Hello and welcome to meet us pod episode 13. I'm your host D
Mitas. Our story for this episode comes to us from Heather
Santo. Heather works as a chemist in Pittsburgh, PA. Her
educational background is biochemistry, forensic science
and law. In the past two years she's had flash and short
stories published by ink and sword, yellow mama spaceports
and spider silk retreats from oblivion, Jersey double press,
the haunted traveler, bewildering stories and the
mystic blue review with two stories pending in the
Staybridge. Joining me telling this story are Charlotte North,
Elijah be more. Michael Blakey, Lex Zorn, and Stacy Cotham. Stay
tuned after the story for full actor bios and some news about
the future of metus media. Without further ado, here's our
story.
How does your garden grow by Heather Santo. I slicked back my
hair and flash a dazzling smile. Check again please. I tell the
young woman at the front door. She checks her screen for the
10th time. I'm sorry, there's still no one by the name Jasper
crane here. honest mistake, I assure her. Claudia gave me a
verbal invite at the Worthington's charity event last
week. Maybe she forgot to tell you. I amp up the smile even
more and inch my way across the threshold. I'm sorry she repeats
but I wave a dismissive hand. There she is now I say and call
out to Claudia. My dear. There seems to be some mix up. Claudia
saunters over a black dress fitting like a second skin on
her curvaceous body. Faint recognition registers our face.
How do I know you? We met at the Worthington's last week. I
slipped my arm around her shoulders. Remember I told you I
wouldn't miss your opening for the world. She squinted me
through thick black frames. Next years 2035 models smart glasses
by the look of them and tosses a mass of lime green hair over one
shoulder. Why don't you show me around? I suggest it's okay
mossy she tells the frazzled girl of the door. I'll show she
falters and I flashed a smile bright enough to light the city.
Jasper crane I offer?
Yes, I'll show Mr. Crane around from here. Thank you.
We walk into the dimly lit entrance of the gallery aptly
dubbed artsy fartsy surrounded by the city's elite
Jasper. We definitely did not meet at the Worthington's last
week, or anywhere before for that matter. Yours is a smile I
will not forget
why I'm insulted. So easily forgotten by a woman as
beautiful as yourself. I'm
sure you have a legion of beautiful women at your beck and
call. You have however, piqued my curiosity.
She says taking my elbow. I'll take it. I navigate the crowd. A
large group is gathered in front of the gardenia garden. The
Knights main attraction and namesake of the exhibit opening.
Claudia is responsible for creating set exhibit as well as
part owner of artsy fartsy it's breathtaking. I don't remember
real flowers but I've heard this emulations pale in comparison to
the real thing. How did you do it? Claudia shakes her head
sadly.
This is one of the first subjects I captured with
environmental camera technology. I have a friend a few hours
north with a pretty house in the country. I sprinkled micro
lenses in her garden to capture the individual images. And that
was surround vision display edited each from 2d into this
life sized 3d display.
Fascinating. Out of those work. I motion of the projectors on
the wall.
They emit an invisible fog, allowing me to adjust focal
plane and depth of field and project the images into space.
How soon after you photograph the garden did the freak pod
fungus hit the US?
Less than six weeks.
I walk into the exhibit. Immediately enveloped in glossy
green leaves and soft white blossoms. It's almost as
beautiful as the photographer.
Okay, Jasper. Enough chitchat? Who are you on? What are you
doing at my exhibit opening,
I remove my arm from her shoulders and raise both hands
and defeat. You got me, I say and pull an old photograph from
inside my tux jacket. It's from a now obsolete instant camera.
The muted colors of the image are bordered in white paling in
comparison to the vibrancy of guarding your garden. I hand it
to Claudia.
How did you get this?
The photo depicts a young woman dressed in a simple white t
shirt, knees drawn up to her chest with a single gardenia
tucked behind one ear. Gillian is my older sister. I say. I can
see the realization slide into place. Although Jillian's
features are softer, like the flower in her hair, the family
resemblance is undeniable.
We drifted apart. Both so focused on our careers. Claudia
whispers me with photography and her with science. She
looks up at me.
There isn't a day that goes by that I don't think of her.
She's in a coma. I say and Gloria grips my wrist daily. has
been for almost a year what happens? I bought a business
card for my tux jacket. The front of it reads yours Greek
food delivery service. cloudier rips it from my fingers. Meet me
tomorrow. at this address. Five o'clock sharp. I'll explain
everything. I turned to leave Claudia to her adoring fans. And
as I walk away she calls out Jasper. I glance over my
shoulder.
This is the best photograph I've ever taken, she says
holds the instant image to her heart. Yours is a hole in the
wall on the north side. The food delivery gigs started out as a
front from Aleyda scheme but much to my surprise it quickly
grew into a profitable business. The credit goes to Xander my
chef and a former Army Ranger. What's cookin? I yell as I enter
gear yours. I launch myself onto a bar stool and prop my feet up
on the counter. Xander a mountain of a man with a
screamin Eagle haircut is busy in the grill. Same thing that's
cooking every day. He growls Sandra's famous gyros my man go
three, then ratty haired and blue spectacles. The antithesis
of Xander good falls from his spot at Central Command. He's a
drone pilot and one hell of a hacker was six screens hooked up
to a network of computers, none of which I understand. It
probably rivals anything set up at the CIA or delivery drone,
which cost me a nice chunk of change sits on the table next to
Central Command. We nicknamed him Hermes. Did you have Chow
yet? Xander asks, throwing a guy row in front of me. His apron
says kitchen bitch across the chest. No, I haven't. And I take
a huge bite. You're welcome. he grumbles turning back to the
grill. So where's this photographer chick? Guthrie asks
as Claudia saunters through the door
right here,
she says flipping her lime green ponytail with sensuous grace.
Xander and Guthrie stare, mouths agape order up. I call and slam
my hand down on the kitchen service Bell. Conrad explodes
out of the stockroom long limbs Tangling together like yarn. I'm
here I'm coming. I've got it. He yells and Paul's face first in
front of Claudia's red high heeled pumps. The kitchen erupts
into laughter and I help Conrad to his feet easier years newest
hire a struggling ventriloquist who walked in one day and asked
if we were hiring. We weren't but I gave him a job on the
spot. The guy although a bit high strung, is extremely
likable and eager to please. Plus his dummy Pierre gives
Xander the creeps.
Well guys, something smells delicious.
After I introduced the photographer to Xander Guthrie
and Conrad, we get down to business. Not the guy real
business, the real business. But we do eat Kairos as we talk, the
risk of family Claudia exclaims incredulous.
How did you learn get involved with the mafia?
Indirectly as it turns out, I explain her colleague, some guy
drowning in gambling debt was developing mind control
technology. One of those main bruisers isn't really this guy
makes Xander look like a kitten broke into the complex where she
worked. plan to steal the guy's tech to make up for the debt and
then break the guy's legs for good measure. stumbled into
Joe's lab by mistake. I pause to take a deep breath. what Joe was
working on was more valuable to the mafia than mind control. And
what was that? Flowers resistant to the freak pod fungus? Top
Secret stuff. Her first success was with gardenias Claudia
stares at me, speechless. The boss big Polly thought they
could make a mint selling real flowers, weddings,
anniversaries, funerals. You not believe what people were willing
to pay for flowers on the black market. So they went in put my
sister didn't give up her flowers without a fight.
Reserves guy put her in a coma and she's been at St. Margaret's
ICU sense. What can I do to help? Claudia asks without
hesitation later that night one of rizos men places his weekly
delivery order like clockwork Xander prepares the Kairos
Conrad boxes everything up and Guthrie fires up the drone.
Claudia pops open her very expensive laptop and we wait.
Watching the drones feed when one of the central command
screens
holy cow.
Claudia says when she spots Rizzo is bruiser the front door
of the delivery location. Ironically, the mob works out of
a kitchen design store a few blocks south of here he is told
you he was big. I say as the behemoth takes the box of food
from the drone. Guthrie pilots the drone back home and we
switch views to cloudy his laptop. The microlens is
attached to the food box which on and she starts capturing
images and rapid fire speed. Photos of 12 wiseguys plus big
Polly making a baker's dozen pop up in succession. We also get a
complete layout of the room. There's a door in the back that
immediately catches Guthrie's interest. Something important
behind there, he says pointing voice and face recognition on
the outside. If you ain't big Polly or one of us could pose
you ain't getting in there. I look at Claudia. Can you be back
next week, same time. We're gonna get Jill's flowers back.
The next Saturday, we gather back at years. Xander works
furiously at the grill preparing the resume family's weekly
order. There's a tub of his secret guiro sauce next to the
grill. The recipe kept secret even from me. Except this week,
I've added my own secret little ingredient. Good old Georgia
homeboys enough to knock out even the largest of results
clan. Order Up. Xander yells hitting the kitchen service
Bell. Conrad boxes everything up for delivery and Guthrie fires
up the drone wants to be big boy bruiser takes the box from
Hermes. Claudia pulls anxiously at her lime green braids. Are
you sure
this is going to work? Nope.
I say Guthrie has loaded the photo software onto one of
Central Command screens. While he brings Hermes back to he is
he simultaneously switches on Claudia's micro lenses, again,
attached to the delivery box and captures images of rizos men big
Polly included devouring Xander Slimer Skyros. The secret sauce
drips through their fingers splattering on the table covered
with playing cards. We wait. Less than an hour later all 13
men are down for the count. That's our cue. All right,
everyone loaded into van drive a few blocks over Guthrie riding
shotgun to the kitchen design store. The old panel van 2018
model but still more reliable than many of my ex girlfriends
rattles as if in anticipation. Pull in here. Claudia exclaims
and I slide the van into a side alley. Everyone out I say and
look at Conrad in the rearview mirror. Are you ready? Yes. He
squeaks and opens the back door. Luckily for us, Rousseau's men
didn't lock the door. After grabbing the guy rose from the
drone. We slipped through the darkness and into the store. The
room reeks of cigar smoke and guiro sauce. All 13 men are
slumped in various positions around the car table. Big barley
at the head. I pet his flabby cheek as we walked by. How's the
food big barley? He snorts in response and turns his head the
other way. snoring like a buzzsaw Conrad Harry. Conrad
approaches the back door. He's been practicing for this moment
all week. Studying online videos of big Polly's last court
deposition. Hey, it's me big boy. He says mimicking the mafia
bosses voice perfectly. A lot on the voice recognition screen
blinks green Xander looking totally creeped out. Olds up
here to the facial recognition scanner. Guthrie 3d printed a
perfect replica of the bullies face earlier in the week and
swapped it out for the one on Conrad's dummy. Pierre looked
decidedly more ugly for the effort. Another green light
flashes in the back door lock clicks open. Before anyone can
say anything. I push through and walk into an illegal grow
operation of a most unusual kind. Instead of kitchen design
supplies the brightly lit room was filled with roses, peonies,
lilies, tulips and last but not least, guarding Yes. Oh, my God.
All right, box everything up and loaded in the van. The following
Monday the news headlines puzzled over the mysterious
return of freak odd resistant flowers to the lab where they
were originally stolen from. The story runs tandem with reports
of the entire Rizzo mob family being hospitalized for ingesting
large amounts of a date rape drug. In light of these events,
I decided to permanently close yields for business. While
Xander Guthrie and Conrad move everything from the kitchen into
a storage locker on the east side. I drive van to artsy
fartsy and pick up Claudia. She has a green haired vision and a
houndstooth print pantsuit. And her hands she holds a tiny
potted gardenia ready, task.
So I'll never be
we sit in silence as I navigate through midday downtown traffic.
St. Margaret's is at the heart of the city surrounded by
simulated flower gardens. Hopefully soon, they'll be
filled with real flowers. Hello, Jasper. A pretty nurse says to
me when we enter the ICU. Haven't seen you in a while.
Yeah, sorry. I flashed a dazzling smile. This is Claudia,
a friend of Julian's. Uh huh. She says and walks away briskly.
Emotional for her to enter Julian's room. My older sister's
like a small child of to an IV under a thin blanket.
Hi, Jill.
Claudia says, and in the state of light peeking through the
window blinds, places the gardenia next to the hospital
bed. Links to our author and actors work will be in the show
notes that meet us pod.com. Charlotte Northrup, Charlotte
was born and raised in Denmark. Since childhood she has been in
love with dark and sinister stories and enjoys a sick and
twisted world. That is horror. Charlotte's work can be heard
all over the place. Honestly, there's just too much to be
listed here. But Eliza be more as an actor based out of Chapel
Hill, North Carolina. He can currently be seen on CW
legacies. Elijah also has a new podcast coming soon called cover
to cut. Check it out if you like movies. Michael Blakey, voice
actor, musician, human. He writes songs and brings messages
to life with his voice, and Missouri boy who wants the
people in this world to just be nicer to each other. I think we
can all appreciate that. Lexa Warren lek is a very prolific
actor, both on screen and voice only. And recently, he started
making his own films as well. He frequently collaborates with his
children, Aria Kelly and Liam Isaac on both cast and crew.
He's also a radio sports commentator. And last, but
definitely not least, Stacy Cotham is a voice actor based
out of North Carolina. She's also a radio host, cosplayer
performance artist and lecturer. meanness media is expanding and
I'm devoting a lot more time to it recently made his opponent is
going to be moving to a slightly different format for a while.
The full cast episodes like this one are going to be few and far
between. Most episodes will be more like episode 12 with a
single storyteller. With this format, I'll be able to get more
episodes out. I still have my day job and full productions
take a while to get produced and ready for your years. I'm
working on getting a more regular release schedule and
this change will definitely help out. I've also been putting a
lot of work into my daughter show Fun Fact Friday with Leila
and David, which is now live streaming on Twitch on Thursday
nights at seven Eastern time. Yes, I know we should do it on
Friday, but there are reasons, I promise. Thank you to all of our
listeners and talent. If you'd like to make a donation and help
with the server costs head on over to meet this bob.com and
click the donations link. All donations go to making the show
better. Our music comes to us from od Sprite, you can check
out more of their work and on sprite.com. All written works a
property of their respective owners, media sponsors and
biggest media production all rights reserved unless otherwise
stated. Have a good one folks. We'll see you next time.