This was the first furious exchange between Andre Jensen and Mian-Yi Yeo as she crashes through his hotel room door to see him sitting on his dresser looking in the mirror. He glances up at her through the reflection, ignores her and carries on looking at himself.
“Do you realise how much that was a problem for me AJ? Last time I saw you, you were not even thinking you might show up. I was ready to explain to Dulith why you weren’t there – a million things passed through my mind, I was worried about you.”
Still AJ looks at himself in the mirror, an expression of sadness on his face. The picture of his family resides now in the mirror corner, propped in the frame. He closes his eyes as he forlornly looks in the reflection, looking for answers.
Shaking her head, and sighing, she takes a look round the rest of the hotel room. Shrouded in darkness, AJ hadn’t switched any lights on, still packed, and other things thrown haphazardly on the bed. AJ had obviously walked in, sat down and been at the mirror ever since. He was still sitting in his coat.
“Oh AJ, I wish there was something that could be done.”
She puts her hand onto AJ’s shoulder, a touch of sympathy in his plight. AJ doesn’t respond, or look at her. He merely shifts away from her. Sadly, Mian-Yi softly says goodbye and leaves, taking the hint.
She shuts the door softly, and makes her way to her own hotel room. Flipping her cell phone to open and dialling as she does so.
“Hi, it’s me, can we talk?.....”
“Yeah, everything is ok. I’m just worried about AJ. He is unresponsive; I thought I got through to him last week but…….”
“I know you said it might be a few weeks but I thought as I spoke to him last week in Pittsburgh and he showed up he might be a bit better toward me…….”
“Aha………”
“Aha………”
“Ok Doc, well I will try that out, I know he needs space but I need him to be alert for this week…….”
“You can’t be serious?........”
“Sounds risky though doc……….”
“Ok, well I will see if I can get some, but it will be a last resort……..”
“Thanks, I gotta go, bye……….”
“Shit” Mian-Yi mutters to herself. “I was trying to avoid any use of drugs.”
“Drugs I hear you say??”
It was the voice of Jay Storm, AJ’s younger and more eccentrically psychopathic brother. He mopes on over to Mian-yi, one eye open wildly, the other eye shut, bloodied and bruised.
“Jay, what are you doing here?”
“I heard drugs, druggy drug drugs – what have you got for the Jay Jay yes?”
“I haven’t anything Jay, why are you here? You know you are only supposed to be out of the ward on the weekend, it’s Wednesday. I ask again, what are you doing here?”
“Is the plan coming along, coming along? How is my dearest brother?”
“Your brother is suffering if that’s what you want to know. If I don’t get help for him I don’t know what might happen.”
“Nothing will happen, will happen. My brother is very tricksed up see. He will be right as rain as rain in a few days.”
“If only you would let him know you are ok”
Suddenly Jay snaps into a different mode, intensity flowing through him, focussed on Mian-Yi
“My brother may or may not be ok today. After next week then I can definitely ensure you my dear that he will not be. I thank you for your help so far; pray that when the time comes you show me even more devotion.”
Mian-Yi looks slightly apprehensive at this sudden change, nevertheless she stares right back at Jay
“I co-operate because I care Jay, you know that. When you were in rehab and you had no idea who or what you were I helped you because I saw potential. Now all I see is bitter hatred at times.”
“Yes, hatred, my brother was the one who began this cycle of hate. I was a fine 9 years old boy, but what happens? Yes, that’s right. I get the Power rangers set; he gets Teenage mutant ninja turtles. How would you feel?”
Mian-Yi sighs and pinches her nose at the tip as if she has heard all this before.
“I know Jay, look, that doesn’t make him a bad person, what happened in childhood like that, neither does his slightly bigger cream cake at your 7th birthday party. I care about you, I do. You were there for me when I needed you after you went through what you did, but honestly! This has to stop Jay. Tell your brother, help your brother or dammit I will do it myself. He is my client after all and I need him happy if I am to succeed in my job!”
“I thought you were a nurse, well you were when I met you”
“Yes, yes I was. But this what I am doing now is my father’s legacy, can’t you see? It is my life and I have always been brought up to manage. If you have an issue with AJ, take it up with him. Leave me well out of it!”
Jay suddenly snaps back again to his less stable state.
“But, but…. Jay needs to tell of the plan the plan! Come Mian, come! Show you the plan, I will show you plan plan planeroo.”
“I haven’t got time for this….”
Jay, unperturbed, takes Mian-Yi by the arm and drags her to the couch, throwing her on it before beginning to unravel a piece of paper which he had left on the coffee table. Gleefully smiling he shows the picture to Mian-Yi. It is a ground plan of the arena in which Uproar will be shown on this week.
“I shall climb in through the vent shaft, the shaft I say the shaft. Crawl through with my weapons and position myself directly over my dearest brother pants’ AC unit in his dressing room. In there I shall drop a concentrated dose of anthrax or something equally suitable to take my brother out once and for all, for all.”
Jay applauds himself as he looks smug in the pre-emptive glow of his glory.
Mian-Yi looks at him sceptically.
“We both know you won’t do that Jay. Go home”
“Ah, too subtle! Yes, yes I know I know. I will figure something else out, to give him pain, pain I will paineroo BANG pain making him hurt before he goes. That’s the apples I wanna give him! Good plan Mian! I will get that sorted right away. Thanks.”
Jay storms out of the room as Mian-Yi rubs her temples with her fingers.
“Why am I even bothering to help those pair I don’t know”
She takes a deep sigh and leans back on her couch. The built up tension and tiredness finally making her want to take a deep hot bath and sleep until match day. She reaches in the mini bar to take a bottle of wine. Before she can, a porter barges through the door, looking in desperate panic and wild eyed terror.
“Ms Yeo, I think you should see this. It’s AJ.”
“AJ?”
“Yes, come quickly.”
Mian hurriedly follows the porter, with a look of concern etched on her brow. They go round to the corridors where AJ’s room is. AJ’s door is wide open; a crowd of people, all concerned are gathered in the corridor on the entrance to his room, chatting away in hushed whispers. Mian-Yi and the porter have to fight through the dense crowd as they can’t see what is happening. They get to the doorway and see a horrifying sight which makes Mian-Yi gasp and put her hand to her mouth in shock.
AJ’s prone figure lays on the ground in the recovery position, a doctor crouching over him. He has fallen next to the desk Mian-Yi had left him at. On the table is a carton of pills spilled over the desk, knocked down by the falling hand of AJ no doubt when he finally collapsed. Mian-Yi rushes over to the doctor.
“Dr Yen.”
“It’s ok Mian-Yi, it looks like I got here in time, the paramedics are on their way.”
”What were you doing here?”
“I was concerned by our call earlier, so I thought I would pop by later tonight, but then I got a strange call from someone, I presumed it was AJ, but it didn’t sound like him saying that tonight he was going to do this and OD and to thank you. Well I had to come over as soon as possible and I got here just in time it looks like, luckily his door was open and I saw him just as he took them and collapsed.”
“Is he going to be ok?”
“Hopefully, we will see what the doctors say. Have you spoken to AJ today?”
“Yes, he didn’t show last week, but he didn’t say a word to me at all today, I was talking to him only 10 minutes ago, went back into my room and……..”
“10 minutes? I was talking to him 10 minutes ago.”
“He might have called just before or something, I don’t know. Oh my god this is terrible.”
Dr Yen puts a reassuring hand onto Mian-Yi’s shoulder as if to try and steady her. Mian-yi looks at him appreciatively before turning away and walking out of the room to compose herself. She glances to the coffee table on the way out of the apartment and notices a rolled piece of paper. She picks up the paper inquisitively and unrolls it, narrowing her eyes at the plan of the arena she saw just 5 minutes ago in her hotel room. Closing her eyes she sighs to herself in resignation.
“Fuck”