From last week -“Just because the building was in Snatcher territory don’t mean it’s theirs. Big building like that, plus Splinter’s interest got me thinking the Pilots might know something. Hey, go out the back when you leave,” I told him as I made my way up the spiral staircase to my apartment. Had it special installed, just for me. I’ll tell you how I convinced ole Bruce another time.
“Yeah I know. I have enough sense not to waltz out the front door after someone snooping around here. No thanks to you.”
“You’re welcome! Ya ungrateful, fart.”
I unlocked my door and stumbled some more in a final effort to make it to the mattress on the floor in my bedroom. Didn’t even bother taking off my fashionable digs. I flopped and left it at that. My night was over yet I had a feeling my work load just got a whole lot bigger.-
Morning came and clocked me in the jaw earlier than I wanted but sometimes necessities of life demand special attention. I rolled my sorry ass out of bed hoping to use momentum to make it to standing position. It was as if my body didn’t know what to do at this hour and had to start from scratch.
I made my way towards the docks this morning but made sure to go five min Utes out of my way to grab some elixir of life. I’m talking coffee. I need to stay alert and focused. Hell, I needed to be able to put two functioning thoughts together in relative speed; which I wasn’t doing at the moment. I walked into Smiley’s Drug Fixers with a grumble and a look that told every morning person to scram if they thought I needed a few words. My favorite barista was there giving an older gent the biggest stink eye as he was rambling off a long list of sexist jargon he no doubt spoke every day. I caught the tail end of the man’s words and wasn’t wrong.
“You’ve got such a great smile! It would be a shame not to see it every morning. And I like this dress you’ve got on today. Reminds me when I was a young man on the prowl! I would have snatched you up without a second’s thought. It was before I had all this money, though,” he said trying to give himself some bonus points for today’s current version. I rolled my eyes so hard I got to map out a few extra spots of wrinkles on my mind organ.
I gave Sal a questioning eye if she wanted me to say something. She gave me the look that told me I better make a fast move before she decked this old man in his jaw.
“Why don’t you take a second’s thought somewhere else and move along, sir.”
I put a hand on his shoulder and gave it a few squeezes for emphasis. He spun around trying to form a feeble excuse like he wasn’t hitting on the girl or doing anything wrong but just making friendly conversation. I didn’t buy it. Sal didn’t buy it. I gently ushered the man towards the door with passing words to try not being so creepy in the future and left him with his mouth open and the beginning argument of youngsters needing to treat their elders better.
Fat and dirty load of hog wash. I don’t care how old you are, if you act like a fool, you’re setting yourself up to lose said respect.
“Thanks, John. Although, I think I would have enjoyed give him my five finger discussion point. It’s stands strong on its own.”
“I have no doubt about that, Sal. How ye been, kid?”
She grabbed a cup and began making me a drink with an eye roll well enough to challenge my own. “Why do you always call me kid? I’m only a handful of years younger than you and have seen just as much filth.”
“For the opposite reason, of course. You ever considered it aint all about you? Maybe I feel like such an old man that you seem more like a kid.”
“So dramatic. No I had not thought of that and I can tell by that smirk on your face that you never have until now, either. Can it,” she said to me bringing over something dark as sin with tantalizing steam coming out of it. Just being in the proximity of the drink began waking me up. I was an avid coffee lover. Our love life went back for decades but I was a deep sugar and creamer kind of guy for too long. Had a pantry full of different flavored creamer and thought that was the whole point. It wasn’t until an embarrassing camping trip with some particular coffee aficionados that led me to drink the stuff black. Makes it more difficult to enjoy though. Once you know what quality coffee is supposed to taste like, you quickly find out that ninety percent of vendors are selling you trash water. Smiley’s is one of the three locations in the city with the quality meant for royalty. The place got the name from a running joke. That being coffee is the most sold and regulated legal drug franchise in the world. The name was chosen as a stab at the snobs downtown. They wouldn’t try out a place with such a dicey name so most of the clientele were real people with some rough flakes tossed in for texture. I liked it. I was a usual afternoon visitor but was known to bless the place with my mug some mornings because I’m a charitable guy.
The coffee tasted delicious and hotter than Satan’s side broad. My tongue tingled and hurt but it was worth it.
“What’d you give me, Sal?”
“Does it matter? I just gave you something to bring you back from the dead zone where you creeped out of. You look like hell on a stick, boy.”
“I appreciate it. Your kind words being a cherry on top. I’ve been through the ringer past couple of days but I’m on my way to figure it out. At least tell me what you made so I can order it again.”
“Not a chance. I have to keep my regulars coming back for more.”
“Wait, did you just call me boy?”
“Of course not. Now get out of here and get some work done.”
“Well, now that I’m awake a little more, I wouldn’t mind a chat with Smiley. You seen him?”
“Check out back. It’s trash day so he’s probably there handling business.”
I tipped my cup in a salute and headed to find Smiley. And I did. Rolling around in a big stank of garbage with the biggest grin on his face. The trash men were there, too, wearing equal sized smiles of their own. Smiley had that affect on people.
“Hiya, Smiley! Missed ya, bud,” I said crouching down to pet him on his belly.
You might be curious now. Was I petting a grown man’s belly while he rolled around in trash for workers enjoyment? No, ya goons. I’m petting the sweetest most smiley pit bull I’ve ever met. Smiley was on middle aged dog that welcomed everyone that came up but held the world’s best sense of character judgement. If Smiley didn’t like you, you were the scum of sewers disposal dump. They actually wrote in Smiley’s contribution and living expenses into the business plan here. He lived here and had a pretty swell set up for a dog. People loved visiting and getting some brightness to their day.
He wagged his tail and jumped up to greet me. I got a big hug and some licks before he went back to work managing the trash. I nodded to the workmen and headed on. We all had tasks to take care of.
I whipped around when I got a touch of intellect. Went back to catch the trash men before they left.
“Hey Skip, wait up!” I shouted during a light jog in their direction.
“What’s up, John? How you been, buddy?”
“You seen Cap today?”
He looked me over for a second and then in a lowered voice, “Nah. We don’t go there till Tuesday. What business you need with him?” He sounded skeptical but not too worried.
“Thinking he might have an answer I need to a question.”
“I see. How long has it been since you sat down with him?”
“Uhh. A while, why?”
“You look selfishly empty handed for a bloke looking for information.”
I just looked at my cup and looked back at him questioningly.
He helped me out, “Best take him some coffee and a treat if you were smart. Depending on the desired answer, it could cost you more, but showing up with full hands is more welcoming, John.”
“That’s a great point, thank you.”
“Glad to help, bud. We got to go. I’ll see ya on the next swing around. Good luck.”
Soon I was sitting on a park bench staring at an abandoned building with flecks of pedestrians strolling around doing their life’s mission. I had half a dozen doughnuts and four hot coffees sitting next to me. I was waiting.
A kid, maybe sixteen, sat down next to me and had the big sized balls to grab one of the coffees and a doughnut. He took a few bites and a few sips. I was pleasantly surprised, to be honest. Not by the sudden appearance of this overly welcoming guest but because I’d only been sitting down for a few minutes. The coffee was still piping hot and the doughnuts were still fresh. You couldn’t club someone’s brains in yet.
“Cap in bad shape? You fellas are getting younger,” I said looking straightforward. Neither of us had made eye contact.
“If he wants to explain then he will explain. He is expecting you, though. You was smart to bring this. He’s been raving about his coffee lately and didn’t want to see it get cold. Well played, John.”
“It helps that I sent word out of my arrival, I’m sure.”
The kid grunted and walked off out of sight. He didn’t want to admit my idea worked. I knew Cap would hear about me looking for him when I talked to Skip earlier. It’s not that I’m impatient, but I do hate idly waiting by when I’ve got a laundry list of things I need to be doing.
I stepped inside the building walked into a newly renovated foyer. There were a handful of men talking behind a counter that looked up when I made my appearance. One of them gestured for me to follow. I offered some treats to which they all denied. Nobody ate before the head snake. That must mean the kid had gotten approval beforehand.
Cap was in a spacious high ceiling room with a roaring fire going. It was a ballroom but he had the space sectioned off with different tables and boards and groups working on different things. There was a massive map hanging on the wall in one section with a group of people drawing lines and scribing notes. I was curious but didn’t stay my eyes too long. Enough to figure out they had something serious going on and weren’t going to let me get a closer peek.
The man himself was standing by a window. A massive window. It touched the floor, was about twelve feet high and nine feet wide with an arch at the top. I sat in silence and waited. After a few minutes the workers began to get nervous and all work chatter quieted down to whispers. Some were even daring to watch.
“I was wondering when you’d come to me, John.”
I said nothing. A rarity some would say but I feel I keep it shut more often than they realize. I never shut up in my own head.
“We spotted you by our warehouse the other day. I knew it was only a matter of time before you showed your ugly face in my presence. You always were a nosey turd. A burden needing to be chauffeured around.” Suddenly he turned around and looked at me. Staring right into my soul.
At least, he tried to do that.
We both cracked up at the same time and he walked over to me. Checking out what goods I brought.
“What have you got for me, little brother?”
“Give Skip a raise. He suggested I bring some quality coffee and a treat if I was smart. Got them from Smiley’s, o’course.”
“I should have known. You like flirting with Sal over there, don’t you?”
“Now who’s the nosey one? Don’t mind my dealings. You were the ones that hid me, then?”
“Yeah. One of our privates found you knocked out. He said he sat by and scoped out the area before approaching but nobody stirred and nothing looked out of the ordinary. Just a guy knocked out. So he drug you out of harms way and hid you.”
“Why not just go the next step and actually get a guy some real help?”
He got a strange look on his face and fiddled with his cup a bit. The walls were coming up. My brother or not, he won’t tell me what he doesn’t want the world to know yet. I’m no snitch but things have a way of spreading once voiced into the universe.
He gave me a fisheye and leaned in shuffling through the bag of doughnuts. I saw my cue to join.
“Which one of these have you tried? I haven’t had their doughnuts yet,” then softly added, “We’ve been attacked. That was one of six buildings to be caught and burned down. We were scrambled. Trying to solve the mystery now. What do you know.”
“I’d suggest going for that one there,” I gestured towards a filled doughnut at the bottom. Then muttered, “Not much but it looks like many things are happening to create diversions from something else. I have no clue why I was knocked out or by who.” I did have an idea for both but not solid enough to speculate.
“Hmm,” was all he said while he sat back and ate the doughnut with coffee. After about ten minutes of us stuck in our thoughts he looked at me.
“What have you got going on?” He asked.
“I’ve got some spare time. Enough to handle finances while I figure out who’s out to get me and why.”
“Okay. Go talk to the Network over there and get the retainer. Then head out and come back tonight. I want a recap what you find out.”
“Aye aye, Captain!” I said getting to my feet and acknowledging my dismissal. He shook his head at my exclamation but went back to his window. He was already lost in thought. I was now being paid to poke around which suited my fancy just fine. If I’m entirely honest I hoped it would come to that but merely set my hopes up just to get some insight.
I took the rest of the coffee and doughnuts to the Network group. I used to laugh at my brothers desire to give nicknames to everything that he sets up but it did help with organizing, I guess. It was time to get said info I was hungry to be gettin’.