hot,” she says aloud, then crawls to her feet to escape the heat of the pavement. She leans on the walls of the Chinese Theatre, next to the framed poster of the upcoming film The Snowman. Despite being healed, she is still in pain, as SATURN BARZ could only knit her damaged parts back together. The scars on her body would be with her for the rest of her life. But they’re worth it.
She watches her friends convene on the opposite end of the courtyard. Between the random people milling about, obstructing her view, she sees a look on T’onga’s face that was never there before. A look of quiet ease. “Finally…” Moya murmurs, “I finally… did something right…” Joy fills her heart as she watches Jerome say something that makes Shizuka giggle and Kilo roll his eyes.
2 notes
·
View notes
ABC NEWS STUDIOS ANNOUNCES NEW PRODUCTION UNIT LED BY ROBIN ROBERTS
A Dedicated Team Within ABC News Studios Will Produce Originals To Premiere on the ABC Television Network, Hulu and Disney+
The Unit’s Inaugural Project Is a Special Edition of ‘20/20’ Airing During ABC Primetime Featuring an Exclusive Interview With Kerry Washington on Her New Memoir
ABC News/Heidi Gutman*
Today, ABC News Studios announced a new production unit led by ABC News’ “Good Morning America” co-anchor Robin Roberts that will produce a wide range of original, narrative nonfiction projects, including specials, nonfiction series and documentaries for ABC Network, Hulu and Disney+.
The production unit is actively commissioning and developing projects across multiple genres and formats that are a natural extension of Roberts’ background covering pop culture, newsmakers and world events over her 20+ year career. Its creation establishes a dedicated team within ABC News Studios committed to those stories. This new unit expands Roberts’ current production portfolio, which includes Rock’n Robin Productions ― the full-service, Emmy® Award-winning production company that launched in 2014.
“I’m thrilled to now have a home within ABC News Studios to produce projects I really care about,” said Roberts. “This production team will be focused on heartfelt storytelling that reveals the mosaic of humanity.”
“Robin Roberts’ career is a masterclass in powerful storytelling that, over the years, has left an indelible mark on ABC News and people around the world,” said ABC News president Kim Godwin. “This dedicated ABC News Studios production unit will make it possible for Robin to seamlessly produce more premium, original content about extraordinary people and places like only Robin can.”
“Robin’s unique brand of storytelling infuses heart and soul into everything she does,” said Mike Kelley, vice president and head of ABC News Studios. “I couldn’t be more excited about the projects this unit will produce, which I know will enrich the lives of our viewers.”
For the unit’s inaugural project, Roberts sat down with actor, director and producer Kerry Washington for a network exclusive interview ahead of the release of her upcoming memoir, “Thicker Than Water.” In the wide-ranging interview, Washington opens up about intimate details of her life for the first time, including her childhood, acting career and activism, and a family secret that turned her world upside down. She also talks about the mental health challenges she’s faced when it comes to body image, childhood traumas, and depression.
The one-hour primetime Special Edition of “20/20”, “Kerry Washington: Thicker Than Water - A Conversation with Robin Roberts,” airs Sunday, Sept. 24, at 10:00 p.m. EDT/9:00 p.m. CDT on ABC, next day on Hulu.
ABC News*
Jonathan Blakely will serve as executive producer of the unit, reporting to the head of ABC News Studios, Mike Kelley. Previously, Blakely launched and executive produced “60 Minutes+” for CBS News. In his decade-plus career there, he held a number of senior management and production roles with stints at “60 Minutes,” “CBS This Morning,” “CBS Evening News” and CBSN. Katie Conway will be senior producer for the unit overseeing development and production from Los Angeles. Conway is a seven-time Emmy Award winner who previously served as a supervising producer at ABC News’ “Good Morning America,” leading booking and editorial efforts on a wide range of topics. Producer Danielle Genet and production coordinator Kayla Simmons will also join the unit.
The Special Edition of “20/20”, “Kerry Washington: Thicker Than Water - A Conversation with Robin Roberts” is a production of ABC’s “20/20” and ABC News Studios. “20/20”’s executive producer Janice Johnston and ABC News Studios’ Blakely are executive producers.
About Robin Roberts
Robin Roberts is co-anchor of ABC’s “Good Morning America” and President of Rock’n Robin Productions. Under her leadership, “Good Morning America” has won numerous Emmy Awards for Outstanding Morning Program and the 2017 People’s Choice Award for Favorite Daytime TV Hosting Team. In 2014, Roberts launched Rock’n Robin Productions, an independent production company creating original broadcast and digital programming. Roberts began contributing to “Good Morning America” in 1995 and was named co-anchor in May 2005. Prior to that, Roberts was a host of ESPN’s “SportsCenter” and contributed to “NFL PrimeTime.
*COPYRIGHT ©2023 American Broadcasting Companies, Inc. All photography is copyrighted material and is for editorial use only. Images are not to be archived, altered, duplicated, resold, retransmitted or used for any other purposes without written permission of ABC News. Images are distributed to the press in order to publicize current programming. Any other usage must be licensed. Photos posted for Web use must be at the low resolution of 72dpi, no larger than 2x3 in size.
-- ABC --
1 note
·
View note