A Curious Tale... 13

There was strange movement in Argos. Men in long, dark brown, Colombo-style trench coats prowled the aisles, apparently looking for someone or something. They moved as one, as if they were all parts of one body, working under the command of a single brain. I wondered if they were military, and wondered why they would be. War was quite unheard of these days - people with odd ideas were simply taken away and neutralised.

"I wonder what they're doing here", I asked.

Alizé looked at me and gave me a sad smile. That should have set the alarm bells clanging, but it didn't. I asked her what exactly we were waiting for.

"I like you", she said suddenly, the sadness in her voice more pronounced than it had been in her smile. I wondered what had gotten into her to make her say that to someone she met less than an hour ago. 

This train of thought made me unaware of how quiet it gradually became. I only noticed when one of the trench coats was right beside me. I looked up and was horribly discomfited by his stare. His eyes were bright pink, like lingerie on Girls of the Playboy Mansion. I was still trying to register that when I heard him say "that's him" to another.

He was referring to me of course, and I was instantly terrified. It was then I realized they'd been waiting for me, for us, and had lulled us into a false sense of security by appearing to take no interest in our movement (or lack of it) whatsoever. Alizé! I suddenly thought. I must keep her safe! The thought rushed through me in bullet time. It was an instant, but in that instant I took in every facet of her beauty I'd seen in the past hour or so that I'd spent with her, every expression I'd seen on her face. and I remembered her saying she liked me.

"Let's get out of here", I whispered, and held her hand, looking for a direction to run.

Trench coats were all around us now, not doing anything yet, but making sure there'd be no way we'd escape. Or... Yes, I saw a gap where one trench coat should have been, and saw him further off, talking to a child - or at least standing near one. The boy seemed lost, and over my fear I thought he must be a nice man to take time out from whatever it was they were going to do to me just so he could do whatever he was doing for the kid. Then I realised how ridiculous that thought was and concentrated on the gap again.

If I can get us through there then make a sharp turn towards the door and run for it, I thought, would we make it? I had no idea, but I had to try something to keep Alizé safe.

I started out through the gap. I'd only gone a couple of paces when I felt Alizé's hand leave my grasp. It came up to my shoulder, pulling me back. I turned, and saw the sad smile once more. Realization struck in the instant a million stars lit up in my head.

A Curious Tale... 12

It doesn't make any sense saying she wasn't what I expected, because I can't say for sure what it is that I did expect. All the same, I'll do the unreasonable and say she wasn't what I expected. No matter what, I'm sure I hadn't expected a girl with dark blue hair. Navy. I only noticed when we were out of the store under the warm July sun. I mentioned it, probably the first coherent thing I said to her.

"Your hair is blue."

That's a measure of how struck I was with this beautiful creature.

"Yes it is", she said. "It doesn't bother you, does it?"

"No, it's just unusual"

She raised a bushy blue eyebrow and I shut up. Was it possible that her hair really grew that colour? I kept my thoughts to myself and led the way to the car. At least it was as black as it was supposed to be. Alizé didn't react to seeing it though. I'd have at least appreciated a 'nice craft' or something like that.

We got in and I drove off through the slowly gathering Saturday traffic. We wound our way through streets that looked cleaner than they should have, which I judged to be a trick of the light. The sun was that bright. Alizé didn't speak for the entire trip, so I didn't either. She didn't seem preoccupied, so I guess I just wasn't impressive enough to make her want to talk to me. I've always been used to not getting the attention of females, so I wasn't really bothered. I just plugged my iPod into the car's Bose stereo and played some Michael Jackson. Everyone likes Michael Jackson, I figured. Or at least everyone did a few centuries ago. If she did, she didn't show it.

In a few minutes we were in Lewisham. I didn't want to go to the shopping centre car park, so I drove past and looked for a street that didn't have a double yellow line. I found one that had just one and parked there. Martin would get a parking ticket but we were both used to that. We walked to the high street, crossed it, and went into the shopping centre. We went into Argos directly. Martin had said to drop her off, and since she was so uninterested in me I felt no compulsion to assist her any further, no matter how beautiful she was. All the same I felt rather uneasy. Some ancient fight or flight reflex was kicking into gear for no apparent reason. I hoped to God that dropping her off would be all I'd have to do.

It wasn't.

A Curious Tale... 11

She was beautiful. She was dark, curved in all the right places, and had a monster of a smile. She just promised a treat. I wondered what the girl would think when she was picked up in it.

Yes, the reason (or at least one of the reasons - he was also paying me a really neat packet) I’d agreed to Martin’s proposal was parked outside his ridiculously small house on Arbuthnot Road. She was a custom MG XPower SV. We’d always called her the MXT. She looked a bit like a Batmobile, especially with the aerodynamic side grills. And she drove even better. She didn't have a choice really, seeing as she'd cost Martin a quarter of a million credits. I got green just thinking about it. Damn he was rich.

I went down into Martin’s den and saw him painting. He was a really talented painter, but even Da Vinci would have thought twice before buying a C250,000 overcraft on a whim. Martin had simply thought he needed something nicer than his Saab and had somehow gotten in touch with MG, drawn a redesigned XPower, and gotten them to make it somehow.

Maybe I should tell you what Martin did for a real living. He painted incredible forgeries and sold them to less scrupulous art collectors, mostly deposed dictators who Interpol had allowed to keep their assets in return for their abdication when the entire world had gone strangely democratic. Those African and Arab bastards kept Martin well paid and in the lap of luxury. My job so far had been to move the paintings to the international carriers, and that's how I'd become reasonably wealthy in my own right. I still wasn't the tiniest scratch on Martin though.

Enough of my envy. It won't tell the story anyway. So in short, I got the keys from Martin, hopped into the MXT and started driving. New Cross to Peckham. The plan was to pick Alizé, the girl, up from Argos in Peckham and take her to Argos in Lewisham. Which to me was just the silliest idea I'd ever heard. Brilliant for a kidnap, because no one would ever think to take a hostage INTO Argos if they hadn't been there before, but silly because there's always a ton of people in Argos, anyone of whom could become a hero. Whatever. That wasn't my concern. I was going to pick her up at Argos and take her to Argos. Simple.

I was thinking all this as I was driving, and by the time I focused on the mission again I was already in Peckham. I stopped and looked for an unobtrusive place to park the eye-popping car. I decided on a side road opposite a shop selling brandless ancient Italian shoes. I walked into Argos and looked around. The normal queues, some people buzzing around catalogues wondering what on earth brought them into the store but determined not to leave until they'd bought something utterly useless.

Then I heard someone call my name and turned around and stared into the very composed stare of a girl in her late teens. She asked me if I was ready to leave because she was tired of waiting in the store. I didn't say a word and I'll tell you why.

She was beautiful. She was dark, curved in all the right places, and had a monster of a smile.

A Curious Tale... 10

It’s weird how criminals can spot one another. We both knew the other had done something crooked in the past, it just kind of showed.   
Anyway as you might have guessed I soon started driving for him. I told him it would only be a short term thing, and I meant it in the beginning, but I'm not that smart. I'm not being self-deprecating or humble or anything silly like that. I just am not as smart as a lot of people think I am. I've always been good at getting people to believe what I tell them. I don't know what it is, they just do. Most of the time anyway. And I had Dante around for far too long. I miss her. Awesome, amazing Dante.
Anyway when Martin told me he had something legal he wanted me to do I took it with several pinches of salt; a whole cruet in fact. I’d been driving for a couple of years and I hadn’t made a single completely honest taxi run yet. There was always something or another that someone or another would pay massively to obtain. He started off by assuring me that it wasn't criminal, just had to be kept intensely secret. That raised an eyebrow. He also said it was vitally important.
He said he needed me to help him pick up a young girl somewhere in Peckham, and get her to Lewisham.
"But that's hardly worth my time!" I said, incredulous. "She could just hop on the bus!"
I didn't work for him any more. I now had my own fleet of taxicraft. I wasn't rich, nowhere near as wealthy as Martin, but I was doing well on my own, and he didn't begrudge me my independence. He was a good friend. The only one I had really, now I didn't have Dante any more.
"I know," he said, his voice smooth. Too smooth if you ask me. But you won't and he didn't, so my opinion counted for nix right then. Unless I said I wasn't gonna do it. But he knew I eventually would.
I did make him sweat for it though.
"I ain't doing it." That's what I said next.
"Why not," he said, pretending to be taken aback even though he knew I wouldn't be fooled, just like he knew I couldn't refuse him.
"Because if it were that simple, you bloody well do it yourself, wouldn't you?"
"Yes I would," he said.
I shut up. I hadn't been expecting that. I thought he would make up all kinds of excuses and give reasons why he 'honest to God' couldn't go. But he'd admitted without much fuss that I was probably getting myself into something more than it seemed or just downright dangerous or worse. I paused, waiting to hear what he'd say next.
"You can take my car."
"The Rolls?"
"No, not the Rolls. The MXT."
"For real!?"
"Yes for real."
So I agreed.

A Curious Tale... 9

I landed at the shuttle port with a gym sack. I’d arranged for a courier to transport the rest of my things. I realised I would never get them because the transaction would never be carried out. I was far too poor to pay the freight costs, and I’d hired the most expensive dudes possible. Daft as a cucumber. Depression started to set in again.
I walked through the arrivals section and frowned as the many cameras, biometric scanners, x-ray machines and good old fashioned customs officers deciphered exactly who I was and what I was carrying. It was boring, but at least it didn’t take up much time.
As I walked into the arrivals lounge I realised I had no idea where to go. I’d hustled my way into school, and crimed my way through it. The friends I’d made in school were quite frankly the only friends I had. I was lost, and the guy that walked up seemed to realise it.
“Hi” he said.
“Hi” I replied.
“You look like you could use some help.”
“No thanks. I’m fine.” Damn your foolish pride Tosoye! You’re not fine.
“I was only gonna ask if you needed a cab lad.” And he started to leave.  I was in England by the way. That’s where I’m from, I think. Anyway the little reason I still had left kicked in.
“Excuse me!” The man turned.
“I don’t have any money…” The man turned to walk away muttering something about him not getting enough to live on anyway without people looking for free rides.
I went to a row of seats and my phone buzzed just before I sat down. It was a message from Silas.
I’ve instructed that 2000 credits be paid into your account. I felt it wouldn’t be fair if you didn’t get a head start. Good luck.
I had to smile at the nerve of the man. Stupid cocky bastard. I went out and hailed a real taxi, not a crummy overcraft, but one of them old fashioned taxis that run on wheels. It was a stupid thing to do as it cost triple what a cab would, but I couldn’t care less. I had a little leeway.
The taxi driver was incredibly loquacious, and had told me about his entire family before asking me where I wanted to go. His name was Martin. He was probably in his late thirties, extremely fit, and if I was a girl or gay I’d be screwing a taxi driver, to state it succinctly. He looked very well to do though, and I had to ask him how come he wore a Hublot chronogram.
“I’m rich,” he said simply. “I only drive a taxi when I feel like.”
He looked in the mirror and saw how deeply I was concentrating.
“You want to know how I got rich enough to make taxi driving a hobby, don’t you?”
“Yes.”
“Well that’s one thing I can’t tell you. What do you do, by the way.”
“I just graduated,” I said honestly.
“Oh, new to the job market. Have you ever worked… erm… what did you say your name was?”
“Tosoye.”
“Tosoye. Hmmm. African origin I’d say.”
“How would I know?”
“Oh I wouldn’t expect you to. So back to the question. Have you ever worked lad?”
“No.”
“Hmmm...”
I was getting rather peeved, but he was obviously as rich as I was broke so I had to keep listening.
“Could you do deliveries?”
“I don’t see why not.”
“Got a driving licence?”
“Yep.  All craft.”
Good. Come over to see me.

A Curious Tale... 8.

There are some things that you just can’t take in. That was one of them. Drake had snitched, and Jason had played me. And Dante had left me. I was broke, and I was alone. I was about  to call Dante and tell her I wasn’t going anywhere anymore when I noticed a familiar face sitting a little further down from me. He stood up and walked towards me.

“Silas?” I said, a terrible thought springing to mind.

“Hi graduate,” he said. “Travelling home alone?”

“Yeah.”

“Sad. I thought you’d at least have the company of that attractive female I used to see around you.”

I shrugged, so he continued.

“Can I sit down?”

I shrugged again. He sat down.

“Your friend Drake led us right to Jason, who has a cybertrail as long as… what’s that longest river called again?”

I didn’t say anything. I heard the doors close and almost got up to leave, but thought better of it. There was nothing to go back to. I’d lost this battle and I’d probably be better off far away from this place.

“Anyway, I was determined to catch you actually committing a crime, so I made him reverse all his transactions and I know you’re now broke as fuck and confused about what to do next.”

“Yeah, happy now?”

“Actually no. The idea is to get you to commit another crime so I can catch you.”

So the plonker thought I was the brains. Sure I had he occasional bright idea, but it was Dante who always turned my ideas into viable plans. I was lost. I’d have to get a real job. Me! Work!? I wanted to cry, I was so upset. But I couldn’t give anyone the pleasure of seeing me weak and vulnerable.

“I’m going straight.”

He coughed.

“I mean it. I’m not doing all that anymore.”

“You will,” he said. “You’re a criminal, and it takes more than one reversal to stop the operations of a criminal mind.”

I almost laughed outright. Sure I would love to go out and commit more crimes, but now I’d have trust issues and I hate working alone. I was tired of this discussion, it was depressing.

“Do you have anything to read?” I asked him.

“I have a puzzle book, if you do puzzles.

“Yeah, thanks.”

“Just make sure you wipe it clean when you’re done. Don’t want anyone taking the credit for my puzzle solving.”

I smiled.

“Cocky bastard,” I said beneath my breath, though I’m sure he heard it to because he smirked as he went over to sit in his former seat.

I got busy solving Sudoku and Kakuro. I was broke, I was alone, but I was quietly hopeful something would turn up.

You haven't answered the question! Will you have non-committal coitus with me!?

You haven't answered the question! Will you have non-committal coitus with me!?

Answer here