Solitude Kitty
Zoro found her way into the backpack, and when not forced inside, found it a serene and peaceful place where she could contemplate the meaning of life…
…Time for this week’s story…
Space Case: Trust Issues
On Earth, darkness at night is a thing of the past if you live anywhere near civilization. When the lights are always on, you need to create your own darkness. Some people find that comforting, others feel trapped by it. Either one can be beneficial or a problem, depending on the situation. When you’ve got something to hide, darkness is your friend. That’s why the police always show up with a whole bunch of lights.
Four patrol cars descended from the skies after Marco called in his bounty. Seven officers poured out of the vehicles. The solo officer checked Marco’s license and took his report. A pair of officers escorted them through the scene of the incident as Marco walked them through everything. They checked the rooms and hallway closet as Marco talked. In the end, one of the officers asked, “Sir, was there anyone else here?”
“Do you see any more bodies?” Marco asked with a fanciful twist, examining his surroundings.
The officer shuffled and shook his head, then rephrased his questions. “I just need to confirm there was nobody else in the apartment.”
“I came in through the second bedroom window. Before I made my move, I made sure he was the only one in the apartment,” Marco said.
With a nod, the officer returned to checking the premises. About twenty minutes later, Marco’s bounty had been confirmed, and he was paid with a charged card, since Marco didn’t provide any Earth-based accounts for a direct transfer. The cops stayed, but Marco was free to go. For a long time, dead or alive bounties were a memory from America’s Old West. Ever since the world fell apart, they had become a standard practice throughout inhabited space.
A legal death doesn’t mean you aren’t going to ruffle any feathers. This guy had gang tattoos on his neck and knuckles. He was also hiding a woman who was afraid of the police. No matter which way you slice it, there’s bad guys on all sides. Staying in the safe embrace of darkness, Marco made sure he wasn’t being followed. It was a tedious journey back to his car, tucked away in an alley, hiding a scared young woman inside it. The car took to the skies and carried them back to the hotel where Marco was staying.
“Hey, I’m Marco in three-fifteen. I need to stay a couple more nights. Just charge the card on file,” Marco told the young man behind the check-in desk.
“You got it.”
While the clerk worked, Marco examined the hotel lobby. There wasn’t much space. The building was once a modest apartment complex which had been converted into a hotel. Or, perhaps it was a hotel which started renting apartments. Either way, the economy in this region tanked alongside most of the planet and people figured out how to survive.
“Hey buddy, is there a manager I can talk to?” Marco asked.
“Yeah, the night manager, Maria, is here. Is something wrong?”
“Nothing’s wrong. I do need to talk to her though. If she’s busy, I’ll wait. She doesn’t need to rush.”
Patience pays dividends, especially when you want something. It was at least fifteen minutes before Maria arrived, and when she did, Marco welcomed her with a warm smile. She smiled back with relief. Although she wore her frustrations like a hat, Marco was not another piece of that weight she carried.
Marco opened with, “How are you? You look like you’ve had a rough day.”
Maria groaned and rolled her eyes. “Teenagers. My little one is fourteen and he loves going to the game hall. But that area isn’t as safe as it used to be. He hasn’t checked in like he’s supposed to, and it’s been a friggin’ day and a half! I can’t reach him, and I’ve just been worried sick. I’m sorry, I don’t need to trouble you with my problems. What can I help you with?”
Marco pulled out his credentials for Maria. “I’m a private eye. I’m working on a case and need to protect someone for a couple of days. After hearing about your son, I’m thinking maybe we could help each other out.”
Maria was happy to set up the vacant room next to Marco and label it as being out of service in exchange for Marco retrieving her son. The troublesome child was a heartache for Maria, but a blessing to Marco.
While many large institutions had collapsed, the surviving industries thrived and filled that void. Gaming halls had become popular since the collapse, taking over large spaces to offer a wide variety of gaming experience alongside food, drinks, private rooms, a gym, showers, and anything else that might whisk one away. Having never been to one, Marco arrived with a sense of curiosity and wonder. He asked the employees questions to learn the basics. When they told him that gaming halls block external signals, supposedly to prevent cheating, Marco understood why Maria couldn’t reach her son. If Marco wanted to reach the outside world, he needed to go to a special room named the Call Room.
With a name and a picture of Maria’s son, Marco explored the massive gaming hall section by section, asking patrons and employees if they recognized him. He stopped to play a couple of his favorite games, but generally stayed on-mission. While he loved the establishment, Marco was unsettled by the proliferation of shady characters lurking throughout the building. He was offered drugs several times. On one occasion, he inquired as to their wares, pretending to be interested in boosters that could give him a physical or mental boost. Some boosters are considered cheating in games, making it the only artificial advantage anyone in the building could get. For a facility with so many underaged patrons, the lack of law enforcement was atrocious.
Minors were allowed to wander the establishment at such a late hour thanks to the overnight room rentals. They couldn’t go home unless an adult picked them up, so they stayed and played games all night. Luckily, the light foot traffic made it easier to track down Maria’s son. Marco found him playing a cooperative shooter with a young Indian boy.
“Alex? My name’s Marco, I’m a private eye,” Marco shared his credentials. “Your mom ain’t too happy that you haven’t come home or reached out and asked me to bring you home.”
“Aw man, am I in trouble?” Alex asked.
“Probably. Your mom seemed pretty upset.”
“But, that’s not fair! When I realized what time it was I went to the Call Room and it was really busy. I knew she couldn’t come get me because her shift was starting so I just stayed.”
“What about yesterday?”
“She knew where I was,” Alex said casually.
“Weren’t you supposed to check in?”
“Like I said, it was busy.”
“Yeah, sir,” his friend with curly black hair chimed in. “It was like, packed! And there were these guys there trying to sell us stuff, so we left.”
“But, don’t tell my mom that part or she won’t let me come back,” Alex elbowed his friend.
“You guys don’t want any of the stuff these guys are selling?” Marco asked. Both boys made disgusted faces and shook their heads. “Good. That stuff can really mess you up. I’ve seen it happen.”
Marco talked with the boys a little longer before taking Alex home. On the walk, he consulted Alex about life, school, having more empathy for his mom, and growing up without a dad. Both Alex and his mom carried a lot of fear, which caused most of their tension. Being a private eye often puts you in the path of people who need help. Although Maria sent Marco to fetch her child, that conversation was where the real value lay. Maria was even surprised by his cooperative, positive attitude after she scolded him.
“You want my honest opinion?” Marco asked her after she sent Alex away. Bristling with concern, she said yes. “Alex is a good kid with a good head on his shoulders, good friends, and a mom that loves him. He’s going to be alright. You guys just have to learn to trust each other.”
Maria held back tears and thanked him. “Here.” She handed Marco Alex’s game pass. “He’s grounded, so he won’t need this for a couple weeks. Take whatever is on there as a tip. I’ll get him a new one when he earns it. The room is already set up.”
Marco fetched and escorted the young woman to her room, taking the service elevator to avoid cameras. Unlike Maria and Alex, Marco and this woman didn’t have the time to earn each other’s trust. The room flooded with light, they sat across from each other at a small round dining table, sizing each other up before speaking.
“Alright, who are you? What’s your name and what’s your deal?” Marco asked directly.
She eyed Marco, then shuffled in her seat, crossing her arms. “You first.”
“I’m the guy who rescued you and decided not to tell the cops about you. Look.” Marco pulled out his credentials. His name, picture, and identification number. Everything was there, but she remained suspicious.
“How do I know you lied to the cops? You could be working for them.”
Marco unbuttoned his shirt to reveal chest armor. “Look, neither of us has time for this. I answer this, then you decide if you trust me or if I’m dropping you off with the cops.” Marco hadn’t finished his sentence before a video projected from his armor. She watched Marco lie to the cops, then Marco skipped ahead to his conversation with Maria, then Alex. “I’ve already done more for you than you deserve, based on your attitude. When I rescued you and you asked for my help, you asked for my trust. I’ve protected you until now. If this isn’t a two-way street, then it doesn’t need to go any further.”
She contemplated for a moment. The look in her eyes no longer carried the same burdens. Soon, she uncrossed her arms and turned to face Marco. “Nice tech. Ex-soldier?”
“You first.”
“My name is Luna.”
“Luna? A pleasure to meet you. My name’s Marco. See? That wasn’t too hard. Now, what’s going on that you didn’t want the police involved?”
“You know about that cop who died last week?”
“No, I’m not from around here.”
“Oh, okay. Well, I own a tech shop around the corner from my apartment. That cop was suspicious of some things that were going on in his department and came to me for help. He died a couple days later. Some cops came by asking questions but I denied knowing him. After that, I noticed some weird people around. Then some guys grabbed me when I was on my way to work.”
“Why didn’t they just kill you?”
“They wanted to know what I had. Someone was supposed to come by tomorrow to… I guess to torture me?”
“Did that cop actually find anything?” Marco asked with intrigue.
“A few things, I guess. Not much, but it’s proof that his department is corrupt.”
“I’ll be the judge of that. Do you have any of it?” Marco asked.
“I made a black box for him. He sent everything to it remotely, so it has whatever he found before he died. It’s hidden in my apartment.”
“Okay. I’ve got a buddy in the department. Tomorrow, I’ll make sure the cops aren’t watching your apartment, then we can go pick it up.”
“What? No! I said no cops!”
“Hey, keep it down. This room is supposed to be vacant. My buddy is the one who tipped me off about that bounty. He wouldn’t have done that if he were dirty. So, we’re going to trust him, okay? You want to survive? We do this my way. You understand? You’ve got to trust me.”
Pensive and reluctant, Luna agreed.